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NDSP education and workforce programs spotlighted — college classes, Last Mile coding and CDL training
Summary
Corrections education officials and resident participants told the appropriations panel about GEDs, college partnerships, a coding program (The Last Mile) and CDL/crane training, and cautioned that pending sentencing changes could reduce program availability.
During a legislative site visit at the North Dakota State Penitentiary, corrections educators and resident participants outlined how academic, vocational and technology programs operate inside the facility and help prepare residents for work after release.
Michelle Pfaff, superintendent of correctional education for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, told the committee that in the most recent school year the department served 567 adults and 78 youth, awarded 82 diplomas and maintained a GED passing rate “in the top 5 of all correctional departments across the country.” Pfaff listed training and certification accomplishments: 16 residents earned commercial driver’s licenses and 15 obtained crane and rigging certification.
Pfaff said partnerships with Bismarck State College, Valley City State University and others were expanding postsecondary opportunities; a college-technology grant of about $695,000 is intended to build infrastructure for college programming.
The committee heard from current participants. Simon Jacobson, a Last Mile graduate and teaching assistant, described a full-time coding class that meets 30 hours per week and prepares students for web development roles, and said nationwide the Last Mile has helped more than 700 released students rejoin the workforce. Jacobson noted that Last Mile graduates sometimes serve as remote instructors and that the program includes reentry support and career coaching.
Michelle Pfaff warned the panel that the CDL portion of the Integrated Education and Training program “would cease to exist” if Senate Bill 2128 (mandatory minimum sentencing) passed as written, because the program requires sending students off property for training and the bill’s mandatory minimums would affect eligibility and program logistics.
Resident tutors and graduates described how trade and education opportunities translated into jobs: one resident, Jesse Kubish, said that work with Roughrider Industries and Bismarck State College led to paid employment and a teaching role in carpentry after his release.
Why it matters: corrections educators told appropriators that certificates and college credentials are linked to employment prospects and lower recidivism. Several presenters told the committee that removing incentives or raising in-prison time without access to programming could undercut those outcomes.
What's next: educators asked legislators to preserve program funding and to consider statutory and administrative implications of sentencing changes for training and reentry partnerships.
