Bill would let inmates on administrative home confinement attend postsecondary classes

Representative Muse told the Senate Judiciary Committee that House Bill 57, requested by the Department of Corrections, would allow a person approved for administrative home confinement to participate in postsecondary educational opportunities in the community where they are enrolled.

The measure would add attending college courses and postsecondary vocational courses to the list of outside activities already allowed under administrative home confinement, Representative Muse said. “Under our current law, residents in our state prison system who are approved for administrative home confinement are authorized to take part in employment and uncompensated public service outside their home as long as they return to their home within a specified amount of time,” Muse said. The bill would add education to that list without changing program eligibility or the department’s policies, she said.

Nicholas Duffy, director of rehabilitative services for the Department of Corrections, told the committee the bill “doesn’t change eligibility requirements. It really just adds the ability for somebody who has been accepted to postsecondary education to do that as part of their [administrative home confinement] process.” Duffy said approved participants would still need appropriate housing and a means to support themselves, and that any tuition payments would be the inmate’s responsibility.

Janelle LaPlante, a psychology researcher at UMass Chan Medical School, testified in support of the bill and cited broader research on education in correctional settings. “There have been studies by the Rand Corporation and the Vera Institute that have found that incarcerated people who participate in college programs are 43 to 48 percent less likely to be re-incarcerated,” she said, and added that employment rates for formerly incarcerated students increased on average after participation.

Committee members and witnesses emphasized limits on who may apply: approval for administrative home confinement remains restricted under current law. Representative Muse noted persons with disruptive or violent behavior or convictions for certain serious offenses are ineligible; the program is distinct from parole and requires approval from the trial court judge and the prosecutor if the participant is to be released before serving the minimum sentence. Participants on administrative home confinement are monitored by the Department of Corrections’ Division of Field Services.

The bill does not appropriate money for student tuition or other educational expenses, and sponsors said it carries no state educational expense under the proposal. Representative Muse told the committee HB 57 had come out of the Criminal Justice Committee unanimously and passed the House on consent.