SOP_NUMBER: 108.05 TITLE: Post-Secondary Education REFERENCE_CODE: VC01-0006 DIVISION: Inmate Services Division (Career Technical and Higher Education) TOPIC_AREA: 108 Policy-Education/Vocational Education EFFECTIVE_DATE: 2024-08-01 WORD_COUNT: 1028 POWERDMS_URL: https://public.powerdms.com/GADOC/documents/106501 URL: https://gps.press/sop-data/108.05/ SUMMARY: This policy establishes procedures for incarcerated individuals to access post-secondary education through approved institutions of higher learning, correspondence courses, and Prison Education Programs (PEP) funded by federal Pell Grants. It outlines approval requirements for educational institutions, enrollment procedures, facility accommodations, SCRIBE documentation requirements, and transfer protocols to protect ongoing educational enrollment. The policy applies to all GDC facilities and requires Deputy Wardens of Care and Treatment to approve all post-secondary education participation. KEY_TOPICS: post-secondary education, higher education, prison education program, PEP, correspondence courses, college enrollment, Pell Grant, institution of higher learning, offender education, academic programs, SCRIBE documentation, educational transfer, facility accommodations, ADA compliance ======================================================================== FULL TEXT: ======================================================================== |GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Standard Operating Procedures|Col2|Col3| |---|---|---| |**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education|**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education|**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education| |**Policy Number:** 108.05|**Effective Date:** 08/01/2024|**Page Number:** 1 of 4| |**Authority:**
Commissioner
|**Originating Division:**
Inmate Services Division
(Career Technical and Higher
Education)|**Access Listing:**
Level II: Required Offender
Access| **I.** **Introduction and Summary:** Post-secondary education may be available to offenders who qualify and who voluntarily seek enrollment in approved courses. **II.** **Authority:** A. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 125-4-2-.04. B. ACA Standards: 5-ACI-7B-01, 5-ACI-7B-09, and 5-ACI-7B-10; and C. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: 42 U.S.C. §12102, § 12131-34, and 28 C.F.R. §35.101 et seq. **III.** **Definitions:** As used in this SOP, these terms are defined as follows. A. **Correspondence Course** - A course of study offered by an organization which the offender initiates and completes independently with approval of the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) facility. B. **Institution of Higher Learning** - A college or university offering post-secondary level academic instruction that leads to credit towards or completion of an associate or higher degree. C. **Prison Education Program (PEP)** - A post-secondary education program that has been through the application process, and is approved by Georgia Department of Correction, the Board of Education, and their accrediting body. Programming is funded through federal Pell Grant funds. D. **The State Repository of Information System** ( **SCRIBE)** - GDC’s official offender records management system. |GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Standard Operating Procedures|Col2|Col3| |---|---|---| |**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education|**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education|**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education| |**Policy Number:** 108.05|**Effective Date:** 08/01/2024|**Page Number:** 2 of 4| |**Authority:**
Commissioner
|**Originating Division:**
Inmate Services Division
(Career Technical and Higher
Education)|**Access Listing:**
Level II: Required Offender
Access| **IV.** **Statement of Policy and Applicable Procedures:** A. Correspondence Courses: 1. Prior to enrolling in a Post-Secondary, or any other, Correspondence Course, the offender must have approval from the Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment (DWCT), or designee. The approval, or disapproval, will be documented in SCRIBE. 2. The offender wanting to take a post-secondary Correspondence Courses, or the offender’s family on his or her behalf, must contact the post-secondary Correspondence Course provider/institution, and make arrangements for enrollment, payment, study, testing, and all other requirements. 3. An offender enrolled in a post-secondary Correspondence Course may request assistance from facility staff to proctor and/or tutor – although facility staff are not required to do so. The offender must obtain approval from the DWCT, or designee, prior to beginning any Post-Secondary Correspondence Course, and must notify the DWCT upon completion of any post-secondary Correspondence Course so the completion may be documented in SCRIBE. B. Approval of Post-Secondary Education Programs: 1. All Institutions of Higher Learning must be approved prior to beginning a post secondary education program at any facility, regardless of PEP status. 2. Prison Education Programs (PEP) applications are available on the Georgia Department of Corrections website, or by contacting the Director of Career, Technical, and Higher Education (CTHE). 3. Upon PEP approval each Institution of Higher Learning will be required to enter into a Services Agreement (MOU) with GDC. |GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Standard Operating Procedures|Col2|Col3| |---|---|---| |**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education|**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education|**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education| |**Policy Number:** 108.05|**Effective Date:** 08/01/2024|**Page Number:** 3 of 4| |**Authority:**
Commissioner
|**Originating Division:**
Inmate Services Division
(Career Technical and Higher
Education)|**Access Listing:**
Level II: Required Offender
Access| C. Management of Post-Secondary Education Programs: 1. GDC facility leadership will make reasonable accommodations to create a positive and productive learning environment for post-secondary education programs. This includes but is not limited to allowing offenders to have access to educational materials during periods of lockdown. 2. Offenders must meet the specific program entry requirements as established by the Institution of Higher Learning. 3. Priority for enrollment may be given according to sentence length, the number and level/type of Disciplinary Reports, and prior academic/career technical education performance. 4. Upon post-secondary enrollment, SCRIBE data entry related to the offender’s program is required. a. The appropriate program should be opened in SCRIBE to reflect program enrollment. b. The offender should be scheduled in SCRIBE correctly. c. A scrolling alert note, which indicates that an offender should only be transferred to other facilities with the same program or a Transition Center, should be entered in SCRIBE. d. Upon completion of the program or if a student withdrawal/is removed, the program should be closed, the appropriate reason should be reflected, and the SCRIBE alert note should be removed. |GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Standard Operating Procedures|Col2|Col3| |---|---|---| |**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education|**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education|**Policy Name:**Post-Secondary Education| |**Policy Number:** 108.05|**Effective Date:** 08/01/2024|**Page Number:** 4 of 4| |**Authority:**
Commissioner
|**Originating Division:**
Inmate Services Division
(Career Technical and Higher
Education)|**Access Listing:**
Level II: Required Offender
Access| D. Transfer Process: 1. Once it has been determined that an offender is a good candidate for a post secondary education program located at another GDC facility and meets the basic requirements for facility transfer, it is the referring facilities responsibility to contact the Director of CTHE who will assist with coordination with the Institution of Higher Learning to ensure the offender is or will be enrolled in the post-secondary education program prior to transfer. 2. GDC will make a good faith effort to not transfer offenders while enrolled in post-secondary education programs. a. If a transfer is deemed necessary, the Director of CTHE shall be contacted immediately, if making contact does not cause an immediate security concern. For offenders enrolled in PEP, transfers during an enrollment period will have a negative impact on the offenders Pell funding upon their release. As such, GDC will make a good faith effort to transfer the offender to another institution that offers the same program, or allow the offender to complete the semester, or related coursework, if possible while maintaining facility security. b. Post-secondary education enrollment will not inhibit transfers to Transition Centers, but, when possible, should occur at the end of a semester, or the offender should be allowed to complete their coursework after transfer **V.** **Attachments:** Attachment 1: Prison Education Program Application **VI.** **Record Retention of Forms Relevant to this Policy:** Upon completion, Attachment 1 shall be maintained for three (3) years from PEP approval, or as long as the PEP is active.