Organization

Organization Description: The Correctional Education program is a part of the Division of Career Technology and Adult Learning in the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR). This is the division that provides leadership and training for adult education providers and administers the General Educational Development (GED^®) Tests in Maryland. Correctional Education was transferred from the Division of Correction to the State Department of Education in 1978, so it has a long history as part of the Office of the State Superintendent of Schools. By law, Correctional Education provides educational programs to the inmates housed in the Division of Correction and the Patuxent Institution.Correctional Education provides adult basic education (ABE), GED^® instruction, special education, secondary and postsecondary vocational training, postsecondary academic instruction, and library services in each major Maryland adult prison, as well as many of the pre-release facilities.Postsecondary education ended in 1995 with the loss of Pell grants for inmates but was reinstituted in fiscal year 1999 based on new federal funds for younger inmates and a private foundation grant.Currently, the agency employs about 210 full-time staff and contracts for additional full- and part-time employees through local community colleges. Academic programs (ABE^® and GED^®) are open-ended and continuous, 12 months per year, with students attending until they are transferred, released, or obtain a GED^®. Vocational programs are scheduled on a six- to seven-month basis, and students complete as many of the competencies as possible during this time. Each student receives a report indicating the level and number of competencies and certificates completed. The numbers of students who participate in each of the educational program areas are shown in the annual report to the Educational Coordinating Council for Correctional Education, chaired by the State Superintendent of Schools. On a typical day, more than 4,500 students participate in education in the Maryland state prisons. In fiscal year 2000, more than 1,000 students received high school diplomas.