{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://dean.house.gov/2021/10/congresswoman-madeleine-dean-senator-brian-schatz-introduce-the-promoting-reentry-through-education-in-prisons-prep-act", "Congresswoman Madeleine Dean, Senator Brian Schatz Reintroduce the Promoting Reentry through Education in Prisons (PREP) Act", "2021-10-26", "2021", "2021-10", "Democrat", "House", "PA", "Madeleine Dean", "D000631", "dean.house.gov", "dean", "https://dean.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (PA-04) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced the Promoting Reentry through Education in Prisons (PREP) Act. Congressman Mondaire Jones and Congressman Kweisi Mfume are co-leading the bill. Congresswoman Dean previously introduced the bill with the late Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD-07) in 2019 while Senator Schatz introduced companion legislation in the Senate. The legislation would ensure that incarcerated individuals receive the educational opportunities they need to successfully reenter their communities after completing their sentences.\n\nProviding incarcerated individuals with the resources to effectively reintegrate into society upon release can dramatically reduce recidivism. Two-thirds of formerly-incarcerated individuals are rearrested within three years; however, incarcerated people who participated in educational programs had 43 percent lower odds of reentering prison than those who did not.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s in everyone\u2019s interest that when people re-enter society, they do so with the skills they need to build decent futures for themselves and their families,\u201d Congresswoman Dean said. \u201cEducational opportunities make all the difference in helping to break the cycle of recidivism and reincarceration \u2013 and create more positive outcomes for all.\u201d\n\n\u201cResearch shows that one of the best ways to break the cycle of recidivism is through education,\u201d Senator Schatz said. \u201cThis bill would make it easier for people in the federal prison system to pursue a better life through learning, in turn improving our public safety and saving taxpayers\u2019 money.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s critical we give incarcerated individuals all of the tools they need to succeed after incarceration, and that starts with quality education and job training in incarcerated settings,\u201d Congressman Mondaire Jones said. \u201cI\u2019m proud to introduce the Promoting Reentry Through Education in Prisons (PREP) Act alongside Rep. Dean to establish an Office of Prison Education within the Bureau of Prisons and ensure educational programming is available to all individuals in federal prisons. By investing in education in our prisons, we\u2019ll reduce recidivism while investing in our economy and people\u2019s futures.\u201d\n\n\u201cReturning citizens deserve to re-enter society prepared to contribute in meaningful ways. Having the education and training to work with others upon release not only makes sense for formerly incarcerated individuals but also for the workforce development of our economy,\u201d Congressman Mfume said. \u201cRecidivism rates are reduced with educational programs for inmates, ultimately lowering prison expenses. Let\u2019s work to invest in human capital which in turn will increase monetary capital for businesses, small and big alike,\u201d he added.\n\nThe PREP Act takes several important steps:\n\nEstablishes an Office of Correctional Education within the Bureau of Prisons. The Office would standardize educational programs across all federal prisons, ensuring that BOP provides educational services for adult literacy, GED, postsecondary, workforce readiness, apprenticeships, career and technical education, and expanded opportunities for individual with learning disabilities.\n\nEstablishes the Federal Correctional Education Program. The program would create partnerships between federal correctional facilities and education providers to create quality programs.\n\nTrains and assists state and local correctional institutions. The legislation would provide for training and technical assistance to state and local correctional institutions that implement similar education programs.\n\nNotifies veterans of their eligibility. The bill would ensure that eligible veterans are notified of their ability to access education benefits and are connected with available programs in their federal or state correctional facility.\n\nThe PREP Act is supported by the Correctional Leaders Association, Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), Dream Corps JUSTICE, FAMM, NAACP, The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), National CURE, College and Community Fellowship, Center for Disability Rights, Operation Restoration, Second Chance Education Alliance Inc., Prison Scholar Fund, and Record Clearance Project of SJSU.\n\nRep. Madeleine Dean is a mother, grandmother, attorney, professor, former four-term member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and U.S. Representative for the Fourth District of Pennsylvania.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:24:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://dean.house.gov/2021/10/congresswoman-madeleine-dean-senator-brian-schatz-introduce-the-promoting-reentry-through-education-in-prisons-prep-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4319259207695723, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}