Education and Workforce Development for Inmates

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An act relating to education and workforce development 2
for inmates; amending s. 334.044, F.S.; authorizing 3
the Department of Transportation to expend certain 4
funds for all workforce development programs, rather 5
than only construction workforce development programs; 6
authorizing the department to provide grants to 7
private educational providers to use for certain 8
certification and training opportunities; amending s. 9
334.62, F.S.; requiring certification and training 10
opportunities to include training for specified 11
commercial driver licenses to certain inmates; 12
providing eligibility; authorizing the department to 13
use workforce development funds for certain 14
certification and training opportunities; amending s. 15
944.801, F.S.; requiring the Correctional Education 16
Program under the Department of Corrections to 17
annually submit a report to the Secretary of 18
Corrections with specified information; authorizing 19
the Correctional Education Program to implement a 20
career and technical education program in which 21
certain inmates can earn specified commercial driver 22
licenses; providing eligibility; amending s. 945.091, 23
F.S.; authorizing an inmate to be transported in or to 24
operate a state-owned vehicle under certain 25

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circumstances; requiring a certified correctional 26
officer to be present during such transport or 27
operation; amending s. 945.0913, F.S.; authorizing 28
inmates to drive a state-owned vehicle under certain 29
circumstances; requiring a certified correctional 30
officer to be present during such transport or 31
operation; providing an effective date. 32
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 34
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Section 1. Subsection (35) of section 334.044, Florida 36
Statutes, is amended to read: 37
334.044 Powers and duties of the department.—The 38
department shall have the following general powers and duties: 39
(35) To expend funds for a construction workforce 40
development program, in consultation with affected stakeholders, 41
for delivery of projects designated in the department's work 42
program. The department may annually expend up to $5 million 43
from the State Transportation Trust Fund for fiscal years 2025-44
2026 through 2029-2030 in grants to state colleges, and school 45
districts, and private educational providers, with priority 46
given to state colleges and school districts in counties that 47
are rural communities as defined in s. 288.0656(2), for 48
certification and training opportunities within the Florida 49
Transportation Academy, for the purchase of equipment simulators 50

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with authentic original equipment manufacturer controls and a 51
companion curriculum, for the purchase of instructional aids for 52
use in conjunction with the equipment simulators, and to support 53
offering an elective course in heavy civil construction which 54
must, at a minimum, provide the student with an Occupational 55
Safety and Health Administration 10-hour certification and a 56
fill equipment simulator certification. 57
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 334.62, Florida 58
Statutes, is amended to read: 59
334.62 Florida Transportation Academy.—The Legislature 60
finds that the growth and sustainability of the transportation 61
industry workforce is vital to the continued success and 62
efficiency of the state's supply chain and economic 63
competitiveness. In order to prioritize the continued need for 64
transportation industry workforce development programs, the 65
Florida Transportation Academy is established within the 66
department. In order to support, promote, and sustain workforce 67
development efforts in the transportation sector, the department 68
may do all of the following: 69
(1) Coordinate with the Department of Corrections to 70
identify and create certification and training opportunities for 71
nonviolent, scheduled-release inmates and nonviolent inmates who 72
have 2 years or less remaining on their sentence and create a 73
notification process between the Department of Corrections and 74
the department for nonviolent inmates with imminent scheduled-75

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release dates who are expected to seek employment upon release. 76
Such certification and training opportunities must be offered at 77
state correctional institutions and correctional facilities and, 78
at a minimum, include training for Class A and Class B 79
commercial driver licenses. To be eligible to enroll in a Class 80
A or Class B commercial driver license training program offered 81
in accordance with this subsection, an inmate must be proficient 82
in English. Such proficiency may be demonstrated in a manner 83
specified by the department or the department's designee. The 84
department's workforce development funds as described in s. 85
334.044(35) may be used to fund such certification and training 86
opportunities. 87
Section 3. Subsections (7), (8), and (9) of section 88
944.801, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (6), 89
(7), and (8), respectively, and paragraphs (a), (e), and (g) 90
through (j) of subsection (3) and subsection (5) and present 91
subsections (6) and (7) of that section are amended, to read: 92
944.801 Education for state prisoners.— 93
(3) The responsibilities of the Correctional Education 94
Program shall be to: 95
(a) Develop guidelines for collecting education-related 96
information during the inmate reception process and for 97
disseminating such information to the classification staff of 98
the Department of Corrections. The information collected shall 99
include the inmate's areas of educational or career and 100

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technical educational vocational interest, vocational skills, 101
and level of education. 102
(e) Enter into agreements with public or private school 103
districts, entities, state community colleges, junior colleges, 104
colleges, or universities as may be deemed appropriate for the 105
purpose of carrying out its duties and responsibilities and 106
ensure that agreements require minimum performance standards and 107
standards for measurable objectives, in accordance with 108
established Department of Education standards. 109
(g) Develop and maintain complete and reliable statistics 110
on the number of high school equivalency diplomas and career and 111
technical education vocational certificates issued by each 112
institution in each skill area, the change in inmate literacy 113
levels, and the number of inmate admissions to and withdrawals 114
from education courses. The compiled statistics shall be 115
summarized and analyzed in the annual report of correctional 116
education activities required by paragraph (f). 117
(h) Develop a written procedure for selecting programs to 118
add to or delete from the career and technical education 119
vocational curriculum. The procedure shall include labor market 120
analyses that demonstrate the projected demand for certain 121
occupations and the projected supply of potential employees. In 122
conducting these analyses, the department shall evaluate the 123
feasibility of adding career and technical vocational education 124
programs that have been identified by the Department of 125

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Commerce, the Department of Education, or a regional 126
coordinating council as being in undersupply in this state. The 127
department shall periodically reevaluate the career and 128
technical vocational education programs in major institutions to 129
determine which of the programs support and provide relevant 130
skills to inmates who could be assigned to a correctional work 131
program that is operated as a Prison Industry Enhancement 132
Program. The annual report of correctional education activities 133
required under paragraph (f) must include all of the following 134
information: 135
1. The number of inmates who completed career and 136
technical education training, the type of training each inmate 137
completed, and the credential each inmate earned through the 138
Correctional Education Program. 139
2. The number of inmates who completed career and 140
technical education training through the Correctional Education 141
Program and were employed within 6 months after being released 142
from prison. 143
3. Statistics on whether the employed former inmates who 144
completed training through the Correctional Education Program 145
are employed in an occupation aligned with their education and 146
training received through the Correctional Education Program. 147
(i) Ensure that every inmate who has 2 years or more 148
remaining to serve on his or her sentence at the time that he or 149
she is received at an institution and who lacks basic and 150

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functional literacy skills as defined in s. 1004.02 attends not 151
fewer than 150 hours of sequential instruction in a correctional 152
adult basic education program. The basic and functional literacy 153
level of an inmate shall be determined by the average composite 154
test score obtained on a test approved for this purpose by the 155
State Board of Education. 156
1. Upon completion of the 150 hours of instruction, the 157
inmate shall be retested and, if a composite test score of 158
functional literacy is not attained, the department is 159
authorized to require the inmate to remain in the instructional 160
program. 161
2. Highest priority of inmate participation shall be 162
focused on youthful offenders and those inmates nearing release 163
from the correctional system. 164
3. An inmate shall be required to attend the 150 hours of 165
adult basic education instruction unless such inmate: 166
a. Is serving a life sentence or is under sentence of 167
death. 168
b. Is specifically exempted for security or health 169
reasons. 170
c. Is housed at a community correctional center, road 171
prison, work camp, or career and technical education vocational 172
center. 173
d. Attains a functional literacy level after attendance in 174
fewer than 150 hours of adult basic education instruction. 175

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e. Is unable to enter such instruction because of 176
insufficient facilities, staff, or classroom capacity. 177
4. The Department of Corrections shall provide classes to 178
accommodate those inmates assigned to correctional or public 179
work programs after normal working hours. The department shall 180
develop a plan to provide academic and career and technical 181
education vocational classes on a more frequent basis and at 182
times that accommodate the increasing number of inmates with 183
work assignments, to the extent that resources permit. 184
5. If an inmate attends and actively participates in the 185
150 hours of instruction, the Department of Corrections may 186
grant a one-time award of up to 6 additional days of incentive 187
gain-time, which must be credited and applied as provided by 188
law. Active participation means, at a minimum, that the inmate 189
is attentive, responsive, cooperative, and completes assigned 190
work. 191
(j) Recommend the award of additional incentive gain-time 192
for inmates who receive a high school equivalency diploma or a 193
career and technical education vocational certificate. 194
(5) The Correctional Education Program may: 195
(a) Establish a prison entrepreneurship program and adopt 196
procedures for admitting student inmates. If the department 197
elects to develop the program, it must include at least 180 days 198
of in-prison education. The program curriculum must include a 199
component on developing a business plan, procedures for 200

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graduation and certification of successful student inmates, and 201
at least 90 days of transitional and postrelease continuing 202
educational services. Transitional and postrelease continuing 203
educational services may be offered to graduate student inmates 204
on a voluntary basis and are not a requirement for completion of 205
the program. The department shall enter into agreements with 206
public or private colleges or universities, other nonprofit 207
entities, or other authorized providers under s. 1002.45(1)(a)1. 208
to implement the program. The program must be funded with 209
existing resources. 210
(b)(6) The Correctional Education Program may Work in 211
cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer 212
Services, Florida Forestry Service Division, and the Florida 213
Department of Financial Services, Division of State Fire Marshal 214
to develop a program for implementation within state 215
correctional institutions or correctional facilities to train 216
and certify inmates as firefighters. The program should include, 217
but not be limited to, certification of inmates as state forest 218
staff trained to help protect homes, forestland, and natural 219
resources from the effects of wildfires throughout the state. 220
(c) Implement a career and technical education program to 221
be offered at state correctional institutions and correctional 222
facilities to train and license inmates to operate a commercial 223
motor vehicle. The career and technical education curriculum 224
must include training for Class A and Class B driver licenses 225

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and participation in such curriculum is limited to nonviolent 226
inmates who have 2 years or less remaining to serve on his or 227
her sentence. To be eligible to enroll in a Class A or Class B 228
commercial driver license training program offered in accordance 229
with this paragraph, an inmate must be proficient in English. 230
Such proficiency may be demonstrated in a manner specified by 231
the department or the department's designee. 232
(6)(7) The department may contract with a district school 233
board, the Florida Virtual School, a charter school authorized 234
to operate under s. 1002.33, or a Florida College System 235
institution to provide education services in the Correctional 236
Education Program. The education services may include any 237
educational or, career and technical education, or vocational 238
training authorized by the department. 239
Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 240
945.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 241
945.091 Extension of the limits of confinement; 242
restitution by employed inmates.— 243
(1) The department may adopt rules permitting the 244
extension of the limits of the place of confinement of an inmate 245
as to whom there is reasonable cause to believe that the inmate 246
will honor his or her trust by authorizing the inmate, under 247
prescribed conditions and following investigation and approval 248
by the secretary, or the secretary's designee, who shall 249
maintain a written record of such action, to leave the confines 250

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of that place unaccompanied by a custodial agent for a 251
prescribed period of time to: 252
(b) Work at paid employment, participate in an education 253
or a training program, or voluntarily serve a public or 254
nonprofit agency or faith-based service group in the community, 255
while continuing as an inmate of the institution or facility in 256
which the inmate is confined, except during the hours of his or 257
her employment, education, training, or service and traveling 258
thereto and therefrom. An inmate may travel to and from his or 259
her place of employment, education, or training only by means of 260
walking, bicycling, or using public transportation or 261
transportation that is provided by a family member or employer. 262
Contingent upon specific appropriations or as authorized in s. 263
945.0913(2), the department may transport an inmate in a state-264
owned vehicle if the inmate is unable to obtain other means of 265
travel to his or her place of employment, education, or 266
training. An inmate may be transported in or may operate a 267
state-owned vehicle if the inmate is appropriately licensed and 268
enrolled in or has completed a department-operated or contracted 269
commercial driver license program for the purpose of completing 270
program requirements or demonstrating proficiency in the 271
program. At least one certified correctional officer must be 272
present during such transport or operation. 273
1. An inmate may participate in paid employment only 274
during the last 36 months of his or her confinement, unless 275

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sooner requested by the Florida Commission on Offender Review or 276
the Control Release Authority. 277
2. While working at paid employment and residing in the 278
facility, an inmate may apply for placement at a contracted 279
substance abuse transition housing program. The transition 280
assistance specialist shall inform the inmate of program 281
availability and assess the inmate's need and suitability for 282
transition housing assistance. If an inmate is approved for 283
placement, the specialist shall assist the inmate. If an inmate 284
requests and is approved for placement in a contracted faith-285
based substance abuse transition housing program, the specialist 286
must consult with the chaplain before such placement. The 287
department shall ensure that an inmate's faith orientation, or 288
lack thereof, will not be considered in determining admission to 289
a faith-based program and that the program does not attempt to 290
convert an inmate toward a particular faith or religious 291
preference. 292
Section 5. Section 945.0913, Florida Statutes, is amended 293
to read: 294
945.0913 Inmates prohibited from driving state-owned 295
vehicles to transport inmates in a work-release program; 296
exception.— 297
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), an inmate may 298
not drive a state-owned vehicle for the purpose of transporting 299
inmates who are participating in a work-release program 300

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authorized in s. 945.091(1)(b). 301
(2) An inmate appropriately licensed and trained may 302
operate a state-owned vehicle if he or she is enrolled in or has 303
completed a department-operated or contracted commercial driver 304
license training program. An inmate may only operate a state-305
owned vehicle on department property or other state-owned 306
property specifically designated for commercial driver license 307
training purposes. At least one certified correctional officer 308
must be present during such operation. 309
Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 310