WHEREAS, There are serious questions about quality of
curricula used in juvenile and adult correctional facilities and
whether the curricula is aligned to Pennsylvania Core Standards;
and
WHEREAS, Continuity of instruction is often compromised by
disruptions due to institutional activities and routines within
the correctional facility; and
WHEREAS, Placement in a juvenile justice facility is a
turning point for many youth and without appropriate programming
and coordination, too many youths fall behind while in custody;
and
WHEREAS, In 2012, the United States Department of Education
hosted a correctional education summit at which recommendations
were made for the Federal Government to address the quality of
education provided to children and youth in juvenile and adult
correctional facilities at the state level; and
WHEREAS, The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (Public Law
114-95, 129 Stat. 1802) establishes broad goals related to
delinquent youth, including improving education services to
provide the opportunity to meet state academic standards,
improving youth transition from institutionalization to further
schooling or employment, preventing dropout of youth and
providing young people returning from correctional facilities or
institutions for neglected and delinquent children and youth
with reentry support; and
WHEREAS, Education services can take many different forms,
including alternative schools for disruptive youth or GED only
programs as there are no uniform provisions of education
services within placement facilities and programs through
intermediate units, private facilities and school districts; and
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