BILL REQ. #:  S-3991.1 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to offender education; and adding new sections to chapter 72.09 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) As a component of basic academic skills education, the department shall create, by rule, a program to provide offenders who are United States citizens with the opportunity to participate in programs designed to educate offenders on American citizenship and civil rights. The program shall include, but not be limited to, the following topics:
     (a) Responsible citizenship;
     (b) Rights lost to felony offenders and restoration, including gun ownership and possession;
     (c) Voting laws and felony voting rights restoration;
     (d) Legal financial obligations;
     (e) Sex offender registration and community notification; and
     (f) Civic participation, including participation in local, state, and federal government processes, school boards, neighborhood organizations, and nonprofit or volunteer organizations.
     (2) Upon satisfactory completion of a program, the department shall issue a certificate of completion to an offender.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall provide to offenders, before release into the community, information regarding community service providers that provide educational services to offenders.
     (2) The department shall work in collaboration with community service providers that provide educational services to offenders to develop a standard curriculum for education of offenders released into the community.