California Assembly Votes to Cut Recidivism with Education!

It's up to the governator now! The California Assembly has passed a bill that would require corrections officials to evaluate inmates' educational and "psychosocial" needs within 90 days of incarceration and create an educational program for each prisoner that could include vocational training and high school equivalency degrees.

Signaling a sharp turn in attitudes about rehabilitating state prisoners, lawmakers Tuesday approved a sweeping new program to give inmates more schooling and job training to better prepare them for release. By the slimmest of margins, the state Assembly endorsed a bill aimed at reducing the huge proportion of ex-convicts who commit new crimes or parole violations and wind up back behind bars. If signed by the governor, the bill would trigger "an unprecedented shift" in the mission of state prisons, an Assembly analysis said.

Shift in Inmate Rehab Signaled (LA Times, registration required)

Apparently, Schwarzenegger doesn't have an opinion on the bill. Please Ah-nuld, do the right thing!