DOJ works to improve education at juvenile detention centers

The Department of Justice is trying to improve education in juvenile detention centers.  

Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released the Correctional Education Guidance Package on Tuesday. 

The 33-page document details five guiding principals for providing high-quality education. They include creating a safe and healthy learning environment, acquiring necessary funding for educational opportunities, recruiting qualified educators, drafting curricula that meets state academic standards and creating processes and procedures to help incarcerated youth make smooth transitions back into society.

“In this great country, all children deserve equal access to a high-quality public education – and this is no less true for children in the juvenile justice system,” Holder said. 

“At the Department of Justice, we are working tirelessly to ensure that every young person who’s involved in the system retains access to the quality education they need to rebuild their lives and reclaim their futures.”

Education has been identified as a way to reduce recidivism. Duncan said a rigorous coursework helps students successfully transition out federal facilities and back into classrooms or the workforce. 

The guidance package builds on the recommendations from the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force report released in May. 

“When young people come into contact with the criminal or juvenile justice systems, we must ensure that these interactions do not occur unnecessarily and do not get them off track for life,” the report said. “We should promote successful alternatives to incarceration, continue to address inappropriate referrals and enforce the rights of incarcerated youth to a quality education.”