(a) The commissioner shall maintain an educational program within the state prison system to assist inmates in achieving at least a fifth-grade level on standardized reading tests. Inmates who test below the fifth-grade level and who have been sentenced to incarceration for a period of one year or longer shall be required by institutional staff to attend appropriate classes until they attain this level or until they are released from incarceration, whichever event occurs first; provided, however, that inmates who have remained in the educational program for 90 school days may voluntarily withdraw thereafter. The commissioner or his designee shall have the discretion to exclude certain inmates from the provisions of this subsection due to the inability of such inmates to benefit from an educational program for reasons which may include: custody status, particularly of those inmates under a death sentence; mental handicap or physical illness; participation in a boot camp program; or possession of a general education diploma or high school diploma. The State Board of Pardons and Paroles shall incorporate satisfactory participation in such an educational program into the parole guidelines adopted pursuant to Code Section 42-9-40.
(b) For the purposes of this Code section, educational programming shall not apply to inmates who:
(1) Have been sentenced to death;
(2) Have attained 50 years of age; or
(3) Have serious learning disabilities.
(c) The commissioner shall provide additional educational programs in which inmates can voluntarily participate to further their education beyond the fifth-grade level.
(d) The commissioner shall utilize available services and programs within the Department of Education, and the Department of Education shall cooperate with the commissioner in the establishment of educational programs and the testing of inmates as required in this Code section.
(e) The commissioner shall be authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this Code section.
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