INCARCERATED-DISABILITIES

Full Bill Text

HB1810 Enrolled LRB104 08077 RLC 18123 b 1 AN ACT concerning incarcerated individuals with 2 intellectual or developmental disabilities. 3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 4 represented in the General Assembly: 5 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 6 Equitable Access to Education, Employment, and Training for 7 Incarcerated Individuals with Disabilities Act. 8 Section 5. Findings and purpose. 9 (a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that: 10 (1) Individuals with an intellectual disability or a 11 developmental disability face systemic barriers to 12 accessing educational programs, work assignments, and 13 vocational programs in correctional settings. 14 (2) Required standardized assessments, such as the 15 Test of Adult Basic Education, do not adequately 16 accommodate the unique cognitive and learning needs of 17 individuals with an intellectual disability or a 18 developmental disability. 19 (3) Exclusion from such programs undermines 20 rehabilitation efforts, increases recidivism rates, and 21 violates equity and inclusion principles. 22 (4) Tailored accommodations, including the Test of 23 Adult Basic Education waiver, are essential for compliance HB1810 Enrolled - 2 - LRB104 08077 RLC 18123 b 1 with federal laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities 2 Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 3 (5) The requirement to meet the Test of Adult Basic 4 Education standards unfairly denies individuals who are 5 incarcerated and have an intellectual disability or a 6 developmental disability the opportunity to earn program 7 sentence credit, also referred to as "good time served", 8 on the same terms as their peers, further exacerbating 9 inequities in rehabilitation outcomes. 10 (b) Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to mandate 11 equitable access to work, educational, or vocational 12 assignments for incarcerated individuals with an intellectual 13 disability or a developmental disability by: 14 (1) Establishing a waiver for the Test of Adult Basic 15 Education requirement, its successor, or any similar 16 examination used to measure academic achievement, to 17 ensure that incarcerated individuals with an intellectual 18 disability or developmental disability can qualify for 19 participation in educational and vocational programs 20 offering earned program sentence credit. 21 (2) Ensuring that incarcerated individuals with an 22 intellectual disability or a developmental disability have 23 equal access to earned program sentence credit 24 opportunities through participation in educational 25 programs, work assignments, and vocational programs. 26 (3) Participation in programs remains subject to HB1810 Enrolled - 3 - LRB104 08077 RLC 18123 b 1 facility availability, waitlists, security 2 classification, release timing, and other operational 3 placement criteria. 4 Section 10. Definitions. In this Act: 5 "Department" means the Department of Corrections. 6 "Developmental disability" has the meaning ascribed to the 7 term in Section 1-106 of the Mental Health and Developmental 8 Disabilities Code. 9 "Intellectual disability" has the meaning ascribed to the 10 term in Section 1-116 of the Mental Health and Developmental 11 Disabilities Code. 12 "Program" means behavioral modification, life skills, 13 reentry planning, Correctional Industries, substance use, 14 educational, career and technical education, self-improvement, 15 vocational, clinical service, approved volunteer activities, 16 or work assignments. 17 Section 15. Reasonable accommodations; Test of Adult Basic 18 Education waiver. 19 (a) When an incarcerated individual discloses that the 20 incarcerated individual has an intellectual disability or a 21 developmental disability and provides documentation verifying 22 such disability, the incarcerated individual shall be eligible 23 for a waiver of any requirement to take or receive a passing 24 score on the Test of Adult Basic Education, or any successor HB1810 Enrolled - 4 - LRB104 08077 RLC 18123 b 1 examination used to determine access to educational, 2 employment, or vocational programs. 3 (b) Documentation verifying an intellectual disability or 4 a developmental disability may include, but is not limited to: 5 (1) a prior Individualized Education Program (IEP); 6 (2) documentation of eligibility for developmental 7 disability services; 8 (3) a psychological or neuropsychological evaluation; 9 or 10 (4) documentation from the Department of Human 11 Services or a community provider. 12 If verifying documentation is unavailable, the Department may 13 use available records to review submitted information. 14 (c) The incarcerated individual shall be responsible for 15 submitting documentation verifying an intellectual disability 16 or developmental disability. The Department shall provide 17 notice of acceptable forms of documentation and instructions 18 for submission. 19 (d) The Department shall establish multiple pathways for 20 disclosure and collection of information verifying an 21 intellectual disability or a developmental disability 22 including, but not limited to: 23 (1) during intake and classification; 24 (2) during intake from a county jail or mental health 25 facility; 26 (3) during the process of receiving an individual who HB1810 Enrolled - 5 - LRB104 08077 RLC 18123 b 1 is transferred from the Department of Juvenile Justice, 2 another State agency or a State-operated facility; 3 (4) at the time of requesting access to educational, 4 employment, or vocational programs; or 5 (5) during re-entry planning. 6 (e) Upon disclosure, the Department shall provide written 7 and verbal notice to the individual explaining: 8 (1) the availability of a Test of Adult Basic 9 Education waiver; 10 (2) the verification process; and 11 (3) the impact of a waiver on eligibility for programs 12 and earned program sentence credit. 13 (f) At the parent facility, the determination of a waiver 14 request must be made within 60 days after the request is 15 submitted. 16 (g) Participation in these programs through the Test of 17 Adult Basic Education waiver and other reasonable 18 accommodations shall qualify individuals with an intellectual 19 disability or a developmental disability to earn earned 20 program sentence credit, consistent with opportunities 21 provided to other incarcerated individuals. 22 Section 20. Informational materials. 23 (a) The Department shall develop, in collaboration with 24 the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities and other 25 disability organizations in Illinois, accessible informational HB1810 Enrolled - 6 - LRB104 08077 RLC 18123 b 1 materials written in plain English, Spanish, and other 2 languages appropriate to reach the population of incarcerated 3 individuals explaining: 4 (1) the availability of accommodations and waivers 5 under this Act; 6 (2) how to disclose a disability; 7 (3) how to submit documentation to verify an 8 intellectual disability or developmental disability; and 9 (4) grievance rights if access is denied. 10 (b) Informational materials shall be made available to 11 incarcerated individuals through intake, program access, 12 re-entry planning, and other disclosure pathways established 13 under this Act. 14 (c) Informational materials shall be available in 15 alternative formats upon request, including large print and 16 audio. 17 Section 25. Staff training and education. 18 (a) Department staff, including educational personnel, may 19 receive annual training on providing accommodations and 20 supports and for administering optional vocational interest 21 and skills questionnaires used solely to support placement 22 into existing programs after waiver approval. 23 (b) To facilitate staff training and education the 24 Department shall develop: 25 (1) standardized disability disclosure procedures; HB1810 Enrolled - 7 - LRB104 08077 RLC 18123 b 1 (2) verification and documentation review protocols; 2 (3) training modules for intake, educational, mental 3 health and re-entry staff; and 4 (4) data collection procedures to track waiver 5 requests, approvals, denials, and outcomes. 6 Section 30. Compliance and enforcement. 7 (a) The Department shall ensure compliance with federal 8 disability laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act 9 of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, through the 10 implementation of this Act. 11 (b) Individuals with an intellectual disability or a 12 developmental disability who are denied access to programs or 13 accommodations under this Act may file a grievance through the 14 Department's established grievance procedures. 15 (c) No later than March 31 of each year beginning on March 16 31, 2028, the Department shall report the following aggregate 17 data to the Governor and the General Assembly for the previous 18 fiscal year: 19 (1) the number of individuals identified through the 20 pathways in subsection (d) of Section 15; 21 (2) the number of waiver requests received; 22 (3) the number of waivers approved and denied; 23 (4) the number of individuals with a documented 24 intellectual disability or developmental disability who 25 received a waiver and participated in programs; HB1810 Enrolled - 8 - LRB104 08077 RLC 18123 b 1 (5) the number of individuals with a documented 2 intellectual disability or developmental disability who 3 received a waiver but did not participate in programs; and 4 (6) the earned program sentence credit outcomes for 5 individuals receiving waivers. 6 Section 35. Applicability. Nothing in this Act shall be 7 construed to apply to or affect adult education or any program 8 administered or approved by the Illinois Community College 9 Board within facilities of the Department of Corrections. 10 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 11 becoming law.