Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:59 AM
I just read the CEA-W newsletter article GED Testing in County Jails: When's the Next Test Date?
We are very fortunate at the Rock County Jail.  Our GED Examiner from Blackhawk Technical College administers on-site tests at the jail 2 to 4 times each month!  We usually have about 10 students testing each test date.
Carol Seichter, BTC/Rock County Jail

Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 3:15 PM
I too am very fortunate to have a GED examiner almost on demand at any given time during the course of a month.  The examiner comes once monthly to both jails, (unless of course, I do not have anyone ready for testing on the particular dates I've been given), however my examiner has been known to go to either jail more than the one scheduled monthly time.....just so students do not loose interest on the outside and to keep them motivated to get their education.  The males and female student inmates cannot test together so many times the examiner comes more than once to accommodate both sexes for testing purposes. Just wanted to share the practices of both county jails that I instruct in regarding testing and thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
Jill Knorr, SWTC/Grant and Iowa County Jails

Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 7:06 AM
Currently in Sawyer County, inmates can not test until they are on Huber and then when they are out they have to travel to Rice Lake or to the LAC Courte Oreilles College. Would it possible to have someone that could test at the jail and/or the WITC branch?
Duane Arndt, WITC/Sawyer County Jail

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 6:49 AM
I have been trying to get testing at the Polk County Jail for almost three years now.  The big hang-up seems to be money.  How/Where do you get the funds to pay the examiner to come to the jail?
Becky Peterson, WITC/Polk County Jail

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 8:21 AM
In the NorthCentral Technical College District, we have five county jails and one Tribal jail.  GED/HSED testing is offered most sites (One of the sites sends their GED testers to another county jail to be tested). 
Examiners come weekly to Marathon County Jail and Langlade County Jail; at the other jails, examiners come on an as-needed basis.
Most jails are now paying for the GED/HSED testing; therefore, students are making faster progress towards attaining their GED/HSED.
We are very fortunate to have that kind of support from both the GED Examiners and the jails.
Marianna Ruprecht, NTC/Marathon County Jail

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 8:38 AM
FVTC's chief examiner goes to the jails.  The time that it takes is an issue, though. One jail, Outagamie County, got its own examiner --a staff person there went through the DPI process of getting qualified to be the examiner.  Bob Enghagen at DPI could give you more information on that process (I think it might be rather involved, but may be worth it.)
Carol May, FVTC

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 9:39 AM
Adams County Jail has monthly testing.  In their contract with MSTC, the jail pays for the credential fee and the test fee.  Each jail sells commissary goods to their inmates.  The profit they make is to be used for the good of the inmate population.  At one time, I was even allowed to have the jail purchase books for their small library.  The information about commissary profits was given to me by a jail Captain.
Cheri Ross, MSTC/Adams County Jail

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 10:09 AM
At the Waukesha County Jail the GED examiner is scheduled usually twice monthly--we try to schedule at 8AM so that if we have testers taking more than one test we have enough time to fit it in before they need to return for lunch at 11--most of the time we are scheduling between 8-10 testers at a testing session
Linda Galko WCTC/Waukesha County Jail

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 11:12 AM
Our campus GED examiner will schedule a testing date with me at the Ashland Co. Jail when I have inmates ready to test. As far as the GED test fee goes, many of our inmates are Native American and must apply to the Bad River or Red Cliff Tribal Education Dept to pay the $80 fee. Others usually get the money from a relative/or friend, which is usually a long wait or a determent to taking the tests. It can be discouraging for both the student and me. I am glad to find out about the commissary goods idea but I am sure this is only for those jails that have an actual contract with the college. We don't up here in Ashland because I teach at the jail as part of my personal contracted teaching hours.
Kary Reinerio WITC/Ashland County Jail

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 2:40 PM
It's not the $80 testing fee I'm having trouble with.  Lenore talked with Sandi in New Richmond about getting testing at the Polk County Jail, but it sounds like it isn't going to happen because there are not funds to pay the examiner to come.  Where does that money come from?
Becky Peterson, WITC/Polk County Jail

Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 3:30 PM
We had 57 GED/HSED completions at the Rock County Jail last school year.  Blackhawk Tech's full time examiner comes to the jail as part of her job duties.
Carol Seichter, BTC/Rock County Jail

________Serving State Inmates_______[back to Topics]

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 9:09 AM
Just a question for the group's school district employed staff. After looking over the directory I noticed a variety of options in servicing state inmates.  Can anyone tell me how the decision was made in their county jail as to whether or not they were to service the state inmates?  Is there a legal requirement? Just curious. I don't service them.  No problem. Again, just curious why things are different in different places.
Patti Sawyer, Fond du Lac School District /Fond du Lac County Jail

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 10:57 AM
I'm hired by a public school system as a high school teacher. All students under the age of 21 may receive services; special education student must be serviced. Additional: Students that receive special education services may attend when they are 21 to complete a school year they already started and may also attend summer school of that same school year.
Joy Schuster, Franklin Public Schools/Milwaukee House of Corrections

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:44 AM
Good question. We wonder that as well: however, the county jail personnel told us that we do not serve state inmates. We don't know why.
Harriet Zale, Ozaukee Literacy Council

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:50 AM
Adams does not have State contracted inmates at this time.  Any inmate at our county jail is eligible to attend school.  We have served out-of-county contracted inmates in the past.
Cheri Ross, Adams County Jail  

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 12:15 PM
In the Dane County Jail we serve all school-age youth (basically 14-18.5; up to 21 if there is a current IEP). Students age 17+ are contracted with the new MATC HSED program in our jail when appropriate (if a diploma is not an option and they have demonstrated the requisite skills). We wish we had the GEDO2 option available, but our district administrators have been against any sort of alternative or competency-based diploma. Perhaps with our new superintendent will feel differently?
In regard to state inmates; I think the issue is particular to jails that rent out space to the DOC. That doesn't happen here; as the Dane County Jail is typically overcrowded. I kind of remember speaking to someone about this last year; so it rings a bell (softly). Technically, the state inmates housed in county jail are state prison inmates and the DOC would be responsible if the inmate were housed in prison instead of a spanking new jail with space to rent. I suspect that if one were to seek clarification from DPI, the answer would be that wherever the child lays their head at night is their LEA. (Thayer decision from the late 1800s.) But the custody issue is weird and I simply don't know because it doesn't happen here. 
We do not provide services to inmates here on writs because they're just passing through our facility. So a 15 year old from Ethan Allen in the DCJ on a writ doesn't attend our classes.
Deb Anderson, Madison School District/Dane County Jail

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 2:52 PM
Our contract with the State states we shall offer all programs available to county inmates to the state inmates.  We do not see them as anyone different when we offer programming or any other services
Nancy Larsen, Oneida County Jail

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 2:55 PM
In Milwaukee County, currently we treat our state inmates the same as our county inmates.  However, if resources become an issue, the county inmates will be served first. 
Jan Brylow, Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department/Milwaukee County Jail

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2008 5:04 PM
In Iowa and Grant County, this is not an issue because anytime a state prisoner is housed at the county jails, it is only for a short period of time awaiting their day in the county circuit court system.  The county jails that I teach in have a stay of at least 30 days or more before their request to attend classes can be fulfilled.  There has never been a situation that I am aware of anyway where a state prisoner, housed temporarily in county jail, has been there for 30 days or more.  I sure hope this helps and if any
of this is still not clear as to what I explained, I will be happy to converse about it further
Jill Knorr, SWTC/Iowa and Grant County Jails

Date: Friday, February 15, 2008 1:07 PM
The Manitowoc County Jail has a contract with the DOC to house state inmates for approximately three months at a time. I assume that the contract includes providing education and life skills training. We have served state inmates for the past twelve years. 
Ellyn Bui, LTC/Manitowoc County Jail

Date: Thursday, February 21, 2008 12:52 PM
I don't have proof of this in writing, but my understanding was that when a jail accepted servicing state inmates, providing GED/HSED services was mandatory.  That's how/why we were accepted into some of our County facilities that previously saw no need for our services.
Sue Stein, NTC

Date: Friday, February 22, 2008 5:23 PM
School district teachers are supposed to be providing education towards a competency based diploma or regular diploma for students that would be attending a high school if they were not incarcerated.  (Technical Colleges provide the education for HSED or GED if they are 18 or older and do not qualify for education within the district.)  Special Education students may complete high school courses until the end of the semester of their 21st birthday.
For school age children and young adults-the old federal law stating that where you rest your head at night is your residency-therefore the jail being in the school district area is then their home district.  If it is short term stay, we work with their home district, if its-a longer period then they become a student of our district (treated like a transfer student)
Understand that the funding of state inmates is different with Technical Colleges.  As explained to me by Waukesha WCTC-their funding come from the county community therefore money is to be spent on the community residences only-jail funding doesn't cover the education cost from State.
Danielle Michaels, WCTC/Waukesha County Jail