NDCS Education

Program Overview

The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) became a self-operating school district in January 2008 offering educational services to meet individual inmate's needs. The programs include a high school accredited through the Nebraska Department of Education, Adult Basic and Secondary Education (ABE/ASE) including literacy education and General Equivalency Diploma testing to earn a Nebraska High School Diploma, English as a Second Language (ESL), life skills courses, parenting courses, pre-vocational and vocational programming, and correspondence study. Courses are presented in individualized or group format depending upon the need of the inmate student and course content. Inmates are encouraged to pursue educational release when they reach Community Corrections status. Teachers and the principal are all certified through the State of Nebraska; 47% of the teachers hold a master's or higher degree.

All inmates complete personal data regarding their education and complete the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) or the BEST Plus test for ESL students. For inmates who have graduated from high school or have a GED/Nebraska High School Diploma and who give NDCS permission to verify the diploma, the verification process is begun in each facility. Based on the TABE results, students are placed in coursework that meets their needs. At NCYF students are placed in either the high school or ABE/ASE program based upon their age, length of sentence, evaluation of their high school transcripts, and TABE test scores. At all facilities if a student has a diploma but does not score well on the TABE, that student may be placed in literacy programming or, if college is a goal, in courses to better prepare the student for college and college entrance testing. The ABE/ASE program offers coursework in reading, science, social studies, writing (language), and math. Special Education professionals assist students with special learning needs.