Sheriff's Office to offer Adult Ed program at St. Landry jail

The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office has started the process of being able to offer an Adult Education Program leading to a high school equivalency diploma for offenders at the parish jail.
Corrections Warden Jesse Martin said, “We are negotiating a partnership with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Office of Re-entry Education to contract a part-time educator to ensure state and federal compliance of our new program.
“The DPS&C will also certify one of our own employees to administer the new ETS-HiSET exam (state-adopted High School Equivalency Exam) on-site, which will give us the ability to offer this exam to offenders who meet the state qualifications for high school equivalency completion.”
Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz said, “By partnering with the DPS&C and meeting federal compliance as a certified Adult Education Program, the cost of the program can be funded through state and federal grant dollars.  The only cost which will be incurred by St. Landry Parish will be the actual HiSET exam fee of $60 per indigent offender.”
“This program will give these offenders the opportunity to earn an education while they pay their debt to society. An offender with an education is more likely to obtain employment upon release, instead of committing more crimes,” Guidroz added.