English as a Second Language Program(ESL) Program

By Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., and Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA

Program Statement	5351.01
Subject	English as a Second Language (ESL) Program
Current edition	June 22, 2026
Change notices	None
Supersedes	Rescinds PS 5350.24, English-as-a-Second-Language Program (ESL) (7/24/1997)
Governing regulation	28 C.F.R. part 544, subpart E — §§ 544.40–544.44
Governing statute	18 U.S.C. § 3624(f) (Crime Control Act of 1990)
Related BP forms	None named in the Program Statement (it refers to an “ESL Program Record,” which carries no BP number)
Official PDF	https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5351_001.pdf

Checked against the BOP policy set · 2026-09-07 · How we verify

Federal law requires prisoners with limited English proficiency to attend an English as a Second Language program until they function at an eighth-grade level, and Program Statement 5351.01 is the Bureau of Prisons’ instruction to staff for running that program. This page explains the rule, reproduces the regulation verbatim, and sets out what the June 2026 reissue actually changed; for what education looks like day to day inside a federal institution, see inmate education levels in the federal system, and for the separate GED-track requirement, see the Literacy Program (GED).

The distinction that matters most on this page: the regulation binds the Bureau; the Program Statement instructs its staff. 28 C.F.R. §§ 544.40–544.44 is the law. PS 5351.01 tells wardens, supervisors of education and teachers how to apply it. When the two are quoted side by side below, the regulation text is what a court reads.

The rule itself: the ESL program

Two provisions carry the weight. The first is § 544.41 — who has to attend, and the four exceptions. PS 5351.01 reproduces it, and it matches the current text on eCFR word for word:

§ 544.41 Applicability: Who must attend the ESL program.

(a) All Federal prisoners who have limited English proficiency skills shall attend an ESL program except:

(1) Pretrial inmates;

(2) Inmates committed for purpose of study and observation under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 4205(c) or, effective November 1, 1987, 18 U.S.C. 3552(b);

(3) Sentenced aliens with a deportation detainer;

(4) Other inmates whom, for documented good cause, the Warden may excuse from attending the ESL program.

(b) Staff shall document in the inmate’s education file the specific reasons for not requiring the inmate to participate in the ESL program.

Reproduced from Program Statement 5351.01 at pp. 3–4, and verified against 28 C.F.R. § 544.41.

The second is the exit door — § 544.42(d), the 240-hour waiver:

(d) Ordinarily, there will be no time limit for completion of the ESL mandatory program. However, after 240 instructional hours of continuous enrollment in an ESL program, excluding sick time, furloughs, and other excused absences from scheduled classes, the Warden shall have the authority to grant a waiver from further program participation. This waiver may be granted when it is determined that the inmate will not benefit from further instruction. Each exemption determination shall be made on an individual basis and shall be supported by documentation.

Reproduced from Program Statement 5351.01 at p. 5, and verified against 28 C.F.R. § 544.42.

Nobody is exempt or waived because a webpage says so. Both routes run through a determination that staff make and write down, and paragraph (b) of § 544.41 is the part people forget: the reason has to be in the education file.

The numbers, in one place

Item	Value	Source
Statutory standard for exit	“the equivalence of the eighth grade on a nationally recognized educational achievement test”	18 U.S.C. § 3624(f)(4)
Regulatory standard for exit	“the equivalence of the eighth grade level in competency skills”	28 C.F.R. § 544.40
Instructional hours before the Warden may waive	240 hours of continuous enrollment, excluding sick time, furloughs and other excused absences	28 C.F.R. § 544.42(d)
Class days	Monday through Friday; enrolled students “must be scheduled for class each weekday”	PS 5351.01 at p. 7
Minimum class session	“a minimum of 90 minutes per day”	PS 5351.01 at p. 7
Exception authority (other than the three direct policy exceptions)	Not delegated below the Associate Warden level	PS 5351.01 at p. 4
Waiver authority after 240 hours	Not delegated below the Associate Warden level	PS 5351.01 at p. 5
Charge for refusing to enroll, participate, or test	Prohibited Act 306 — “Refusing to work or to accept a program assignment” (Moderate Severity)	28 C.F.R. § 541.3; PS 5351.01 at p. 6

The 90-minute figure and the “each weekday” requirement are new in the 2026 edition. They are the most concrete promises in the document, and they are the ones a person who is enrolled but never called to class can actually point to.

What the ESL program means for you

If you are the person inside: when ESL is mandatory

You are in the mandatory ESL program if staff identified you as having limited English proficiency at initial classification, using — in the regulation’s words — “personal interviews and placement testing.” PS 5351.01 tells staff to refer you for placement testing if a translator or interpreter was noted in your Presentence Investigation Report, or if you could not read and understand the information presented at initial classification (p. 4).

Three things follow. First, the program is mandatory in the same sense a work assignment is mandatory: § 544.44 provides that “staff may take disciplinary action against an inmate when that inmate refuses to enroll and participate in, or to meet the minimum requirements of the mandatory ESL program.” The 2026 edition adds that Prohibited Act 306 “includes refusing to participate in the placement, achievement, and certification tests” (PS 5351.01 at p. 6) — refusing the test is now expressly the same charge as refusing the class. Code 306 sits in the Moderate Severity list at 28 C.F.R. § 541.3, which sets out the sanctions a Discipline Hearing Officer may impose; how a particular incident report is resolved is a matter for that proceeding. See the Inmate Discipline Program and inmate discipline proceedings.

Second, ESL is not the literacy program, and the two are scored differently. PS 5351.01 tells staff that a bilingual person who speaks English but is illiterate in both English and their native language “will be placed in the mandatory literacy program” (p. 4), and that ESL participation may be postponed while someone is enrolled in mandatory literacy. Read the Literacy Program (GED) page for that track — this page does not duplicate it.

Third, the certification test is not administered by your teacher. Classroom teachers “may administer ESL placement and achievement tests but may not administer certification level tests” (PS 5351.01 at p. 3). An approved ESL Examiner gives the exit test. The rules for how every one of those tests is handled sit in a separate Program Statement, explained at education tests (PS 5312.01).

If you are the family: two facts worth writing down

The single most useful thing you can do is ask for two facts and write them down: the date of the placement test, and the running total of instructional hours. Those two numbers drive everything else — the 240-hour figure in § 544.42(d) is measured in instructional hours of continuous enrollment, not in months served, and it excludes sick time, furloughs and excused absences.

The second useful thing is to understand what the mandatory status touches and what it does not. ESL status does not, by itself, change a release date. Good conduct time turns on a different requirement: 28 C.F.R. § 523.20 ties the 54-day-versus-42-day rate to whether a person “has earned or is making satisfactory progress toward earning a high school diploma, equivalent degree, or Bureau-authorized alternative program credit.” That regulation does not mention ESL. The connection runs indirectly: PS 5351.01 provides that a person sanctioned while taking ESL in lieu of the literacy program “will be deemed to be making unsatisfactory progress in the literacy program” (p. 6). That is the link worth understanding, and it is worth asking a professional about rather than guessing at. See good conduct time.

If you are counsel: the ESL program

Three points are worth a paragraph in a designation memo, a habeas petition, or an administrative remedy.

The Program Statement is not the regulation, and the difference is visible in this document. PS 5351.01 sets the regulation of 28 C.F.R. part 544 in one typeface and its own implementing instruction in another, and the header line on every page says so. The 90-minute class minimum, the weekday-scheduling requirement, the Associate Warden floor on delegation and the referral triggers are all instruction, not regulation — a distinction that matters when the question is what a court can enforce.

The statutory quotation in the Program Statement is not exact. At p. 2 the document quotes 18 U.S.C. § 3624(f)(4)–(5) and renders (f)(5) as “The Warden of each institution shall have authority to grant waivers for good cause.” The statute says “The Chief Executive Officer of each institution.” In Bureau practice the warden is the chief executive officer of an institution, so nothing turns on it operationally — but if you are quoting the statute, quote the statute.

And § 544.41(a)(2) still routes through 18 U.S.C. 4205(c), a provision repealed for offenses committed on or after November 1, 1987. The regulation carries its own bridge — “or, effective November 1, 1987, 18 U.S.C. 3552(b)” — so the exception still functions; it simply reads like a fossil.

Applied Insight — Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA, Managing Director: When we look at an ESL problem, the first thing we ask for is the education file, not the policy. Section 544.41(b) requires staff to write down the specific reason a person is not required to participate, and § 544.42(d) requires documentation supporting a waiver — attendance records, classroom observation notes, progress tracking and test scores. Where the paper is thin, the argument writes itself; where the paper is complete, we know that before anyone files anything.

What changed on 22 June 2026

PS 5351.01 was issued on June 22, 2026 as part of a mass reissue in which the Bureau replaced twenty-three Program Statements on a single day. It rescinds PS 5350.24, English-as-a-Second-Language Program (ESL), which had been in force since July 24, 1997 — twenty-nine years. No competitor page reflects this yet.

The Bureau’s own Summary of Changes, at PS 5351.01 p. 1, lists seven changes. Set against the text of the retired edition, they come out like this:

Subject	PS 5350.24 (1997)	PS 5351.01 (2026)
Title	“English-as-a-Second-Language Program (ESL)”	“English as a Second Language (ESL) Program”
Which test	CASAS was the sole instrument, named throughout	CASAS replaced “as the sole source for ESL tests with an Education Services Branch approved list of tests”
Exit score	A score of 225 on the CASAS Level C Reading Certification test and 215 on Level B or C of the Listening Comprehension test	The eighth-grade level “as determined by the test publisher’s scoring and competency measurements” — no score printed in the policy
Minimum daily instruction	“Ordinarily, a ‘day’ in a mandatory program such as ESL is a minimum of two instructional hours”	“Each ESL class session will meet a minimum of 90 minutes per day,” and enrolled students “must be scheduled for class each weekday”
Cash incentives	Institutions “shall establish a system of appropriate awards (e.g., cash awards, certificates, dictionaries)”	Cash incentives removed; monetary incentives referred to the First Step Act Assessments, Programming, and Incentives Program Statement. Non-monetary examples are now “pencils, pens, journals, and ‘Student of the Month’ or ‘Perfect Attendance’ awards”
Refusing the test	Not addressed	Prohibited Act 306 expressly “includes refusing to participate in the placement, achievement, and certification tests”
First Step Act	Predates it	References added throughout, including to the time-credits Program Statement
Exceptions	Four exceptions, undifferentiated	The first three are now labeled “direct policy exceptions” for which “no other approval authority is required”
Record system	SENTRY named repeatedly, with transaction codes printed in the policy	Named system and codes removed; staff directed to the Education Services Branch page of the Bureau’s intranet

Two of those are worth pausing on.

The exit score left the document. Under the 1997 edition a person could read the policy and know the number they had to hit. Under the 2026 edition the standard is still the eighth-grade equivalence set by § 544.40 and 18 U.S.C. § 3624(f)(4), but the cut score now lives with the test publisher and on an internal Bureau page. If you want to know what score you need, you now have to ask; you cannot look it up.

The daily minimum went down and the weekly obligation went up. Two instructional hours per day became ninety minutes per day — but the 2026 edition adds that enrolled students “must be scheduled for class each weekday,” which the 1997 edition did not say. A week that would have run ten hours under the old rule runs seven and a half under the new one, with an explicit five-day scheduling obligation attached.

Where people get stuck over ESL and detainers

“I have a detainer, so I was told I don’t have to go — then I got a program assignment anyway.” The third exception in § 544.41(a) is “sentenced aliens with a deportation detainer.” PS 5351.01 narrows how staff apply it: a sentenced deportable person “is not mandated to participate in the ESL program if they are assigned a Public Safety Factor ‘H’ status of ‘Alien’ or are under a final order of deportation, exclusion or removal legally enforceable by” ICE (p. 3). A detainer and a final order are not the same thing, and a PSF assignment is a designation decision, not an education decision. If the two records disagree, the fix runs through the designation record first — see security designation and custody classification — and then through a written request to Education. Route: cop-out to the Supervisor of Education, then BP-8 informal resolution, then BP-9 to the warden, BP-10 to the region, BP-11 to the Office of National Inmate Appeals (Administrative Remedy Program).

“I have been enrolled for years but nobody can tell me my hours.” This is the most common ESL dispute and it is a records problem, not a policy dispute. The 240-hour threshold in § 544.42(d) is only meaningful if attendance is being recorded, and PS 5351.01 puts that duty on the ESL Coordinator or classroom teacher (p. 5). Ask, in writing, for the recorded instructional hours and the dates of every placement, achievement and certification test. A written request creates the paper trail the later steps need. Route: cop-out → BP-8 → BP-9.

“They keep testing me and I keep failing, and nothing changes.” Section 544.42(d) contemplates exactly this and gives the Warden authority to waive further participation after 240 hours “when it is determined that the inmate will not benefit from further instruction.” PS 5351.01 tells staff that the supporting documentation may include “a documented disability preventing the inmate from achieving a passing score on an approved test” (p. 5). If a learning disability, a vision or hearing impairment, or another disability is in play, that is a separate policy track: see management of inmates with disabilities. No one can tell you whether a waiver will be granted — the regulation makes it discretionary and individual. What you can do is make sure the file contains the facts a decision-maker would need.

“I refused the test and got a shot.” Under the 2026 edition that is expressly Prohibited Act 306. It is a Moderate Severity charge under § 541.3, the incident report has to be written in accordance with the Inmate Discipline Program, and the sanctions available at that severity level include disallowance of good conduct time and forfeiture of earned First Step Act time credits. If the underlying issue is that the program was never actually offered — no class, no schedule, no examiner — that is a defense to raise at the hearing and in the record, not after.

Related BOP policy on the ESL program

• Education, training and leisure-time program standards — the umbrella Program Statement PS 5351.01 defers to for scheduling and records
• Literacy Program (GED) — the separate mandatory track, and the one tied to good conduct time
• Education tests (PS 5312.01) — how every placement, achievement and certification test in this policy is administered
• Postsecondary education and career and technical education — what comes after the mandatory programs
• Management of inmates with disabilities — testing accommodations and learning support needs
• Pretrial inmates — the first exception in § 544.41(a)
• First Step Act assessments, programming and incentives — where the monetary incentives went
• Inmate education levels in the federal system — the day-to-day picture
• What prison education does to recidivism — the research base
• Correspondence programs, including GED and high school — study routes that do not depend on the institution’s schedule
• The Bureau of Prisons policy library — every Program Statement we have mapped

Frequently Asked Questions About the ESL Program

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Program Statement 5351.01 — full text

The text below is the Bureau of Prisons’ own. Program Statement 5351.01 is reproduced here in full from the PDF the agency publishes: bop.gov/policy/progstat/5351_001.pdf. Wording and spelling are the Bureau’s.

5351.01 6/22/2026 Federal Regulations from 28 CFR: this type. Implementing instructions: this type. 1 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Federal Bureau of Prisons PROGRAM STATEMENT English as a Second Language (ESL) Program Approved by W illiam K. Marshall III Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons DPI RSD Number 5351.01 Date June 22, 2026 Summary of Changes Program Statement Rescinded:

• 5350.24 English-as -a-Second-Language Program (ESL) (7/24/1997) Changes:
• Changes Program Statement title from “English-as-a-Second-Language Program (ESL)” to “English as a Second Language (ESL) Program.”
• Replaces Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) as the sole source for ESL tests with an Education Services Branch approved list of tests.
• Adds language to clarify direct policy exceptions.
• Updates minimum ESL program hours.
• Adds references regarding the First Step Act (FSA) of 2018.
• Removes cash incentives and refers to the Program Statement First Step Act Assessments, Programming, and Incentives for related guidance.
• Removes specific references to a Bureau inmate management system and related codes. Education staff must now refer to the Education Services Branch page of the Bureau’s intranet site for guidance regarding this system and required education codes. 1. § 544.40 Purpose and scope. P ursuant to the Crime Control Act of 1990 (18 U.S.C. 3624(f)), limited English proficient inmates confined in Federal Bureau of Prisons institutions are required to attend an English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) program until they function at the equivalence of the eighth grade level in competency skills. Waivers to this requirement may be granted by the Warden in accordance with §§ 544.41 and 544.42. Th is program statement applies to inmates identified as having Limited English Proficiency

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(LEP) skills as defined in Section 3 of this program statement.

The Crime Control Act of 1990, codified in 18 U.S.C. § 3624(f)(4) and (5), states, “Non-English speaking inmates shall be required to participate in an English-As-A-Second-Language program until they function at the equivalence of the eighth grade on a nationally recognized educational achievement test. The Warden of each institution shall have authority to grant waivers for good cause as determined and documented on an individual basis.”

Except as provided in Section 3 of this program statement, each inmate identified as having LEP skills is required to complete one mandatory period of English as a Second Language (ESL) program participation during their confinement. The mandatory period ends when the inmate has achieved the eighth-grade English proficiency level on the ESB approved educational assessment as determined by the test publisher’s scoring and competency measurements.

a. Program Objectives.

• Identify inmates who have LEP skills.
• Ensure inmates who have LEP skills have the opportunity to achieve English proficiency.

b. Institution Supplement. None.

2. AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES

The following Bureau components are responsible for establishing, maintaining, and providing resources to ESL programs to ensure inmates have the opportunity to achieve English proficiency .

a. Education Services Branch (ESB). The ESB is the agency’s primary source for all literacy

programs and services including instructional practices, approving assessments, and management of the ESL program. The ESB will develop education policies and procedures and provide professional development to all Bureau Education staff including the training of ESL Examiners. The ESB monitors and reports program performance and outcomes to internal and external stakeholders.

b. Regional Office. Regional Education Administrators (REA) will support the ESB by

providing guidance, updates, resources, and professional development to Education staff within their regions. REAs will ensure institutions in their regions adhere to education policies and procedures and provide reports and updates to the ESB.

c. Institutions. Wardens will ensure the Education Department is appropriately staffed to

provide ESL programs and ensure inmates have access to programs and services.

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The Supervisor of Education (SOE) will provide support , guidance, updates, resources , and professional development for Education staff. The SOE will serve as the ESL Chief Examiner and will designate at least one Education Department staff member as an ESL Examiner. Examiners are authorized by the ESB Test Administrator(s) to administer educational tests. Examiners responsibilities include managing the administration of various educational tests, managing testing sessions, ensuring compliance with testing standards and procedures, recommending examiners, reviewing test results, resolving any issues related to test administration, and conducting monthly inventories of certification tests. They are also responsible for developing a plan outlining the test procedures and security measures as required by the test publisher and ESB. Overall, the Chief Examiner maintains the integrity and effectiveness of the educational testing program.

The classroom teacher serves as a general education teacher and will monitor and evaluate inmate performance and progress in preparation for the program certification test. Classroom teachers may administer ESL placement and achievement tests but may not administer certification level tests.

3. § 544.41 Applicability: Who must attend the ESL program. (a) All Federal prisoners who have limited English proficiency skills shall attend an ESL program except: (1) Pretrial inmates; Institutions will refer to the Program Statement Pretrial Inmates for guidance regarding pretrial inmate participation and access to education programs. (2) Inmates committed for purpose of study and observation under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 4205(c) or, effective November 1, 1987, 18 U.S.C. 3552(b); (3) Sentenced aliens with a deportation detainer; Sentenced deportable aliens are not mandated to participate in the ESL program if they are assigned a Public Safety Factor “H” status of “Alien” or are under a final order of deportation, exclusion or removal legally enforceable by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). See the Program Statement Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification for more information about Public Safety Factor “H” status of “Alien.”

The above exceptions in Section 3 of this program statement and in § 544.41(a)(1), for pretrial inmates, (2) for inmates committed for study and observation, and (3) sentenced deportable aliens are “direct policy exceptions” and no other approval authority is required.

(4) Other inmates whom, for documented good cause, the Warden may excuse from

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attending the ESL program.

The Warden may excuse other inmates for documented good cause. Good cause excuses will be limited to reasons which are deemed by the Warden to be outside of the inmate’s control, or which affect the orderly running of the institution.

(b) Staff shall document in the inmate’s education file the specific reasons for not requiring the inmate to participate in the ESL program.

Except for direct policy exceptions, the Warden will not delegate ESL program exception authority below the Associate Warden level. The exception justification will be documented in the applicable Bureau inmate management system in accordance with the guidance provided on the ESB page of the Bureau’s intranet site.

Inmates not required to enroll in the mandatory ESL program may participate if they choose to and with the SOE’s approval. If classroom space and resources are limited, priority enrollment will be given to mandatory inmates.

4. ESL PROGRAM PLACEMENT, ACHIEVEMENT, AND CERTIFICATION TESTS

Institutions must refer to the Program Statement Minimum Standards for Administration, Interpretation, and Use of Education Tests for testing requirements.

5. § 544.42 Procedures.

(a) The Warden at each federal institution shall ensure that inmates who at their initial classification are found to be limited English proficient are enrolled in the ESL program. Determination of limited English proficiency is made by staff on the basis of personal interviews and placement testing.

LEP inmates will be referred to the Education department for placement testing if use of a translator/interpreter is noted in the Presentence Investigation Report and/or inability to read and understand information presents at initial classification.

An inmate’s ability to understand and read English during the initial Education interview will determine whether to administer the approved Bureau ESL placement test.

Bilingual inmates who speak the English language, but who are illiterate in their native language and in the English language will be placed in the mandatory literacy program.

(b) An inmate who returns to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on a new sentence or as a parole violator, and who has not achieved or is unable to demonstrate verified achievement of the eighth

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grade level, must provide verification or enroll in the ESL program until that inmate achieves such a grade or is granted a waiver for cause.

Achievement of the eighth-grade level is measured by using the approved Bureau ESL certification test.

(c) The Warden or designee shall assign to an education staff member the responsibility to coordinate the institution’s ESL program. The ESL coordinator or designee shall meet with the inmate for the purpose of enrolling the inmate in the ESL program. The ESL coordinator shall be responsible for the completion of the official ESL Program Record, and shall place it in the inmate’s education file.

The SOE will delegate an ESL Coordinator. The ESL coordinator or classroom teacher will administer and record the initial placement and achievement test scores as well as the dates of participation in the ESL program in the Bureau’s inmate management system in accordance with the guidance provided on the ESB page of the Bureau’s intranet site. An approved ESL Examiner will administer the ESL certification test. The ESL Coordinator and/or classroom teacher will enter certification scores and if appropriate, update the inmate’s status in the program to complete, as well as enter any other applicable education data information in the Bureau inmate management system. Suspicion or confirmed compromise of any ESL certification test will be reported immediately to the REA and ESB.

(d) Ordinarily, there will be no time limit for completion of the ESL mandatory program. However, after 240 instructional hours of continuous enrollment in an ESL program, excluding sick time, furloughs, and other excused absences from scheduled classes, the Warden shall have the authority to grant a waiver from further program participation. This waiver may be granted when it is determined that the inmate will not benefit from further instruction. Each exemption determination shall be made on an individual basis and shall be supported by documentation.

The authority to waive inmates from further participation in the ESL program will not be delegated below the Associate Warden level. A waiver under this section refers to inmates continuously enrolled in the ESL program for at least 240 hours as opposed to those who may be excepted or excused from mandatory enrollment under Section 3 of this program statement. However, an inmate who meets the requirements of an exception or is excused from mandatory enrollment under Section 3 does not require a waiver under this section to voluntarily withdraw from the program. Requests for exemptions will be directed to the Warden or designee after recommendation from the ESL teacher and SOE approval. Documentation supporting a waiver will consist of attendance records, classroom observation notes, individual progress tracking, and test scores or a documented disability preventing the inmate from achieving a passing score on an approved test. A waiver will be granted only after

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all efforts have been made to achieve program completion.

The SOE or designee will document in the Bureau inmate management system the specific reasons for not requiring the inmate to enroll or continue in the ESL program.

Inmates may need to be placed in the ESL program in lieu of the literacy program for instructional, programming, or administrative reasons. Likewise, participation in the mandatory ESL program may be postponed while the inmate is enrolled in the mandatory literacy program at the SOE’s discretion.

6. PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

§ 544.43 Incentives.

The Warden or designee shall establish a system of incentives to encourage an inmate to meet the mandatory ESL program requirements.

Each institution will refer to the Program Statement First Step Act Assessments, Programming, and Incentives for guidance regarding monetary incentives for inmates participating in and completing the ESL program. Non-monetary incentives may also be offered including pencils, pens, journals, and “Student of the Month” or “Perfect Attendance” awards, in an effort to encourage continued participation in the ESL program.

7. PROGRAM VIOLATIONS

§544.44. Disciplinary action.

As with any other mandatory programs, such as work assignments, staff may take disciplinary action against an inmate when that inmate refuses to enroll and participate in, or to meet the minimum requirements of the mandatory ESL program.

If a mandatory (non-exempt, non-excused, non-waived) inmate refuses to enroll, participate in, or to meet the minimum requirements of the mandatory ESL program, the inmate will be charged with Prohibited Act 306, Refusing to Work or Accept a Program Assignment, as well as any other appropriate prohibited act. Prohibited Act 306, Refusing to Work or Accept a Program Assignment, includes refusing to participate in the placement, achievement, and certification tests as described in Section 4 of this program statement. Incident reports must be written in accordance with the Program Statement Inmate Discipline Program.

Inmates sanctioned as above while participating in the ESL program in lieu of the literacy program will be deemed to be making unsatisfactory progress in the literacy program and may be subject to the provisions under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (VCCLEA)

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of 1994, the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) of 1995, or other applicable laws such as the First Step Act (FSA) of 2018. Refer to Program Statements Literacy Program and First Step Act of 2018 – Time Credits: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d) for information on the potential impact of this unsatisfactory program status.

8. ESL CLASS SCHEDULE

ESL classes will be scheduled Monday through Friday. Students enrolled in the ESL program must be scheduled for class each weekday. Each ESL class session will meet a minimum of 90 minutes per day. When possible, the ESL program should operate during daytime hours; however, if the Warden determines a daytime ESL program would adversely affect other institution programs (e.g., work assignments), it can be offered in the evening in accordance with the Program Statement Education, Training and Leisure Time Program Standards.

To support ESL program fidelity and encourage direct classroom instruction, it is recommended instructional staff do not provide weekend coverage or work compressed schedules.

9. TRANSFERS

An inmate who transfers to another institution prior to completing the mandatory ESL program is expected to complete the program at the new institution. The sending institution will ensure all test scores, current diagnostic test results, class attendance time, and related data are recorded in the applicable Bureau inmate management system.

10. PROGRAM MONITORING REQUIRMENTS

Education staff will refer to the ESB page of the Bureau’s intranet site for guidance regarding program monitoring requirements and the appropriate education transaction codes utilized for documentation in the applicable Bureau inmate management system.

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REFERENCES

Program Statements Education, Training, and Leisure Time Program Standards First Step Act Assessments, Programming, and Incentives First Step Act of 2018 – Time Credits: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4) Inmate Discipline Program Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification Management of Inmates With Disabilities Minimum Standards for Administration, Interpretation, and Use of Education Tests Pretrial Inmates Unit Management and Inmate Program Review

Federal Statutes 18 U.S.C. § 3624(f) (Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1990)

Federal Regulations 28 CFR 544.40-44 28 CFR 523.20-44

ACA Standards Performance-Based Standards and Expected Practices for Adult Correctional Institutions (5th Edition): 5-ACI-3C-03, 5-ACI-3D-04, 5-ACI-4B-27, 5-ACI-5E-02, 5-ACI-5E-03, 5-ACI-7A- 01, 5-ACI-7A-02, 5-ACI-7B-01, 5-ACI-7B-09, 5-ACI-7B-10.

Performance-Based Standards and Expected Practices for Adult Local Detention Facilities (5th Edition): 5 -ALDF-2A-25, 5-ALDF-2A-26, 5-ALDF-5A-09, 5-ALDF-5C-06

Standards for the Administration of Correctional Agencies, 2nd Edition: 2-CO-5B-01

Records Retention Requirements Requirements and retention guidance for records and information applicable to this program are available in the Records and Information Disposition Schedule (RIDS) on the Bureau’s intranet site.

Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026