Admission to LCHC

Academic Associate Programs

In order for an offender to participate in the college programs, he must meet the following criteria as established by TDCJ-ID.

This eligibility criterion shall be met by the certification date for each class.

The offender shall have a verified high school diploma, GED certificate, or at least nine (9) hours of transferable academic college credit from an accredited institution. Offenders who claim college but cannot provide WSD with an official transcript shall be ineligible to participate.

Offenders must not have a major disciplinary conviction for six (6) months from the hearing date. For re-enrollment the six (6) months is effective as of the class certification date.

Offenders assigned to prisons shall be at least G3/P3 custody and line class I status, or G4 custody with the Warden’s written approval.

Offenders assigned to State Jail Facilities shall be at least G4/J4 custody and line class I status.

Offenders assigned to Substance Abuse Felony Punishment (SAFPF) in Prison Therapeutic Community facilities shall have the appropriate custody level as determined by the facility.

Offenders that receive a reduction in time earning status, custody level or conviction of a major case after the course certification date shall not be dropped from class unless required by the Warden, Unit Classification Committee or Principal.

The offender’s projected release or maximum expiration date shall be later than the end of the semester in which the offender shall be enrolled. If space is limited, offenders with sufficient time remaining to complete the course and the least amount of time remaining before earliest possible release shall be given priority for enrollment.

Offenders with a parole approval date (FI/FIR) shall participate only at the discretion of the regional Community Education Coordinator.

If the offender’s voted parole calculated date is the same as the maximum expiration date, and a SA is listed on the parole action computer screen this indicates a “serve All.” Offenders with a “Serve All” status shall be considered ineligible for State reimbursement; all costs shall be paid through TDCJ I-25, or direct payment to the college, scholarships, Hazelwood, or Youthful Offender Grant.

Sex offenders who are identified as having a high or moderate risk level, and who are within two (2) years of release shall not be enrolled, nor be considered for transfer to such programs unless they are already assigned to a unit that offers the Sex Offender Treatment Program (Hightower, Goree, Hilltop). The only exception would be sex offenders with a high or moderate risk level and an Individual Treatment Plan (ITP) participation code that would make them ineligible on their SOTP or Sex Offender Education Program lines. Such codes include IE, ID, IM, IU, or PA.

The offender shall not be on WSD suspension from college participation. If the offender has a college eligibility date and it falls before or on the certification date, he/she shall be considered eligible.

The offender shall not have a verified Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), federal or felony detainer. Offenders in these categories may participate on a space-available basis if they pay all reimbursable costs at registration by TDCJ-I-25, direct pay, Hazelwood or College Scholarship. The Youthful Offender Grant shall not pay for offenders with detainers.

The offender shall have earned appropriate scores on the Level A Form 5/6, 7/8, or 9/10 TABE test as listed, or be Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) exempt.

Reading 12.0
Math 8.5
Language 8.5
Or composite of 11.0 on the Level A TABE test.

The unit Principal may request in writing to the Division of Community Education Administrative Office, on a case-by-case
basis, any offender placement into the program including THEA tests that do not meet the TABE score requirement.

The college shall be responsible for determining the offender’s readiness to the THEA test and time frame to take the test. The offender shall only be allowed to take the THEA test TWO (2) times at the State Appropriated or Youthful Offender Grant expense. Offenders shall pay for additional testing through the TDCJ I-25 process.

Offenders shall be exempt from taking THEA based on exemptions and exceptions contained within Section 4.54 https://www.highered.texas.gov/ of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Rules and Regulations. The college is responsible for this verification and notifying the Division of Community Education Administrative Office and the unit education department in writing prior to certification date. The offender shall meet minimum requirements as established
by appropriate medical staff.

Targeting priorities for offenders reimbursing the State, based on length of sentence are listed below.

Eligible offenders who plan to reimburse the State shall have an initial parole review date of within ten (10) years.

Eligible offenders who plan to reimburse the State shall then be targeted for entry based on the following categories, with
four (4) being the highest priority, and one (1) being low priority. Within each category, offenders shall be ranked based on Projected Release and/or Maximum Expiration Date and age.

Eligible offenders shall receive priority for program placement based on the following:

4 – A Projected Release of Maximum Expiration Date with in five (5) years and an age of 35 years or less;
3 – A Projected Release or Maximum Expiration Date with in ten (10) years;
2 – A Projected Release or Maximum Expiration Date of 11 – 15 years; or
1 – No projected Release date, but has a Maximum Expiration Date within 20 years.

Any offender that does not meet or qualify based on the above targeting criteria shall pay for the cost of course work or qualify for Hazelwood, or any other grants or scholarships.

All eligibility requirements can be verified on the TDCJ Mainframe Computer EDIC “B”, “C”, “E”, “F”, “H”, and “P” screens and/or the WSD Counselor Review Page.

Technical Programs

Qualified offenders shall be placed into vocational training programs in priority order with the least amount of time remaining based on projected release date of maximum expiration date. Offenders who have completed more than 30 hours of college credit coursework shall not be eligible for WSD Career and Technology Education courses.

In addition, the following requirements shall be met.

The offender shall have a verified high school diploma, GED certificate, or at least nine hours of transferable college academic credit from an accredited institution. Offenders assigned to prisons shall be at least G2/P2 custody and line class I status, with no major disciplinary for six months from hearing date, or offenders who are G3/P3 custody and line class I status or G4 custody with the Warden’s written approval.

Offenders assigned to State Jail Facilities shall be at least J4 custody and line I status, with no major disciplinary for six months from hearing date.

Offenders assigned to a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility (SAFPF) shall have the appropriate custody level as determined by the facility with no major disciplinary for six (6) months from the hearing date.

If an offender receives a reduction in time earning status, custody level or conviction of a major case after the course certification date, the offender shall not be dropped from class unless required by the Warden, Unit Classification Committee, or Principal.

The offender’s projected release or maximum expiration date shall be later than the end of the semester in which the offender shall be enrolled. If space is limited, offenders with sufficient time remaining to complete the course and the least amount of time remaining before earliest possible release shall be given priority for enrollment.

Offenders with a parole “FI” action date prior to the certification date of the first cycle of a vocational program shall not be eligible for State reimbursement funds. Continued enrollment, if previously enrolled, after receiving a “FI” action shall be at the discretion of the Regional Community Education Coordinator to include the determination of eligibility for the use of reimbursable or Youthful Offender Grant funds.

Offenders with a “Serve All” status are not eligible for State reimbursement and shall be required to pay all reimbursable costs at registration or qualify for any grant or scholarship funding.

Sex offenders who are identified as having a high or moderate risk level, and who are within 2 years of release shall not be enrolled, nor be considered for transfer to such programs unless they are already assigned to a unit that offers the Sex Offender Treatment Program (Hightower, Goree, and Hilltop). The exception to this would be sex offenders who have a high or moderate risk level but have an ITP participation code that would make them ineligible on their SOTP or Sex Offender Education Program lines. Such codes would include IE, ID, IM, IU, PA or PR.

Sex offenders are restricted from enrolling in:

• Computer Networking
• Computer Repair
• Computer Web Authoring
• Data Processing
• Drafting
• Truck Driving

Refer to TDCJ Mainframe Computer SOTP screen or AD – 4.09“ Sex Offender Identification Criteria and Methods of Recording
Information” for verification.

The offender shall not be on WSD suspension from college participation. If the offender has a college eligibility date and it falls before or on the certification date, he/she shall be considered eligible.

The offender shall have an appropriate composite TABE score from tests forms 5/6, 7/8, or 09/10 indicated in the following charge, or nine hours of transferable academic college credit accepted by contracting colleges/universities. Since the composite TABE score may not change when an offender re-tests in a portion of the TABE, the composite score requirement may be waived if each tested area indicates an individual score of at least that of the composite requirement. The unit Principal may request in writing to the Division of Community Education Administrative Office, on a case-by-case basis any offender placement into the program that does not meet the TABE score requirement.

Offenders may participate in as many as two different college level credit hour vocational programs, only one of which may be outside of five years of projected release date or maximum expiration date. Prior degrees (associate, baccalaureate, master’s) shall not prohibit eligible offenders from participation. A college, TDCJ Department or WSD Division may request in writing, an exception or waiver to the eligibility criteria if deemed in the best interest of the offender or entity making the request. The exception/waiver shall be placed in writing to the division of Community Education Administrative Office for approval.

Appropriate Community Education staff shall notify the college in writing of the approval or denial of the request. The following examples of requested exceptions are only allowed if space is available in the classroom.

Sex offenders, who completed computer related training prior to restrictions being in place, may request an exception to attend a non-computer related program.

Offenders who have been parole eligible for ten years at the beginning of the semester and have no projected release date may request an exception to attend their second vocational program.

Offenders who have taken two vocational programs more than ten years ago may request an exception to attend a third vocational trade if within two years of projected release.

Offenders whose initial degree plan on file requires them to enroll in an additional vocational trade.

Other exceptions shall be reviewed on a case basis and determined if any exception shall be granted. The Offender Request for Additional Vocational Training form (College 9) shall be completed for all exception requests and shall be forwarded to the Administrator of Post Secondary Programs for processing.

The offender shall not have a verified Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), federal or felony detainer. Offenders in this category may participate on a space available basis if they pay all reimbursable costs at registration by the TDCJ I-25 process or direct pay.

The offender shall enroll in project RIO if eligible for Project RIO services.

The offender shall meet minimum requirements as established by the appropriate medical and/or classification staff if required for the requested course. Refer to the WSD Course Description Handbook for the Environment & Physical Working Conditions.

Eligibility requirements # 1 through #14 can be verified on the TDCJ Mainframe Computer EDIC “B”, “C”, “E”, “F”, “H”, and “P” screens or the WSD Counselor Review Page.

The offender is responsible for all costs of the course at registration by reimbursing the State after release for expenses incurred, or paying by the TDCJ I-25 process, direct pay, or qualifying for grant or scholarship funding.

An offender who requests to repeat a vocational training course for which he/she previously earned a certificate may do so only at his/her own expense on a space available basis and only if that course is at the offender’s current unit assignment. All other eligibility requirements and applicable procedures addressed in these operating procedures shall be followed in processing these requests.

In order to receive a CDL for the Truck Driving program, an offender shall obtain a social security card and a certified copy of his/her birth certificate.

***No Sex Offenders; Refer to TDCJ Administrative Directive 4.09– Sex Offender Identification Criteria and Methods of Recording Information