RHB/5/20
Sponsored by Lulu Baker, Elizabeth Chism, Sofia Rojas of St. Agnes Academy
This legislation was filed in the Correction category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1) Terms used in this act, unless the context requires otherwise, will be defined as follows: |
| 4 | Juvenile: person(s) under the age of 18 |
| 5 | Juvenile Detention Center: correctional facility for juvenile offenders or delinquents |
| 6 | Youth Development Center: a center established for the detention, treatment, rehabilitation and |
| 7 | education of children found to be delinquent |
| 8 | School: grades 7-12, with an average of 20 students per grade |
| 9 | Core classes: Math, Science, English, and Social Studies |
| 10 | Elective Classes: Music, Art, Psychology, Family and Consumer Science |
| 11 | Career Readiness Courses: Cooking, Coding, Personal Finance |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Section 2) Any Tennessee Juvenile Detention Center or Youth Development Center found in |
| 14 | violation or not in accordance with these requirements shall be fined. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Section 3) This act shall apply to juveniles with a stay of 4 months or longer in each facility whose |
| 17 | ages range from 12 to 17. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Section 4) 1 extra hour will be added to the school day totaling 5 hours of classes each day with 1 |
| 20 | hour designated for each class. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Section 5) Students will take these classes on a rotating schedule, students will take every elective |
| 23 | and have the opportunity to choose 1 Career Readiness Course to add to their course load. Each |
| 24 | center will determine the order of classes based on their schedules. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Section 6) After 5 months of taking each course, students will be given exams on each subject to |
| 27 | ensure the effectiveness of each program. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | Section 7) In addition to educators already working at each location, 1 teacher per course will be |
| 30 | added to teach said course. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Section 8) Each Juvenile Detention Center and Youth Development Center will have a 9.6% |
| 33 | increase in funding ($2.2 million yearly) to support the addition of new employees and addition of |
| 34 | courses. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | Section 9) All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | Section 10) This act shall take effect January 1, 2025, to provide time for all centers to hire and |
| 39 | secure funding for additional educators and courses. |
| 40 |