Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1233 amends RCW 72.09.015, 72.09.130, and 72.09.460 and adds a new section to chapter 72.09 RCW. It directs the Department of Corrections to adopt, by rule, a system that links an incarcerated person's behavior and participation in available education and work programs with the awarding or denial of earned early release days and other privileges, and requires the department to provide each person a written description of that system and a written evaluation of conduct and performance at least once every 12 months. The bill preserves that an incarcerated person’s earned early release and other privileges may not be reduced for choosing not to participate in work programs, while also providing that refusal to participate in an available education program into which a person has been placed can make the person ineligible for earned early release during the period of refusal. The bill establishes program and funding priorities for correctional education and training, requires the department to pay costs for certain basic and reentry-related postsecondary programming when financial aid or third-party funding is not available, allows the department to require applicants to apply for federal and state financial aid for eligible programs, and requires financial aid and academic advising before enrollment. For other postsecondary or vocational programs the bill allows the department to require incarcerated individuals to pay all or part of costs under a postaward formula based on average monthly income or savings, with that formula reviewed every two years. Third parties, including nonprofits and community-based education programs, may pay program costs directly to the department and such payments are not subject to deductions in the chapter. The bill clarifies education and work participation rules: work programs are voluntary except when court-ordered, incarcerated people who decline work may not be issued infractions or face disciplinary actions for that choice, persons who agree to work must follow attendance and disenrollment rules, and people in class I–IV programs must be paid wages or gratuities as provided under RCW 72.09.100. It also requires the department to establish rules and processes for placement decisions, assessment and accommodations for learning and cognitive disabilities, objective medical standards for exemptions from participation, goals to expand postsecondary access and completion (including for people of color), and to provide unofficial transcripts at no cost upon program completion or upon release or transfer. The bill affects the Department of Corrections, correctional facilities and industries, incarcerated individuals (including those under 18), accredited education providers, and potential third-party partners. Important gaps: the full text of the new section added to chapter 72.09 RCW is not included in the extracted facts, subsection (2) and parts of RCW 72.09.460 are incomplete in the provided material, and some implementation details, rulemaking timelines, and specific formulas or definitions referenced are not fully shown in these excerpts.

If enacted, the law would make education access and funding a clearer priority inside state prisons while also protecting incarcerated people from being punished for refusing work programs. People in custody would generally get more help paying for basic education, vocational training, and many postsecondary courses when federal or third‑party aid doesn’t cover costs, must be given written notice of how behavior and program participation affect privileges and earned release, and will receive free unofficial transcripts at completion or on release. Work programs remain voluntary and cannot be used as a basis for disciplinary losses of privileges or earned release, but refusing an education placement can make someone ineligible for earned early release during the refusal period; people subject to federal immigration removal have stricter limits on participating in postsecondary offerings unless they or a third party pay. The Department of Corrections would need to write new rules, run annual written evaluations for each person, set up disability assessments and accommodations, prioritize and in many cases pay remaining tuition/materials costs, accept and account for third‑party payments and donations, and review payment formulas and program standards periodically. That shifts real costs and administrative workload onto the department while reducing out‑of‑pocket barriers for many incarcerated students; community nonprofits and private payers gain a concrete pathway to fund programs directly without department deductions. Important implementation details—such as the full new section text, exact exemption criteria, and the complete payment formula—are not included in the material provided, so the precise budget, timeline, and eligibility impacts remain unclear.