(a) The length of parole for a person sentenced under the law in effect prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1977 and the length of mandatory supervised release for those sentenced under the law in effect on and after such effective date shall be as set out in Section 5-8-1 unless sooner terminated under paragraph (b) of this Section.
     (b) The Prisoner Review Board may enter an order releasing and discharging one from parole or mandatory supervised release, and his or her commitment to the Department, when it determines that he or she is likely to remain at liberty without committing another offense.
     (b-1) Provided that the subject is in compliance with the terms and conditions of his or her parole or mandatory supervised release, the Prisoner Review Board shall reduce the period of a parolee or releasee’s parole or mandatory supervised release by 90 days upon the parolee or releasee receiving a high school diploma, associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, career certificate, or vocational technical certification or upon passage of high school equivalency testing during the period of his or her parole or mandatory supervised release. A parolee or releasee shall provide documentation from the educational institution or the source of the qualifying educational or vocational credential to their supervising officer for verification. Each reduction in the period of a subject’s term of parole or mandatory supervised release shall be available only to subjects who have not previously earned the relevant credential for which they are receiving the reduction. As used in this Section, “career certificate” means a certificate awarded by an institution for satisfactory completion of a prescribed curriculum that is intended to prepare an individual for employment in a specific field.
     (b-2) The Prisoner Review Board may release a low-risk and need subject person from mandatory supervised release as determined by an appropriate evidence-based risk and need assessment.
     (c) The order of discharge shall become effective upon entry of the order of the Board. The Board shall notify the clerk of the committing court of the order. Upon receipt of such copy, the clerk shall make an entry on the record judgment that the sentence or commitment has been satisfied pursuant to the order.
     (d) Rights of the person discharged under this Section shall be restored under Section 5-5-5.
     (e) Upon a denial of early discharge under this Section, the Prisoner Review Board shall provide the person on parole or mandatory supervised release a list of steps or requirements that the person must complete or meet to be granted an early discharge at a subsequent review and share the process for seeking a subsequent early discharge review under this subsection. Upon the completion of such steps or requirements, the person on parole or mandatory supervised release may petition the Prisoner Review Board to grant them an early discharge review. Within no more than 30 days of a petition under this subsection, the Prisoner Review Board shall review the petition and make a determination.