1. Every offender who is sentenced to prison after June 30, 1969, for a crime committed before July 1, 1985, who has no serious infraction of the regulations of the Department, the terms and conditions of his or her residential confinement, or the laws of the State recorded against the offender, and who performs in a faithful, orderly and peaceable manner the duties assigned to the offender, must be allowed:
(a) For the period the offender is actually incarcerated under sentence; and
(b) For the period the offender is in residential confinement,
Ê a deduction of 2 months for each of the first 2 years, 4 months for each of the next 2 years and 5 months for each of the remaining years of the term, and pro rata for any part of a year where the actual term served is for more or less than a year. Credit must be recorded on a monthly basis as earned for actual time served.
2. The credits earned by an offender must be deducted from the maximum term or the maximum aggregate term imposed by the sentence, as applicable, and, except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, must apply to eligibility for parole.
3. In addition to the credits for good behavior provided for in subsection 1, the Board shall adopt regulations allowing credits for offenders whose diligence in labor or study merits such credits and for offenders who donate their blood for charitable purposes. The regulations must provide that an offender is entitled to the following credits for educational achievement:
(a) For earning a general educational development certificate or an equivalent document, 30 days.
(b) For earning a high school diploma, 60 days.
(c) For earning an associate degree, 90 days.
4. Each offender is entitled to the deductions allowed by this section if the offender has satisfied the conditions of subsection 1 or 3 as determined by the Director.
5. Credits earned pursuant to this section do not apply to eligibility for parole if a statute specifies a minimum sentence which must be served before a person becomes eligible for parole.