This article from Reuters announces the graduation of the first class of incarcerated students from Northwestern University's Prison Education Program on November 15, 2023.
"Twenty years ago, some of these guys were in rival gangs, and here they are swapping poetry with each other and giving critical engagements on sociology assignments," said Professor Jennifer Lackey, the program's founding director. "The love and growth that we see in the community is really unlike anything I've experienced at the on-campus commencements."
This article from Illinois Public Media covers the passage of the Higher Education in Prison Act in the Illinois legislature.
The state will now provide annual public data on enrollment, demographics, and waitlists for higher education programs in Illinois prisons.
This news article from Open Campus discusses the impact of prison closures on incarcerated students.
As California closes three more prisons and downsizes six others, some prisoners aren’t ready to go. They are worried about the future of their education. California Governor Gavin Newsom is closing and downsizing prisons across the state, putting the future of over a thousand incarcerated students at risk. College administrators say they have few resources to help.
This news article from Open Campus takes us inside a prison education program in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
In this news article from Open Campus, four formerly incarcerated people share their experiences with Pell Grants prior to 1994—when Congress eliminated access to federal financial aid for incarcerated students. Their stories have been edited for length and clarity.
This news article from Open Campus examines how the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center's Prison to Employment Connection (P2EC) program helps men learn how to put the work they've done inside into context for prospective employers. P2EC is a 14-week job-readiness training program for people who are within one year of a release date or have a scheduled parole board hearing in the next six months. The curriculum includes an assessment to help participants identify possible careers, workshops on identifying strengths and transferable skills, and résumé editing.
This news article from Open Campus examines the use of tablets in prison.
This news article from Open Campus examines a pre-apprenticeship program in Washington State that introduces incarcerated women to the trades.
These best practices from Jobs for the Future (JFF) can help those involved in prison education build post-release educational pathways for incarcerated students.
For many people who are incarcerated, postsecondary classes offered by the facility in which they’re serving their sentence represent a first step on an educational journey that is likely to continue after they are released—one that could ultimately lead to an industry-recognized credential, an associate’s or bachelor’s degree, or even a master’s degree or a PhD. To facilitate the process of moving from incarceration…
This resource from Jobs for the Future (JFF) can help students, advocates, and other stakeholders better understand the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of students’ education records. The term “education records” means those records that are (1) directly related to a student and (2) maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
At the…
