New Report from the New England Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prison
Lynne Sullivan, the PGP’s Massachusetts and Rhode Island Regional Manager, recently served on the Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prisons to publish this Report. Read her introduction of the Report and her experience being a part of its ideation and creation.
In July 2023, the Pell Grant was reinstated and became available for incarcerated individuals. It is estimated that 1.6 million will be able to participate in approved prison education programs nationwide. This win will require changes to our correctional systems across the state. With that in mind, Ascendium, The Education Justice Institute (TEJI) and New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) convened the Commission on the Future of Higher Education in Prisons, the largest commission of its kind. Members of the Commission were given an amazing opportunity to join forces with people from all walks of life: this diverse commission consists of over 80 stakeholders ranging across all of New England. People from corrections, higher education departments, re-entry organizations, state legislators, government, business and workforce development leaders,scholars, and 20% of people with lived experience worked together with 5 state commissioners to flush out the needs to support the incarcerated to receive equitable access to high-quality workforce-aligned higher education opportunities. Why is this so important? Because 95% of the people who are incarcerated will return to the community. How do we want them to return to society? How do we prevent recidivism? Education is the key: those who complete a higher education program are 45% less likely to recidivate than those who do not. And if those numbers don’t resonate with you, we spend around $81 billion dollars annually to keep people incarcerated.
The Commission was broken into smaller work groups designed specifically to focus on areas relevant to prison education and employment.
Access, cost and funding
Career, workforce and employer connections
Partnerships and policy alignment
Program and delivery models
I had the privilege of working in the career, workforce and employee connection workgroup.
You have a unique set of people from all walks of life, all planning and strategizing ways to provide a successful reentry pathway into education, society and the workforce. The one thing that we all agree on: reentry starts on day one of incarceration. With reentry at the forefront we are able to give people the head-start they need to focus on educational opportunities, and have access to programs that are based on individual needs to enter the workforce. Planning your reentry into society with support systems in place; such as educational programming; Individual support, employer connections all play a critical role in a successful transition into society.
Recommendations include:
Employ education and career navigators to advise and assist students, during both incarceration and post-release.
Conduct assessments of carceral facilities to promote more effective use of physical space, infrastructure, staff time and resources for educational programming.
Expand and integrate technology usage and connectivity to foster a modern, equitable learning experience, which will prepare students to enter an increasingly digital/technology-dependent society and workplace.
Establish voluntary “credit transfer compacts” that guarantee higher education institutions’ acceptance of academic credits earned before and during incarceration, in order to improve students’ ability to continue their education upon release.
Coordinate a voluntary cross-state, cross-facility collaborative to expand student choice and the range of educational offerings, making use of remote synchronous learning where appropriate and other technological tools to reach a greater number of students.
Why is this so important to me? Education does so much more than opening doors for employment. Education opens up possibilities, breaks generational cycles, reconnects families and builds hope. It gives a person choices and options to have a different path in life. Sometimes that path is something you never thought possible. When people come home from incarceration they face an array of barriers, stigmas and misrepresentations that create roadblocks. Post secondary education, vocational programs, and employment connections will allow people the opportunity to become a productive, active member of their communities. For others it allows them to support themselves and their families, rebuilding connections with children and loved ones. Education gives an opportunity to break the cycle that plagues our society while bringing families back together.
People in our correctional facilities have an abundance of skills that many employers don’t look at because of the stigmas we hold against incarcerated people. People who are incarcerated are just that: people. Every person deserves to be given opportunities to succeed. Why are we setting people up to fail when we have the ability to educate and employ them for a successful life after incarceration?