According to a report released by the Vera Institute of Justice, states, prisons and Puerto Rico currently have processes in place to evaluate proposals for prison education programs from universities.
Dr. Ruth Delaney
“First Year of Pell Restoration: A Snapshot of the Quality, Equity, and Scale of Prison Education Programs” provides insight into the strengths and weaknesses of state and local correctional agencies and university partners working to build prison education programs.
“While this report highlights many areas where improvement is needed, it also shows that innovation is happening in all types of states, from red to blue, with a wide range of prison populations in both size and demographics,” said Dr. Ruth Delaney, director of Vera’s Unlocking Potential initiative.
The Vera Institute of Justice reported that in-prison college enrollment began to rebound after the 1994 crime bill that banned Pell Grant eligibility for inmates and drastically reduced the number of college programs operating in prisons. Vera was part of a coalition that advocated for federal legislation that would repeal and reinstate the Pell Grant ban, making the estimated 750,000 people in prison eligible for grants.
“As more prison education programs are approved and launched, I look forward to seeing how the quality and equity of opportunities provided in prisons improves,” Delaney said.
“It’s been 30 years since college began to be consistently offered in prisons.” She continued: “We stand on the threshold of a new era of opportunity. Building quality higher education in prisons will take time, but our findings show that we are on our way.”