New York has been a leader in education in prison since the 1800s. At its peak in the 1990s, when incarcerated people were eligible for federal Pell and New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) grants, New York had 70 higher education programs operating in state prisons. In the mid-1990s, when legislators revoked Pell and TAP for…

This paper illustrates the approach of co-creating education where co-creation was an important aspect of the curriculum design. It makes a case for prison-university partnerships through two pedagogical case studies -- one within a prison setting with a focus on soft skills acquisition and another in a Higher Education setting focusing on…

Prepared for the Boston Foundation and signed onto by nearly two dozen representatives from across the political spectrum, "Unlocking College: Strengthening Massachusetts' Commitment to College in Prison" explores the landscape of educational opportunities in Massachusetts prisons. The report finds that despite evidence that educational…

There is mounting evidence that prison inmates benefit from educational opportunities but may not be offered to them. In addition, when they are offered, priority is given to prisoners who will be released in the near future, and those serving long-term or life sentences are less likely to have access to classes. A service learning opportunity was…