Why I was drawn to the story of Johnny Pippins, and what it reveals about big issues in our criminal-justice system.
Prisons
Posted inCollege Inside
Scholarship behind bars
How incarcerated students produce research, plus new initiatives to increase access to academic resources in prison.
Posted inCollege Inside
The legal education edition
Twenty-eight years ago, 62 incarcerated students at the Louisiana State Penitentiary received certificates in paralegal studies and computer technology. They were the last class to graduate before Congress eliminated prisoners’ eligibility for Pell Grants.
Posted inHigher Ed in Prisons
The last class, 28 years later
What happened to the last of the Pell Grant-funded prison higher ed graduates and their paralegal skills?
Posted inMississippi
Valley State first HBCU to offer prison college program in Mississippi
Incarcerated people at two prisons in the Delta will be able to start earning four-year degrees from Mississippi Valley State University this fall for the first time in more than two decades.
Posted inCollege Inside
Hard choices in a ‘show-me world’
The theme of trade-offs has come up often. Do you transfer to a prison on the opposite side of the state to participate in a college program? Do you delay your petition for resentencing so you can graduate before you get out?
Posted inHigher Ed in Prisons
First Person: Prison programs don’t quench the thirst for higher education
Prison education programs designed to teach life skills and heal trauma sell young people short if they don’t include college offerings.
Posted inCollege Inside
Who has been participating in Second Chance Pell?
New report shows white students overrepresented and Hispanic students underrepresented, compared to overall prison population.
Posted inHigher Ed in Prisons
Student loan defaults are a big barrier to prison education. The government is offering new help.
The Education Department announced that it will bring defaulted loans into good standing, which could significantly expand access.
Posted inCollege Inside
A milestone in New York
The state became the second to repeal a ban on financial aid for people in prison. It might be a harbinger of things to come.