Assessing Community College Programs at State Prisons

Focuses on community college programs at California’s prisons. While incarcerated in prison, people often participate in various rehabilitation programs. Rehabilitation programs seek to improve the likelihood that people will lead productive, crime‑free lives upon their release from prison. These programs are intended to address the underlying factors that led to their criminal activity. These programs include substance use disorder treatment and anger management, as well as a range of programs aimed at cultivating academic skills and potential future employment opportunities. In this report, we focus on California Community College (CCC) programs at California’s state prisons. Notably, it has been ten years since the Legislature passed legislation allowing community colleges to receive state funding for providing instruction inside state prisons. In accordance with this legislation, the availability of postsecondary courses in state prisons has expanded significantly and incarcerated student enrollment has almost quadrupled. In this report, we first provide relevant background, cover key student trends at state prisons, and explain how CCC education programs at state prisons are funded. We then assess the strengths and weaknesses of these programs and conclude with recommendations aimed at improving them.

Sponsored By
California Legislative Analyst’s Office
Year Resource Released
2024

American Institutes for Research

U.S. Department of Education

The contents of the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments Web site were assembled under contracts from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools to the American Institutes for Research (AIR), Contract Number  91990021A0020.

This Web site is operated and maintained by AIR. The contents of this Web site do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the U.S. Department of Education nor do they imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education.

©2024 American Institutes for Research — Disclaimer   |   Privacy Policy   |   Accessibility Statement