California leads the nation in higher education programs for incarcerated people. For decades, inmates could earn associate degrees behind bars. Then in 2016, Cal State LA became the first public university to offer bachelor programs to inmates. Now, the number of programs has expanded, offering a new slate of opportunities starting in the fall, with more than 200 people enrolled.
“For a while now, we have incarcerated people earning multiple community college degrees, associate degrees, I mean two, three, four degrees under their belts. And so the next step, naturally, is a bachelor's degree. And so it really was the state's prison system, CDCR, that took the lead in starting to recruit universities to really expand into this space,” says EdSource Higher Education Reporter Ashley Smith.
She points out that recidivism rates drop when incarcerated people receive their diplomas. “More and more universities saw this as an opportunity to improve the education of people who … will eventually be released back into society.”
When it comes to paying for schooling, from the 1970s to 1994, students behind bars were able to apply for federal Pell grants. But with The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, incarcerated students were no longer eligible. That changed in 2015 under the Obama administration, which piloted the Second Chance Pell Grant Program. In 2020, Congress passed a new law that restored eligibility.
To qualify for grants today, students must fill out applications, and submit essays and recommendations — just like anyone else seeking higher education.
Most of these classes are in-person, with professors going into prison facilities and interacting with students.
One success story is Dara Yin, who was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for murder, and 14 years to life for two counts of attempted murder. He was involved in a drive-by shooting at age 18. He had dropped out of ninth grade and joined a gang. Still, he earned two bachelor’s degrees as part of the Cal State LA program.
“At some point, Dara said that he wanted to do something positive that his mother [who emigrated to the U.S. after the genocide in Cambodia] would be proud of. So he went after his GED, he earned multiple community college degrees. And then eventually, he was a part of that first group of Cal State LA incarcerated students to earn a communications degree,” says Smith, who met him during his graduation in 2021.
“His family was absolutely ecstatic for him. However, his mother had died a few years earlier. So it was just a very emotional experience for all of them.”
In 2022, after receiving numerous recommendations from prison staff, Governor Gavin Newsom commuted Yin’s sentence, granting him clemency. Today, he’s free, back with his family, and working.
Smith points out that 12 to 13% of California's incarcerated population is enrolled in college, and the state is even trying to expand master's degrees programs.