Advocates in Virginia believe more can be done to make higher education accessible to incarcerated people.
Only a handful of community colleges partner with less than half of the state's correctional facilities to support associate degrees.
In 2023, incarcerated people will be eligible for federal Pell Grants, which help low-income students pay for tuition.
Terry Irwin, director of the Virginia Consensus for Higher Education in Prisons, an initiative of the Virginia Interfaith Public Policy Center, said the General Assembly could help expand the program.
“I think the General Assembly can play a third role in supporting the growing cooperation between the Department of Corrections and institutions of higher education,” Irwin argued. “What will be needed depends in part on how that relationship develops.”
The transition to technology in higher education has been one of the major challenges in maintaining this access during the pandemic. He noted that while Virginia did not pivot in the same way, technology solutions in states such as Tennessee and Maine are providing secure learning management and access to intranets for incarcerated students. did. Despite the challenges, higher education in prisons has grown nationally in recent years.
Studies show that the benefits of these programs include a 43% reduction in recidivism and a 13% increase in post-release employment. Irwin emphasized that the program has the potential to be transformative for people.
“This is an opportunity to reintegrate into society with just one more resemblance to those who have been on the outside,” Irwin said. “It helps them overcome some of the stigma. It gives them a hook to hang their hat on as they look for jobs and tell their stories about themselves.”
Formerly incarcerated people face many obstacles to reintegrating into society. Programs like SNAP and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families have been shown to reduce recidivism by as much as 10 percent, but having a criminal record disqualifies you from both social programs and unemployment insurance.
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A new report reveals that Black girls in Miami-Dade public schools endure disproportionate discipline, sexual harassment and public humiliation from school police and security guards.
The report, Keeping Her Safe: Focusing Black Girls on School Safety, compiles the experiences of Black girls and young women between the ages of 14 and 24 and investigates and investigates abuse by school safety personnel. They are sharing their stories through focus groups. I feel dangerous.
Bayliss Fidiman, director of education equity at the National Women's Law Center, which produced the study with the Southern Poverty Law Center, said girls receive special treatment because of their appearance and are often unaware of sexual harassment. Stated.
“Girls are making inappropriate comments to school security guards about their appearance, which can vary from 'Oh, she looks ghetto' to 'She's too big to wear that dress. I can't wear that. I never want my daughter to wear that kind of clothes,''' Fidiman explained.
The report urges school systems to use proven behavioral interventions in these cases, rather than using policing, surveillance, or harsh punishment for students. Miami and Dade schools did not respond to requests for comment on the study.
Fidiman pointed out in the listening session that the girls also did not have a clear understanding of who to tell if they felt violated. She argued that this is an opportunity for school leaders to step in and explain the school's safety protocols by involving students in the conversation.
“Schools can definitely put policies in place that explain what sexual harassment is, what boundaries are, and what is safe and healthy,” Fidiman recommended. “That's what was missing.”
The report highlights security incidents in 2021 where excessive force was used, including a 16-year-old black girl knocked unconscious to the ground and then handcuffed to prevent a fight. In 2023, a Miami-Dade security guard faced charges. Attempting to seduce three teenage girls.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, enacted in response to the 2018 Parkland shooting, was intended to strengthen school safety. But it also led to an increased law enforcement presence in schools and increased surveillance measures.
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Disability rights advocates have joined the Montana Quality Education Association in filing a lawsuit seeking to block the school voucher bill in the state.
Montana is the latest state to enact a plan that allows parents to pay for private school tuition with public funds. Senate Bill 393 has a much narrower focus than education savings accounts in other states. In Montana, this funding is limited to reimbursement for services to special education students and people with disabilities.
Riley Sommers Flanagan, executive director of Helena-based Upper 7 Law, which is overseeing the case, said Montana's version of the Education Savings Account does not offer special education students the right amount of money under the state constitution. They are demanding that they give up their right to a quality education and give up federal aid. .
“In exchange for giving that up, they get access to anywhere between $5,000 and $8,000 a year,” Summers Flanagan explained. “As everyone knows, this is not enough money to educate a child for a year under any circumstances, much less a special needs child with special needs and in some cases at special cost. Especially for students who need support.”
School voucher programs are spreading across the United States, with 29 states currently using some form. The lawsuit seeking to block the Montana bill was filed in state court in Helena.
In addition to critics' standard argument that funding education savings accounts with national education funding comes at the expense of K-12 public classrooms, Somers Flanagan argues that the She added that there is not enough funding to adequately fund students with special needs.
“It's a lose-or-lose situation,” Summers Flanagan argued. “This is incredibly harmful. It's just trying to privatize public funds and send it to contractors and people who have no accountability or responsibility to truly serve the needs of Montana's disabled children. It looks like a ruse.”
Supporters say they can educate their children better than the state because they understand students' strengths and weaknesses.
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New Mexico is overhauling its public university funding to determine whether inequities need to be addressed. The Higher Education Sustainability Review examines the formulas used to fund higher education and recommends changes.
Gerald Horn, director of capital expenditures for the New Mexico Department of Higher Education, said he will examine potential inequities among all sectors, from colleges and universities to research institutions to independent community colleges and branch schools. .
“The difference between community colleges and research institutions is in how they are funded, so this study gives us an opportunity to examine that in more detail,” he said.
Although community colleges disproportionately serve low-income students and students of color, a 2020 study found that New Mexico's two-year colleges provide more education per student enrolled. Most come from states where the income is thousands of dollars less than a four-year college. Center for American Progress.
Hoehne expects the study results to be available by mid-October, ahead of the 2025 legislative session, so lawmakers will have insight and be able to make changes they feel are necessary. The state Legislature allocated her $187 million to higher education in 2024. This is more than double his investment last year and makes him one of the largest investments in higher education in state history. Hoehne said efforts within his study will examine how New Mexico's funding compares to other states.
“To understand whether other states approach different types of systems differently and how changes may be able to be incorporated into the process to address those differences.” he continued.
The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems is conducting the equity survey on behalf of the national government.
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