Topic: Justice initiatives
Upcoming Event
January 16, 2025
Preserving Their Stories
Creating and Archiving Art Under Mass Incarceration
Join Ithaka S+R and Tammy Ortiz as we introduce you to “Preserving Their Stories: Archiving Mass Incarceration.” In this National Endowment for the Humanities funded project, Ithaka S+R Justice Initiative’s team explored how creative works generated by incarcerated artists circulate beyond prison walls. Join us for a webinar on January 16, 2025 at 2:30pm ET as we speak with experts in the field and learn more about their successes and struggles navigating the creation of their art, preservation…
Blog Post
December 9, 2024
An Education Technology Implementation Playbook for Correctional Leaders
Planning Tools and Collaborations that Foreground Student Learning Objectives
As both the owner and operator of correctional facilities and the official oversight entity for higher education in prison programming, it is up to departments of correction to determine what technology to make available for education on the inside. This means that correctional leaders are responsible for considering security and safety as well as educational best practices. There is little research on how to negotiate these, at times differing, value sets. As a result, there are very few…
Playbook
December 9, 2024
Technology Implementation for Higher Education in Prison
A Student-Centered Playbook for Planning, Preparing, and Assessing Implementation Readiness
As both the owner and operator of correctional facilities and the official oversight entity for higher education in prison programming, it is up to departments of correction to determine what technology to make available for education on the inside. However, there are very few resources designed to help correctional leaders determine what technologies are available, how they might benefit students in their facilities, and what drawbacks the new technology might pose. The tools and process outlined in this playbook are…
Blog Post
October 7, 2024
Looking at Learning Spaces for Higher Education in Prison Programs
What does equitable access to quality instruction look like in a carceral context? How can higher education in prison programs fulfill their obligation to provide their students with an educational experience that is as close as possible to the one of students on main campuses? Drawing on interviews with former students, higher education in prison program personnel, and department of corrections staff members, our new report documents what instructional conditions are like in carceral spaces, and how those conditions…
Research Report
October 7, 2024
Uneven Terrain
Learning Spaces in Higher Education in Prison
How can prison education programs fulfill their obligation to provide their students with an educational experience that is as close as possible to the one of students on main campuses? Thus far, our research into equitable access has focused largely on instructional delivery and practices, and technological access and use. This report broadens our interrogation of that central question by exploring the role of space, architecture, and design in the context of higher education in prison.
Past Event
October 17, 2024
Information Access for All Incarcerated Learners
Contextualizing Information Access and Prison Education
Several factors limit education and information access and equity in carceral settings, including limited budgets to support education inside, censorship and media review practices, lack of attention to library services, and regulations prohibiting information sharing between incarcerated people. Libraries and nonprofits are working to address these limitations by identifying how people who are incarcerated can more easily access information, engage in creative practices, and support their own learning goals. In this session at the Montreal…
Blog Post
September 30, 2024
An Introduction to Reentry Service Provision and Community Partnership for College Administrators
New Report
When revised federal Pell Grant regulations went into effect in July of 2023, one of the provisions stipulated that college in prison programs would now be obliged to document how they or the organizations they partner with provide reentry services. Ithaka S+R’s new report, Exploring the Landscape of College and Community Reentry Partnerships, examines how colleges and community organizations can best partner to deliver effective services for reintegrating students. This report represents the first findings from a multi-year project…
Research Report
September 30, 2024
Exploring the Landscape of College and Community Reentry Partnerships
Now that federal Pell Grant funding has been reinstated for learners who are incarcerated, the field is in flux. Higher education in prison programs are adapting and developing their practices to meet new policy and regulation needs. Two major facets of the revised regulations for Pell funding are particularly critical for college in prison programs, namely the requirement to track and report student data, and the obligation to document how they or their partner organizations provide reentry services.
Blog Post
September 27, 2024
Building Data Collection and Evaluation Capacity for Higher Education in Prisons
A New Project Supported by Ascendium Education Group
The reinstatement of Pell Grant funding for people who are incarcerated presents a dramatic opportunity for learners in prison, but it also poses a complex challenge. As more educational programs become available for individuals in prison, it’s essential that departments of corrections (DOCs) and higher education in prison programs are able to measure program effectiveness, quality, and impact over time–including by collecting data on student enrollment, academic outcomes, completion rates and more. To collect and use these data, DOCs, state…
Past Event
September 19, 2024
Locked Out: Barriers to Accessible Technology Inside Prison Education Programs
Accessible technology can be a powerful tool in providing independence to persons with disabilities. However, for many individuals with disabilities in the correctional system, there are additional barriers to obtaining these critical tools, particularly when it comes to higher education programs in prison. In a webinar on Thursday, September 19 at 2:00 – 3:30pm ET hosted by the Great Lakes ADA Center, Ess Pokornowski and Jenifer Montag will discuss some of the greatest challenges related to accessible technology in…
Past Event
September 17, 2024
Understanding the Technology Ecosystem for Higher Education Programs in Prison
Join us on September 17th at 3pm ET for an insightful discussion with experts from RTI International and Ithaka S+R. Panelists Ess Pokornowski, Jordan Hudson, Michelle Tolbert, and Laura Rasmussen Foster will share lessons learned from their recent projects to document and strengthen access to technology in prison education programs. Moderated by our Executive Director, Ved Price, this session will provide a comprehensive overview of the IT infrastructure and instructional strategies necessary to support quality uses of technology in correctional…
Blog Post
August 15, 2024
Three Questions for Tommaso Bardelli
Last month, Ithaka S+R welcomed Tommaso Bardelli as our new principal of justice initiatives. In this interview, we asked Tommaso about his past experience in the higher education in prison space, challenges and opportunities in the field, and the future of the work.
Blog Post
August 2, 2024
The Role of the Law Library in Serving Incarcerated Individuals
Announcing a New IMLS-Funded Project
Access to legal information is both a legal right and crucial need for people who are incarcerated, yet little comprehensive data exists regarding how that information is provided or about the quality or accessibility of services available to individuals in prison. While anecdotal evidence suggests that law librarians are playing a key role in bridging this service gap, there is a lack of information about best practices and models, as well as about the state of the profession’s capacity to…
Past Event
July 31, 2024
Reentry Services: College and Community Partnership Models and Practices (A Discussion)
While the reinstatement of federal Pell grant funding and developments in the field, have turned attention toward higher education in prison programs, explorations of how higher education in prison programs can best provide reintegration support and continuing education post-release are only just beginning. In addition to the host of complex challenges that individuals who are incarcerated face upon release—such as obtaining housing, employment, food, transportation, documentation, technology, etc.—continuing students are faced with additionally navigating and finding community and belonging within…
Past Event
July 30, 2024
Strengthening Digital Equity and Education Technology Use in Prison
Recent changes in the education in prison landscape, ranging from the reinstatement of federal Pell grant funding to post-pandemic technology experimentation, are making educational technology more available inside. As availability grows, research and evaluation on educational technology use and instruction inside is shifting from questions of access to explorations of how technology can be integrated to increase digital and educational equity. This interactive session at the Correctional Education Association (CEA)’s 2024 Conference, co-led by…
Issue Brief
April 18, 2024
Serving Library Patrons Behind Bars
Challenges and Collaborations
Introduction The past several years have seen major shifts in both policy and perception regarding criminal justice in the United States. The distinctly American phenomenon of mass incarceration and its racial and economic underpinnings have made criminal justice reform a major focus of advocacy efforts and a rare example of bipartisan agreement. As a growing quantity of research has begun to illuminate the negative societal impacts of the carceral system, especially on communities of color, focus has slowly shifted to…
Blog Post
April 3, 2024
Navigating Two Systems
New Report on Censorship and Self-Censorship in Higher Education in Prison Programs
Today we’re publishing Between Two Systems: Navigating Censorship and Self-Censorship in Higher Education in Prisons. Based on interviews with students and educators, this is the third report in a series made possible by Ascendium Education Group focusing on the intersection of technology, surveillance, and censorship in higher education in prisons.
Research Report
April 3, 2024
Between Two Systems
Navigating Censorship and Self-Censorship in Higher Education in Prisons
Building on our previous research on the ways that media review directives and censorship policies may limit or protect student access to intellectual and education material, as well as on the technology students on the inside can access for educational purposes, this report explores how educators in higher education in prison programs navigate censorship and self-censorship and how the relationship between educational programs and departments of corrections may have an impact on the educational experience and learning outcomes of students.
Past Event
April 24, 2024
Serving Library Patrons Behind Bars
As the landscape of higher education in prison shifts and evolves, libraries are making efforts to expand services in prisons across the country while facing a myriad of challenges, from limited staff capacity to shrinking budgets. With support from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Ithaka S+R conducted an exploratory research project to document the different types of libraries involved in providing services in prison, the service models and missions those libraries are advancing, the challenges of working…
Past Event
March 5, 2024
Empowering Incarcerated Learners through Technology Solution
SXSW EDU 2024 Session
The reintroduction of Pell Grants to incarcerated learners and recent spread of technology-supported learning call us to explore how tech supports higher education in prison (HEP) programs. While tech has power and potential to help HEP learners succeed, it must be used carefully. On March 5 at 2:30-3:30pm CT, a SXSW EDU panel featuring Ithaka S+R Managing Director Catharine Bond Hill will explore the HEP tech landscape, which is largely shaped by state-level policies. It spotlights two organizations: one…