Relevant Facebook Posts on this topic.
Three Prison Inmates Beat Harvard in a Debate. Here’s What Happened Next. — The Wall Street Journal
The Bard Prison Initiative’s debate team has lost only two of its 11 matches in six years. Three winners tell their stories of hard work, second chances and hope.
The win over Harvard provides one of the emotional peaks in a new four-hour documentary, “College Behind Bars,” which explores the lives of people serving time for serious offenses and struggling to become productive citizens. Directed by Lynn Novick and executive produced by Ken Burns, the series will air Nov. 25 and 26, 2019 on PBS.
Investing in Futures.
A Vera Institute of Justice report, January 2019
“Efforts to build robust post-secondary education programs in prison have accelerated in recent years, with support from a broad range of groups from correctional officers to college administrators. This report describes how lifting the current ban on awarding Pell Grants to incarcerated people would benefit workers, employers, and states.” Here’s the report.
Finding College by Way of Prison
“Taking classes helped me forget that I wasn’t free.” There is an excellent new article posted on the Marshal Project website which describes an successful education program taking place right here in Maryland at the Jessup Correctional Institution by the University of Baltimore. Read more about this issue.
Correctional Education
In the beginning of Governor O’Malley’s administration Secretary of Labor Tom Perez sponsored legislation to move the responsibility for adult Correctional Education from the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to the Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation (DLLR). He reasoned that DLLR was in a better position to provide employment and job training to ex-offenders. Read more about this issue.
Ban-the-Box on College Admissions
One of the many collateral consequences that reentering Maryland citizens face is a requirement to declare their criminal history as part of the initial college application to Maryland state colleges and universities. This practice is discriminatory and places a barrier to higher education for people trying to improve their qualifications and job prospects. Read more about this issue.
