Previous Mackinac Center research highlights the benefits of expanding educational offerings to prison populations. A 2023 meta-analysis of the research showed that education programs in prison reduce recidivism and boost employment, making communities safer while saving taxpayers money. Research published in 2024 ranked states based on their use of prison education and produced recommendations for policymakers on how to expand these programs in a cost-effective way.
This report follows this line of research to the ground level. It profiles six prison education programs to get a better understanding for how these programs operate on a day-to-day basis. The profiled programs are: Boston University Prison Education Program, Helena College at the University of Montana, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison in New York, Tennessee Higher Education Initiative, Vocational Village and Windham School District in Texas.