The Campaign for College Opportunity’s latest report uses first-hand experiences of formerly incarcerated Californians to highlight the barriers faced during their transition from prison to postsecondary education.
Titled “The Possibility Report: From Prison to College Degrees in California,” the report provides recommendations to policymakers and higher education institutions within the state to improve outcomes for formerly incarcerated students and address the school-to-prison pipeline.
Black and Latinx Californians comprise 45% of the state population but represent 72% of the prison population, the report found.
“[The overrepresentation among Black and Latinx communities] is a result of public policies that have had very racist outcomes, from our tough-on-crime policies, minimum-sentencing bail policies, all of that,” said Audrey Dow, senior vice president of the Campaign for College Opportunity. “So we said, ‘let’s start thinking about some policies that are anti-racist in nature and can go a long way to improving college opportunity.’”
In 2019, over 1,000 formerly incarcerated students were estimated to be enrolled in California’s public higher education system. However, there are currently more than 425,000 people on probation or parole within the state who could be enrolled at a college or university, according to the research.
Dow emphasized that the “amount of pressure and responsibility” given to individuals upon release from prison is often overlooked.
“These individuals have really been without their networks, without financial resources, without their family and are now thrust back into society and pushed through the parole and probation system to find work …,” she said. “I think right off the bat, these individuals are really kind of coming into a traumatic return home with lots of responsibility and not enough support to really ensure that they thrive.”
