ABSTRACT
Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students have long been absent from the national higher education conversation, but this is changing. College programs are flourishing in a number of prisons around the country, and there is rising consensus that higher education is not only a cost-effective means by which to reduce recidivism, but that it also transforms lives and strengthens communities. California has elevated this commitment by calling upon its public higher education system to serve incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students not as special populations, but as part of the state’s mission to serve all students. The state is building face-to-face community college transfer-level AA pathways in almost every prison as well as programs to welcome and support formerly incarcerated students on the community college, California State University, and University of California campuses. This chapter suggests that public higher education is the best way to scale higher education for these students. It explores California’s rapid and comprehensive expansion, made possible in large part because the community college low-income tuition waiver does not exclude incarcerated students. The chapter also identifies ongoing challenges, as the state’s vision is still a work in process and continued vigilance will be necessary to ensure quality and long-term sustainability.
