Five states to join the multi-state learning community
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) today announced the launch of a new, national initiative aimed at expanding access to quality postsecondary education for justice-impacted students across the United States. The initiative follows the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students in July 2023 — a pivotal policy shift opening new doors to educational opportunity.
With support from Ascendium Education Group and in partnership with the Vera Institute for Justice, SHEEO is convening a one-year, multi-state learning community that includes Arizona, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Virginia. Through this initiative, states will work to evaluate relevant policies, remove barriers to access, and promote high-quality, workforce-aligned educational experiences for justice-impacted students. The effort will also work to strengthen collaboration among higher education agencies, corrections departments, and other key partners to build equitable pathways for incarcerated learners.
Advancing Postsecondary Success for Justice-Impacted Students will support participating states in:
- Assessing current prison education program (PEP) policies to identify gaps and opportunities;
- Streamlining access to postsecondary education for incarcerated learners;
- Aligning educational offerings with workforce needs to ensure credentials earned in carceral settings have labor market value;
- And fostering stronger partnerships across sectors to sustain and scale these efforts.
“The return of Pell eligibility opens the door to transformative change in how we support justice-impacted learners,” said John Lane, project lead and Vice President for Academic Affairs at SHEEO. “This initiative will help states evaluate and improve postsecondary opportunities to meet the best interests of justice-impacted students and their state’s workforce landscape.”
For more information about the Advancing Postsecondary Success for Justice-Impacted Students project, visit https://sheeo.org/project/pell-grants-for-prison-education/.
About SHEEO
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) serves the chief executives of statewide governing, policy, and coordinating boards of postsecondary education and their staff. Founded in 1954, SHEEO promotes an environment that values higher education and its role in ensuring the equitable education of all Americans, regardless of race/ethnicity, gender, or socioeconomic factors. Together with its members, SHEEO aims to achieve this vision by equipping state higher education executive officers and their staffs with the tools to effectively advance the value of higher education, promoting public policies and academic practices that enable all Americans to achieve success in the 21st century, and serving as an advocate for state higher education leadership.
About Vera Institute for Justice
The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.
About Ascendium Education Group
Ascendium Education Group® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization driven by the belief that learning after high school gives people the power to build better futures. Our national philanthropy focuses on increasing opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds to achieve upward mobility through postsecondary education and workforce training. We partner with organizations whose objectives align with our core strategies to expand opportunity, support learner success, and connect and align systems. Our grantees include postsecondary education and workforce training providers, intermediaries, researchers, and media organizations from across the U.S. To learn more, visit ascendiumphilanthropy.org.