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Instead I see students, people, who have taken a wrong turn in life �����Ƶ� some very wrong �����Ƶ� looking for a second chance. Most of the students in our program are enthusiastic learners who want to do their very best. Providing them with a connection to education, a shot at opportunity, is both the right and smart thing to do.

The challenge of recidivism gets a great deal of attention. That�����Ƶ�s understandable. More than 600,000 Americans will be released from state and federal prisons this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Within three years, data suggests, two-thirds will be rearrested again and more than half will be re-incarcerated. In far too many cases it�����Ƶ�s because they face daunting obstacles when they try to return to their communities.

How do we break the cycle of recidivism and offer second chances without endangering public safety? How do we improve the lives of incarcerated people? The answer to both lies in education.

Our program, and others like it, can help individuals with criminal backgrounds reestablish their footing when they�����Ƶ�re released by putting them in touch with intellectual pursuits while incarcerated. The prison education environment is changing, and HJC is proud to be part of it.

HJC has worked with Securus Technologies, using secure tablets to provide online courses with Lantern, Securus�����Ƶ�s learning management system, for the past couple of years. Under Securus�����Ƶ�s leadership, we can provide incarcerated students with academic experiences that are similar to those students experience on campus. We recently collaborated with Securus to provide students with access to JSTOR, a world-renowned database of academic articles. Access to this resource helps HJC students take their research and writing to the next level.

Data show that increased access to education reduces recidivism. Policymakers, who are beginning to realize that even modest reductions in recidivism can have huge economic and social impacts, have started to show renewed interest in prison education in recent years. In 2015, for example, Washington launched an experimental Second Chance Pell Grant pilot program giving some incarcerated students access to Pell funding. More recently, in December 2020, the FAFSA Simplification Act reestablished permanent Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students. This change took effect for the 2024-25 academic year. Changes like this can positively affect the trajectory of people�����Ƶ�s lives.

What policymakers face when poring over budgets and balancing the demands of various special interests is dramatically different from what I see in these students. I prefer my view and would like to extend it to others �����Ƶ� because I see incarcerated students who are grateful, eager learners and want to do their best.

In their journal writings and assignments, I�����Ƶ�ve read the stories of people who learned from their past mistakes and now sincerely want to help others. Some are now using what they learn in class to point their children, spouses, and fellow prisoners in the right direction. Education truly changes lives.

Most incarcerated people will get out of prison and, ideally, return to their families and homes. It�����Ƶ�s in everybody�����Ƶ�s best interest to help them land on their feet and become successful contributors to society. Access to technology and learning management systems like those available through Securus play an essential role in HJC�����Ƶ�s mission to educate incarcerated people and help them achieve their goals.