Educating Prisoners:

Is it a Waste of Money & Time?

Abbey Nord

Criminal Justice 1010

Professor Scott Stephenson

April 28, 2021

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Education is such an important part of an individual's life, but not only because it has the

potential to provide more job opportunities, but it also provides one with important life skills and

knowledge. Getting a high school diploma, or a GED, sets someone up with more opportunities

than those that don’t. Unfortunately and fortunately, American society places education on such a

high pedestal that it is almost crucial to attain at least a high school diploma. It can be extremely

difficult for someone to make a decent living without it. Combining that idea with prisoners adds

even more difficulties because it brings up numerous questions and doubts of whether or not

prisoners ‘deserve’ to be educated. On the pro side there is the idea of reducing recidivism,

improving the prison environment, and actually saving the government money. However, there is

also a negative side that deals with the issue of safety, the level of fairness and equality, and

potential alternatives. Either way it is important to look at both sides.

In regards to educating prisoners the most asked question is about funding. Currently, a

majority of the funds for prisons is focused on housing, especially now as the prisoner population

has been rapidly increasing. However, on the other side, there is the idea that funding, federal

and state, should have more of an emphasis on rehabilitation. Education is a major factor in

rehabilitating prisoners, as it has shown in studies to be quite effective. The US Sentencing

Commission conducted a beginner study to determine the current reoffending rate. They found

that almost half of prisoners that were released were sent back to jail within eight years. The

highest of that age group was those that were 21 years old and younger. The part that applies is

the fact that 60.4 percent of those individuals did not have a high school degree (Bender). If one

is educated while in the system they are less likely to be rearrested as they are able to gain not

only life lessons but also opportunities once they are released. If they are released with a degree
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or a step closer to receiving a degree they are going to be more likely to get a job and pursue that

education. It reduces crime while spreading benefits throughout the whole nation.

Educating prisoners will not only benefit them once they are released, but it could

potentially aid them in the actual prison. The effects of being less violent and wanting to turn

their lives around in individuals is going to begin before they are released, which will help in

creating a healthier environment within the prison. Oftentimes one of the arguments for not

educating prisoners is either their age or the unknown on if they will ever be released, and the

answer for that is simple. By educating all prisoners it creates a role model for those that may be

younger, are just entering prison, or those that may have a more difficult time with changing their

ways. Education helps to create a space where prisoners are learning and evolving, in all ways,

rather than just “doing your time” and leaving only to redo it again eight or ten years later.

Obviously, there are individuals that are simply not going to want an education, or have little

desire to improve their lives, but in the broad scheme of things a majority would prefer to have

that degree. While this is not an excuse or a major reason behind why educating prisoners is

beneficial; in a few cases individuals end up in jail or prisons because society failed them. For

some it is extremely difficult to get an education outside of prison, to get a job, or have

opportunities that others may take for granted. This is mainly people of color. When society

gives these individuals next to nothing, especially compared to others, they are not aware of how

to get that education or how to succeed in the American economy. Oftentimes they are given

little choice. Obviously, there is a debate on that, but if they are not at least given the tools to

understand how to achieve these opportunities then how are they going to do it? Educating

prisoners can give some individuals a second chance at the life they were unsure of how to

initially achieve (Education Solutions…).

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On the other side of educating prisoners, the side that benefits those outside of prison, is

the positives in regards to taxes. One of the major long-term effects on the economy is that every

dollar spent on prison education will save taxpayers about four to five dollars, as the extra money

would have been spent on incarceration. This places money back with consumers, and like

mentioned above, it provides prisoners with tools to be more competitive within the job market,

enhancing economic activity and productivity. If some of the money going towards housing and

the actual prisons were to instead go to education it would save a good amount of money, and

potentially reduce the number of those incarcerated, which would further save money in the

long-run (Gertsmann). One prime example of educating prisoners is of a somewhat well-known

institution, Bard Prison Initiative (BPI). Located in New York, this prison, which only enrolls

300 students/prisoners at a time, provides high quality college education to prisoners that are

serving at prisons throughout the state. To show the quality of their education they complete

debate competitions with some of the top rating schools in the nation like Harvard or Cambridge.

There have only been two schools who have been able to beat BPI. Looking at the type of

offenses is important as well since that will be a major factor in how beneficial education will be.

In the case of BPI, the prisoners are those that have committed serious crimes and are likely to

continue a cycle of returning to prison throughout their life. Statistics show that 97.5% of BPI

prisoners never return (How Prison Education...). While transferring BPI’s ways to a larger

scheme of prisoners is a more difficult task, this shows that education is indeed a positive factor

that benefits numerous individuals as well as the nation as a whole.

With almost every topic there are two sides, so it is important to not only look at the

positives of education prisoners, but also why it may not be the most beneficial idea. One of the

most common thoughts against educating prisoners is a concern of safety. Oftentimes it is

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instructors or professors that are brought in to teach, and while some are paid, the majority are

not. It is typically a volunteer act as many prisoners have not yet implemented a whole education

system. During the time of teaching it is crucial the classes are monitored closely or the teacher

could potentially be in danger. Correctional officers and administrators are then being forced to

take time off from their other work to monitor the classes, which to some seems useless along

with the belief that their time would be better spent managing their facility. Along with the

safety, is the question of how the prisoners are going to use the information they are taught.

There is no guarantee they are going to apply their new knowledge in a positive way. By

providing them with advanced lessons it could potentially provide them with ideas of planning or

coding or other ways to break the law and get away with it. In these cases educating all prisoners

may not be as beneficial as it appears initially (Chief).

The next big idea is in regards to money, which is often what most things come down to

in America. Providing free education to individuals that won’t be released is a waste of money.

Why spend thousands of dollars to give someone who violated the law a privilege others have to

pay for? Especially if they are not ever going to be able to apply it outside of prison. There is

logic in providing education to those that will be released back into society, as it can potentially

benefit society, but outside of that does not seem logical. Combining the loss of money with the

disparity of those that made ‘good’ choices and those that didn’t brings up the question of, “why

should somebody who commits a crime get a free ride to college?” Those within society are not

given free college, and along with having to pay for an education, housing, living expenses, and

the other numerous payments, is the debt that they are stuck with. Student loans can consume

people, but prisoners can get it for free? There is a lack of fairness that those that followed the

rules of society and made “good choices” have to pay, but those that went against society don’t
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have to. In some people's minds it makes more sense to put funding into free education for those

not in prison than those within the system (Locke).

Going to school does not guarantee one a job or money. This statement is true for

both people in society and those in prison. Inmates are not guaranteed to get a job after they are

released just because they have an education, more times than not the fact that they have a

criminal background outweighs any kind of education, especially for jobs that do require having

a high school diploma or GED. With this idea comes an alternative of work. More common now

than ever is attaining a job while in prison. These jobs provide prisoners with numerous

opportunities and prepare them a bit more for life in society once they are released. On the job

they are also able to learn valuable information that can be applied as life skills and can aid them

in ways that a basic education could not. It also gives them experience, which may help them

attain a job as they have something they can put on their resume. They are also able to earn

money by getting a job in prison, while it may not be much, they are still earning, which they

would not be able to do if their time was spent in a classroom instead. Working also has the

similar benefits of reducing recidivism and gets the inmates out of their cells for longer, which

has its own benefits. In the end it is a question of how prisoners should spend their time (Locke).

After looking at both sides, should prisoners be educated? There are positives and

negatives to both sides, so it seems to be a matter of which factors are more important and also

on who should make this decision. Depending on who you ask and their status will often

determine their answer. It is a tricky matter with no perfect answer. It is a question and debate

that will continue for many years and may never actually receive an “answer” or outcome, but

taking both sides into question and weighing out the pros and cons is crucial in coming to a
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conclusion. However, it currently seems as if the most effective conclusion would be to educate

some of the prisoners, at least those that have a shorter sentence.

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References

Bender, K. (2018, November 30). Education Opportunities in Prison Are Key to Reducing

Crime. Center for American Progress.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/news/2018/03/02/447321/educa

tion-opportunities-prison-key-reducing-crime/.

Breaking News, U.S. and World News. HuffPost. (n.d.). https://www.huffpost.com/.

Chief, E. in. (2019, October 24). 18 Big Pros and Cons of Education for Prisoners. ConnectUS.

https://connectusfund.org/18-big-pros-and-cons-of-education-for-prisoners.

Education Solutions Can Break the Cycle of Recidivism. GTL. (2019, March 16).

https://www.gtl.net/gtls-education-solutions-can-break-the-cycle-of-recidivism/.

Gerstmann, E. (2019, November 25). How College In Prison Turns Around Lives And Saves

Taxpayers Money. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/evangerstmann/2019/11/23/how-college-in-prison-turns-aro

und-lives-and-saves-taxpayers-money/.

How Prison Education Can Save Taxpayers Money. Bard Prison Initiative. (2019, October 10).

https://bpi.bard.edu/press-clip/how-prison-education-can-save-taxpayers-money/.

Locke, M. (2002, December 1). Groups Weigh Pros and Cons Of College Studies for
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Prisoners. The Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/12/01/groups-weigh-pros-and-co

ns-of-college-studies-for-prisoners/8b482cd8-f336-4f9d-bbd7-35975438333d/.

Wakeman, R. (2020, September 1). Wakeman: Educating nonviolent prisoners will save tax

dollars. Mi House Repubs.

https://gophouse.org/posts/wakeman-educating-nonviolent-prisoners-will-save-tax-dollar

s.
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Personal Evaluation

In the case of the topic I picked I found there is not a perfect answer, as with most things.

In my personal opinion, I think that prisoners should be educated. I thought that before doing my

research and I still believe that to be true. Some assumptions I had made prior to research were

that the benefits outweigh the negatives, and that a majority of the negatives could be fixed or

altered. I had also assumed the teachers would be paid, which turned out to be incorrect, at least

in most cases. I was somewhat shocked by this, but after thinking it through and looking more

into the research it does make sense, at least with where the education system for prisoners is at

right now. I am still unsure if this is valid, but I am assuming that the potential to educate

prisoners will only occur in smaller prisons, such as the BPI program, because it is much easier

to do it in a smaller setting as it requires less equipment, less teachers, and less money. I would

like to do some more research regarding where educating prisoners is currently at like the states,

the size of prisons, as well as the type and quality of education.

A conclusion is slightly difficult to come to, but after looking at the facts and research I

would assume a majority would agree that these programs should exist. It seems as if we already

have several in the works with more to come. It is just a matter of convincing the right people. I

think I asked the right questions, but maybe not enough. As I did more research I continued to

find more and more points and evidence about factors I had never considered, which shows that

there is a lot more to it than just educating them. There’s money to take into consideration, the

type of prisoners, the location, the teachers, etc. There is so much information and statistics that

requires numerous amounts of research. There are a couple conclusions, it isn’t black and white.

There is the potential of only educating some prisoners, educating none of them, or all of them,

etc. I believe I picked the right one based on my research, but I can see why others may pick
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another option. This assignment didn’t necessarily change my opinion, but it did change how I

viewed the other sides. Prior to this assignment I truthfully was unsure of why someone would

not want them to be educated, but the other side did make some valid points that I did take into

consideration. However, I am a bit biased as education is a huge part of my own life and I am a

firm believer that it should be open for everyone everywhere. In the end though my biggest

takeaway is to not be blinded by your side of things and to be open to exploring and learning the

opposite opinion.