Thousands more prisoners across the US will get free college paid for by the government
Thousands more prisoners across the US will get free college paid for by the government
Jacq’lene Massey shields her eyes from the sun as she watches for her husband, Folsom State Prison inmate Gerald Massey, to be released with the couple’s children, Grace, 9, center, and Brian, 12, right in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Jacq’lene Massey hugs her husband, Gerald Massey, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. While in prison, Massey earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at California State University, Sacramento. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Rebecca Massey hugs her son Gerald Massey after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. While in prison Massey earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at California State University, Sacramento. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Gerald Massey, left, bows his head in prayer with this family, daughter Grace, 9, second from left, son Brian, 12, third from left, wife Jacq’lene, fourth from left, and mother-in-law, Grace Livngston-Nunley, right, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Gerald Massey, wearing baseball cap, enjoys some time with his children, Brian, 12, and Grace, 9, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished various educational and vocational programs in prison, wait for the start of their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay. That program is about to expand exponentially next month, giving about 30,000 more students behind bars some $130 million in financial aid per year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prison guard walks through a gate at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, more than 760,000 people in prison will become eligible for Pell Grants once the law is implemented on July 1. Prison education advocates say it’s not a matter of if, but when recidivism rates drop and job attainment begins to rise. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), walks to his cell after class at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Massey, one of 11 Folsom students graduating with a degree from the California State University at Sacramento, has served nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunken driving incident that killed his close friend. “The last day I talked to him, he was telling me, I should go back to college,” Massey said. “So when I came into prison and I saw an opportunity to go to college, I took it.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), holds a binder with his family photos while waiting for his class to start at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Born in San Francisco to parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan, Massey recalls growing up feeling like an outsider. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications, Gerald Massey, center standing, works with Sherman Dorsey in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey and Dorsey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jamal Lewis, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), works on his laptop in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. A ban on Pell Grants for prisoners caused the hundreds of college-in-prison programs that existed in the 1970s and 1980s to go almost entirely extinct by the late nineties. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS) sit in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Congress voted to lift a ban on Pell Grants for prisoners in 2020, and since then about 130 experimental programs have been running, like the one at Folsom. Now, the floodgates will open, and more than 200 colleges have been invited to provide Pell-eligible prison education programs in 48 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications, Jamal Lewis, from right, Lambert Pabriaga and Sherman Dorsey walk to their class at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, more than 760,000 people in prison will become eligible for Pell Grants once the law is implemented on July 1. Prison education advocates say it’s not a matter of if, but when recidivism rates drop and job attainment begins to rise. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), studies in his cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A small calendar is propped up behind a pipe in Gerald Massey’s cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Massey recently earned his bachelor’s degree in communications. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Waterdrops sit on the surface of Gerald Massey’s binder with his family photos as Massey works in a barbershop at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Massey earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), talks with officer Chris Solorzano after giving him a haircut at Folsom State Prison in Re, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Prison forced Massey to take responsibility for his actions. He got focused, sought rehabilitation for alcoholism and restarted his pursuit of education. He also took up prison barbering to make money. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
CORRECTS TO ZUCKERMAN, NOT ZUCHERMAN - David Zuckerman, the interim director of the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), talks to a formerly incarcerated employee in the school’s Project Rebound office in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, May 24, 2023. If a prisoner paroles with a degree, never reoffends, gets a job earning a good salary and pays taxes, then the expansion of prison education shouldn’t be a hard sell, says Zuckerman. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Family members and relatives of prisoner-students arrive to attend a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Advocates say college and other rehabilitative programming improve safety in the prisons for staff and the incarcerated population, reducing the number of violent incidents. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Graduation gowns hang in racks after a ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Studies have shown that taking any kind of courses while behind bars results in a 43% less likelihood that a former prisoner will commit more crime and return to prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
CORRECTS TO ZUCKERMAN, NOT ZUCHERMAN - Sacramento State President Robert Nelson, right, and David Zuckerman, center, the interim director of the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), wait for the start of a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) corrects to Zuckerman, not Zucherman
Prisoner-student Gabriel Bonilla adjusts a cap for Michael Love, center, while waiting for the start of their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. After serving more than 35 years in prison, Love is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Sacramento State. He is employed by Project Rebound, an organization that assists and mentors formerly incarcerated people as they further their education. Love has also been hired as a teaching aide and will teach freshmen communications students in the fall. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prisoner applauds as Lambert Pabriaga, right, and Eric Pomatto, center, walk into their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Pabriaga and Pomatto earned their bachelor’s degrees in communications in prison through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Formerly incarcerated student and valedictorian Michael Love speaks during a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. After serving more than 35 years in prison, the 55-year-old is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Sacramento State. He is employed by Project Rebound, an organization that assists and mentors formerly incarcerated people as they further their education. “You have just as much value as anyone in the community,” he told the other prisoners in his speech. “You are loved. I love you, that’s why I’m here.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gabriel Bonilla, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications, wipes away tears while listening to a speech by Sacramento State President Robert Nelson during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prisoner with tattoos on his head listens to a speech during a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished their bachelor’s degree program in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), extend their pinky fingers during their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Jose Catalan is hugged by his mother, Maria, before his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Catalan finished his bachelor’s degree program in communications in prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey listens to a speech during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey hugs his daughter, Grace, as his wife, Jacq’lene, stands next to them after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Massey earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Jose Catalan poses for photos after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Catalan earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished their bachelor’s degree program in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stand for a group photo in their cap and gowns before their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A card celebrating Jamal Lewis’s graduation is seen in his cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Lewis earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Manuel Martinez, an incarcerated student who finished his bachelor’s degree program in communications while in prison, looks at his tassel after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students Leroy Dehaven, left, with a tassel hanging from his ear, and Gerald Massey, foreground, wait to return to their cells after their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey, who earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State, salutes a U.S. flag during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Manuel Martinez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait outside his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay. That program is about to expand exponentially in July, giving tens of thousands more students behind bars financial aid per year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Leroy Dehaven, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
David Dominguez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jamal Lewis, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gabriel Bonilla, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jose Catalan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Lambert Pabriaga, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Sherman Dorsey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Eric Pomatton, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait outside his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, left, hugs his father, John Massey, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Jacq’lene Massey shields her eyes from the sun as she watches for her husband, Folsom State Prison inmate Gerald Massey, to be released with the couple’s children, Grace, 9, center, and Brian, 12, right in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Jacq’lene Massey shields her eyes from the sun as she watches for her husband, Folsom State Prison inmate Gerald Massey, to be released with the couple’s children, Grace, 9, center, and Brian, 12, right in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Jacq’lene Massey hugs her husband, Gerald Massey, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. While in prison, Massey earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at California State University, Sacramento. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Jacq’lene Massey hugs her husband, Gerald Massey, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. While in prison, Massey earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at California State University, Sacramento. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Rebecca Massey hugs her son Gerald Massey after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. While in prison Massey earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at California State University, Sacramento. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Rebecca Massey hugs her son Gerald Massey after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. While in prison Massey earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at California State University, Sacramento. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Gerald Massey, left, bows his head in prayer with this family, daughter Grace, 9, second from left, son Brian, 12, third from left, wife Jacq’lene, fourth from left, and mother-in-law, Grace Livngston-Nunley, right, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Gerald Massey, left, bows his head in prayer with this family, daughter Grace, 9, second from left, son Brian, 12, third from left, wife Jacq’lene, fourth from left, and mother-in-law, Grace Livngston-Nunley, right, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Gerald Massey, wearing baseball cap, enjoys some time with his children, Brian, 12, and Grace, 9, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Gerald Massey, wearing baseball cap, enjoys some time with his children, Brian, 12, and Grace, 9, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished various educational and vocational programs in prison, wait for the start of their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay. That program is about to expand exponentially next month, giving about 30,000 more students behind bars some $130 million in financial aid per year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished various educational and vocational programs in prison, wait for the start of their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay. That program is about to expand exponentially next month, giving about 30,000 more students behind bars some $130 million in financial aid per year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prison guard walks through a gate at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, more than 760,000 people in prison will become eligible for Pell Grants once the law is implemented on July 1. Prison education advocates say it’s not a matter of if, but when recidivism rates drop and job attainment begins to rise. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prison guard walks through a gate at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, more than 760,000 people in prison will become eligible for Pell Grants once the law is implemented on July 1. Prison education advocates say it’s not a matter of if, but when recidivism rates drop and job attainment begins to rise. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), walks to his cell after class at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Massey, one of 11 Folsom students graduating with a degree from the California State University at Sacramento, has served nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunken driving incident that killed his close friend. “The last day I talked to him, he was telling me, I should go back to college,” Massey said. “So when I came into prison and I saw an opportunity to go to college, I took it.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), walks to his cell after class at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Massey, one of 11 Folsom students graduating with a degree from the California State University at Sacramento, has served nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunken driving incident that killed his close friend. “The last day I talked to him, he was telling me, I should go back to college,” Massey said. “So when I came into prison and I saw an opportunity to go to college, I took it.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), holds a binder with his family photos while waiting for his class to start at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Born in San Francisco to parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan, Massey recalls growing up feeling like an outsider. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), holds a binder with his family photos while waiting for his class to start at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Born in San Francisco to parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan, Massey recalls growing up feeling like an outsider. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications, Gerald Massey, center standing, works with Sherman Dorsey in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey and Dorsey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications, Gerald Massey, center standing, works with Sherman Dorsey in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey and Dorsey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jamal Lewis, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), works on his laptop in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. A ban on Pell Grants for prisoners caused the hundreds of college-in-prison programs that existed in the 1970s and 1980s to go almost entirely extinct by the late nineties. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jamal Lewis, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), works on his laptop in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. A ban on Pell Grants for prisoners caused the hundreds of college-in-prison programs that existed in the 1970s and 1980s to go almost entirely extinct by the late nineties. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS) sit in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Congress voted to lift a ban on Pell Grants for prisoners in 2020, and since then about 130 experimental programs have been running, like the one at Folsom. Now, the floodgates will open, and more than 200 colleges have been invited to provide Pell-eligible prison education programs in 48 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS) sit in a classroom at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Congress voted to lift a ban on Pell Grants for prisoners in 2020, and since then about 130 experimental programs have been running, like the one at Folsom. Now, the floodgates will open, and more than 200 colleges have been invited to provide Pell-eligible prison education programs in 48 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications, Jamal Lewis, from right, Lambert Pabriaga and Sherman Dorsey walk to their class at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, more than 760,000 people in prison will become eligible for Pell Grants once the law is implemented on July 1. Prison education advocates say it’s not a matter of if, but when recidivism rates drop and job attainment begins to rise. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students majoring communications, Jamal Lewis, from right, Lambert Pabriaga and Sherman Dorsey walk to their class at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Under the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, more than 760,000 people in prison will become eligible for Pell Grants once the law is implemented on July 1. Prison education advocates say it’s not a matter of if, but when recidivism rates drop and job attainment begins to rise. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), studies in his cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), studies in his cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A small calendar is propped up behind a pipe in Gerald Massey’s cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Massey recently earned his bachelor’s degree in communications. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A small calendar is propped up behind a pipe in Gerald Massey’s cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Massey recently earned his bachelor’s degree in communications. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Waterdrops sit on the surface of Gerald Massey’s binder with his family photos as Massey works in a barbershop at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Massey earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Waterdrops sit on the surface of Gerald Massey’s binder with his family photos as Massey works in a barbershop at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Massey earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), talks with officer Chris Solorzano after giving him a haircut at Folsom State Prison in Re, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Prison forced Massey to take responsibility for his actions. He got focused, sought rehabilitation for alcoholism and restarted his pursuit of education. He also took up prison barbering to make money. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, an incarcerated student majoring communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), talks with officer Chris Solorzano after giving him a haircut at Folsom State Prison in Re, Calif., Thursday, May 4, 2023. Prison forced Massey to take responsibility for his actions. He got focused, sought rehabilitation for alcoholism and restarted his pursuit of education. He also took up prison barbering to make money. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
CORRECTS TO ZUCKERMAN, NOT ZUCHERMAN - David Zuckerman, the interim director of the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), talks to a formerly incarcerated employee in the school’s Project Rebound office in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, May 24, 2023. If a prisoner paroles with a degree, never reoffends, gets a job earning a good salary and pays taxes, then the expansion of prison education shouldn’t be a hard sell, says Zuckerman. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
CORRECTS TO ZUCKERMAN, NOT ZUCHERMAN - David Zuckerman, the interim director of the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), talks to a formerly incarcerated employee in the school’s Project Rebound office in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, May 24, 2023. If a prisoner paroles with a degree, never reoffends, gets a job earning a good salary and pays taxes, then the expansion of prison education shouldn’t be a hard sell, says Zuckerman. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Family members and relatives of prisoner-students arrive to attend a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Advocates say college and other rehabilitative programming improve safety in the prisons for staff and the incarcerated population, reducing the number of violent incidents. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Family members and relatives of prisoner-students arrive to attend a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Advocates say college and other rehabilitative programming improve safety in the prisons for staff and the incarcerated population, reducing the number of violent incidents. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Graduation gowns hang in racks after a ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Studies have shown that taking any kind of courses while behind bars results in a 43% less likelihood that a former prisoner will commit more crime and return to prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Graduation gowns hang in racks after a ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Studies have shown that taking any kind of courses while behind bars results in a 43% less likelihood that a former prisoner will commit more crime and return to prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
CORRECTS TO ZUCKERMAN, NOT ZUCHERMAN - Sacramento State President Robert Nelson, right, and David Zuckerman, center, the interim director of the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), wait for the start of a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) corrects to Zuckerman, not Zucherman
CORRECTS TO ZUCKERMAN, NOT ZUCHERMAN - Sacramento State President Robert Nelson, right, and David Zuckerman, center, the interim director of the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), wait for the start of a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) corrects to Zuckerman, not Zucherman
Prisoner-student Gabriel Bonilla adjusts a cap for Michael Love, center, while waiting for the start of their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. After serving more than 35 years in prison, Love is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Sacramento State. He is employed by Project Rebound, an organization that assists and mentors formerly incarcerated people as they further their education. Love has also been hired as a teaching aide and will teach freshmen communications students in the fall. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-student Gabriel Bonilla adjusts a cap for Michael Love, center, while waiting for the start of their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. After serving more than 35 years in prison, Love is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Sacramento State. He is employed by Project Rebound, an organization that assists and mentors formerly incarcerated people as they further their education. Love has also been hired as a teaching aide and will teach freshmen communications students in the fall. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prisoner applauds as Lambert Pabriaga, right, and Eric Pomatto, center, walk into their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Pabriaga and Pomatto earned their bachelor’s degrees in communications in prison through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prisoner applauds as Lambert Pabriaga, right, and Eric Pomatto, center, walk into their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Pabriaga and Pomatto earned their bachelor’s degrees in communications in prison through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Formerly incarcerated student and valedictorian Michael Love speaks during a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. After serving more than 35 years in prison, the 55-year-old is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Sacramento State. He is employed by Project Rebound, an organization that assists and mentors formerly incarcerated people as they further their education. “You have just as much value as anyone in the community,” he told the other prisoners in his speech. “You are loved. I love you, that’s why I’m here.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Formerly incarcerated student and valedictorian Michael Love speaks during a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. After serving more than 35 years in prison, the 55-year-old is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Sacramento State. He is employed by Project Rebound, an organization that assists and mentors formerly incarcerated people as they further their education. “You have just as much value as anyone in the community,” he told the other prisoners in his speech. “You are loved. I love you, that’s why I’m here.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gabriel Bonilla, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications, wipes away tears while listening to a speech by Sacramento State President Robert Nelson during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gabriel Bonilla, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications, wipes away tears while listening to a speech by Sacramento State President Robert Nelson during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prisoner with tattoos on his head listens to a speech during a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A prisoner with tattoos on his head listens to a speech during a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished their bachelor’s degree program in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), extend their pinky fingers during their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished their bachelor’s degree program in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), extend their pinky fingers during their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Jose Catalan is hugged by his mother, Maria, before his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Catalan finished his bachelor’s degree program in communications in prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Jose Catalan is hugged by his mother, Maria, before his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Catalan finished his bachelor’s degree program in communications in prison. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey listens to a speech during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey listens to a speech during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners like Massey will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees, when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey hugs his daughter, Grace, as his wife, Jacq’lene, stands next to them after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Massey earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey hugs his daughter, Grace, as his wife, Jacq’lene, stands next to them after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Massey earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Jose Catalan poses for photos after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Catalan earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Jose Catalan poses for photos after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Catalan earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished their bachelor’s degree program in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stand for a group photo in their cap and gowns before their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduates, who finished their bachelor’s degree program in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stand for a group photo in their cap and gowns before their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Many more prisoners will have opportunities to leave prison with bachelor’s degrees when new federal rules on financial aid for higher education take effect in July. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A card celebrating Jamal Lewis’s graduation is seen in his cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Lewis earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A card celebrating Jamal Lewis’s graduation is seen in his cell at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Lewis earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Manuel Martinez, an incarcerated student who finished his bachelor’s degree program in communications while in prison, looks at his tassel after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Manuel Martinez, an incarcerated student who finished his bachelor’s degree program in communications while in prison, looks at his tassel after his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students Leroy Dehaven, left, with a tassel hanging from his ear, and Gerald Massey, foreground, wait to return to their cells after their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Prisoner-students Leroy Dehaven, left, with a tassel hanging from his ear, and Gerald Massey, foreground, wait to return to their cells after their graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey, who earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State, salutes a U.S. flag during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Incarcerated graduate Gerald Massey, who earned his bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State, salutes a U.S. flag during his graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Manuel Martinez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait outside his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay. That program is about to expand exponentially in July, giving tens of thousands more students behind bars financial aid per year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Manuel Martinez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait outside his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay. That program is about to expand exponentially in July, giving tens of thousands more students behind bars financial aid per year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Leroy Dehaven, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Leroy Dehaven, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
David Dominguez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
David Dominguez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jamal Lewis, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jamal Lewis, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gabriel Bonilla, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gabriel Bonilla, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jose Catalan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Jose Catalan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Lambert Pabriaga, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Lambert Pabriaga, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Sherman Dorsey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Sherman Dorsey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), sits for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait in his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Eric Pomatton, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait outside his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Eric Pomatton, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communications through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS), stands for a portrait outside his cell after a graduation ceremony at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Thursday, May 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Gerald Massey, left, hugs his father, John Massey, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Gerald Massey, left, hugs his father, John Massey, after his release from Folsom State Prison in Folsom, Calif., Monday, July 3, 2023. Gerald Massey was released on parole after serving nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunk driving incident that killed his close friend. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
REPRESA, California (AP) — The graduates lined up, brushing off their gowns and adjusting classmates’ tassels and stoles. As the graduation march played, the 85 men appeared to hoots and cheers from their families. They marched to the stage – one surrounded by barbed wire fence and constructed by fellow prisoners.
For these were no ordinary graduates. Their black commencement garb almost hid their aqua and navy-blue prison uniforms as they received college degrees, high school diplomas and vocational certificates earned while they served time.
Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay.
That program is about to expand exponentially next month, giving about 30,000 more students behind bars some $130 million in financial aid per year.
Photo Update: Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State (TOPSS) Graduates
The new rules, which overturn a 1994 ban on Pell Grants for prisoners, begin to address decades of policy during the “tough on crime” 1970s-2000 that brought about mass incarceration and stark racial disparities in the nation’s 1.9 million prison population.
For prisoners who get their college degrees, including those at Folsom State Prison who got grants during an experimental period that started in 2016, it can be the difference between walking free with a life ahead and ending up back behind bars. Finding a job is difficult with a criminal conviction, and a college degree is an advantage former prisoners desperately need.
Gerald Massey, one of 11 Folsom students graduating with a degree from the California State University at Sacramento, has served nine years of a 15-to-life sentence for a drunken driving incident that killed his close friend.
“The last day I talked to him, he was telling me, I should go back to college,” Massey said. “So when I came into prison and I saw an opportunity to go to college, I took it.”
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Consider this: It costs roughly $106,000 per year to incarcerate one adult in California.
It costs about $20,000 to educate a prisoner with a bachelor’s degree program through the Transforming Outcomes Project at Sacramento State, or TOPSS.
If a prisoner paroles with a degree, never reoffends, gets a job earning a good salary and pays taxes, then the expansion of prison education shouldn’t be a hard sell, said David Zuckerman, the project’s interim director.
“I would say that return on investment is better than anything I’ve ever invested in,” Zuckerman said.
That doesn’t mean it’s always popular. Using taxpayer money to give college aid to people who’ve broken the law can be controversial. When the Obama administration offered a limited number of Pell Grants to prisoners through executive action in 2015, some prominent Republicans opposed it, arguing in favor of improving the existing federal job training and re-entry programs instead.
The 1990s saw imprisonment rates for Black and Hispanic Americans triple between 1970 and 2000. The rate doubled for white Americans in the same time span.
The ban on Pell Grants for prisoners caused the hundreds of college-in-prison programs that existed in the 1970s and 1980s to go almost entirely extinct by the late nineties.
Congress voted to lift the ban in 2020, and since then about 200 Pell-eligible college programs in 48 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico have been running, like the one at Folsom. Now, the floodgates will open, allowing any college that wants to utilize Pell Grant funding to serve incarcerated students to apply and, if approved, launch their program.
President Joe Biden has strongly supported giving Pell Grants to prisoners in recent years. It’s a turnaround – the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, championed by the former Delaware senator, was what barred prisoners from getting Pell Grants in the first place. Biden has since said he didn’t agree with that part of the compromise legislation.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had 200 students enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs this spring, and has partnered with eight universities across the state. The goal, says CDCR press secretary Terri Hardy: Transforming prisoners’ lives through education.
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Aside from students dressed in prisoner blues, classes inside Folsom Prison look and feel like any college class. Instructors give incarcerated students the same assignments as the pupils on campus.
The students in the Folsom Prison classes come from many different backgrounds. They are Black, white, Hispanic, young, middle aged and senior. Massey, who got his communications degree, is of South Asian heritage.
Born in San Francisco to parents who immigrated to the U.S. from Pakistan, Massey recalls growing up feeling like an outsider. Although most people of his background are Muslim, his family members belonged to a small Christian community in Karachi.
In primary school, he was a target for bullies. As a teen, he remembered seeking acceptance from the wrong people. When he completed high school, Massey joined the Air Force.
“After 9/11, I went in and some people thought I was a terrorist trying to infiltrate,” he said. “It really bothered me. So when I got out of the military, I didn’t want anything to do with them.”
Massey enrolled in college after one year in the military, but dropped out. Later, he became a certified nursing assistant and held the job for 10 years. He married and had two children.
His addiction to alcohol and a marijuana habit knocked him off course.
“I was living like a little kid and I had my own little kids,” Massey said. “And I thought if I do the bare minimum, that’s OK.”
Prison forced him to take responsibility for his actions. He got focused, sought rehabilitation for alcoholism and restarted his pursuit of education. He also took up prison barbering to make money.
In between haircuts for correctional officers and other prison staff, Massey took advantage of his access to WiFi connection to study, take tests and work on assignments. Internet service doesn’t reach the prisoners’ housing units.
On commencement day, Massey was the last of his classmates to put on his cap and gown. He was a member of the ceremony’s honor guard – his prison uniform was decorated with a white aiguillette, the ornamental braided cord denoting his military service.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” Massey said. “I feel, honestly, that God opened the doors and I just walked through them.”
Massey found his mom, wife and daughter for a long-awaited celebratory embrace. He reserved the longest and tightest embrace for his 9-year-old daughter, Grace. Her small frame collapsed into his outstretched arms, as wife Jacq’lene Massey looked on.
“There’s so many different facets and things that can happen when you’re incarcerated, but this kept him focused on his goals,” Massey’s wife Jacq’lene said. “Having the resources and the ability to participate in programs like that really helped him, but it actually helps us, too.”
“There’s the domino effect – it’s good for our kids to see that. It’s good for me to see that,” she said.
In addition to his communications degree, Massey earned degrees in theology and biblical studies. His post-release options began to materialize ahead of graduation. State commissioners deemed him fit for parole. A nonprofit group that assists incarcerated military veterans met with him in May to set up transitional housing, food, clothing and healthcare insurance for his eventual re-entry.
“There’s a radio station I listen to, a Christian radio station, that I’ve been thinking one day I would like to work for,” Massey said. “They are always talking about redemption stories. So I would like to share my redemption story, one day.”
On July 3, the day before Independence Day, Massey exited the granite walls, walked beyond the green copper watchtower of Old Folsom State Prison, into the arms of loved ones.
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College-in-prison programs aren’t perfect. Many prisons barely have enough room to accommodate the few educational and rehabilitation programs that already exist. Prisons will have to figure out how to make space and get the technology to help students succeed.
Racial imbalances in prison college enrollment and completion rates are also a growing concern for advocates. People of color make up a disproportionate segment of the U.S. prison population. Yet white students were enrolled in college programs at a percentage higher than their portion of the overall prison population, according to a six-year Vera Institute of Justice study of Pell Grant experimental programs in prison.
Black and Hispanic students were enrolled by eight and 15 percentage points below their prison population, respectively.
Prisoners with a record of good behavior get preference for the rehabilitative and prison college programs. Black and Hispanic prisoners are more likely to face discipline.
“If you’re tying discipline to college access, then … those folks are not going to have as much access,” said Margaret diZerega, who directs the Vera Institute’s Unlocking Potential initiative, which is focused on expanding college in prison.
“Let’s get them into college and set them on a different trajectory.”
The U.S. Department of Education said the agency has neither the authority to regulate a prison college’s admission requirements nor the authority to mandate how prisons restrict enrollment in postsecondary programs. But the agency will provide support to prisons and colleges trying to address the racial disparities in enrollment.
“For America to be a country of second chances, we must uphold education’s promise of a better life for people who’ve been impacted by the criminal justice system,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a written statement to the AP.
Pell Grants will “provide meaningful opportunities for redemption and rehabilitation, reduce recidivism rates, and empower incarcerated people to build brighter futures for themselves, their families, and our communities,” Cardona said.
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Of the 11 men getting Bachelor’s degrees in the jubilant ceremony at Folsom Prison last month, one was no longer a prisoner.
Michael Love, who had paroled from Folsom Prison five months earlier, came back to give the valedictory speech. He wore a suit and tie underneath his cap and gown.
To his classmates, Love is a tangible example of what is possible for their own redemption journeys.
After serving more than 35 years in prison, the 55-year-old is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at Sacramento State. He’s been hired as a teaching aide and will teach freshmen communications students in the fall, and is also working as a mentor with Project Rebound, an organization that assists formerly incarcerated people.
“You have just as much value as anyone in the community,” he told the other prisoners in his speech. “You are loved. I love you, that’s why I’m here.”
For many of the prisoners, it was the graduation that their families never imagined they’d get to see. A 28-year-old man met his father in person for the first time, as his dad received a GED.
As the ceremony wrapped, Robert Nelsen, the outgoing president of Sacramento State University, choked up with tears. He was retiring, so the graduation at Folsom Prison was the last ceremony he would preside over as a university president.
“There is one final tradition and that is to move the tassel – not yet, not yet, not yet – from the right to the left,” Nelsen instructed to laughter from the audience and graduates.
“The left side is where your heart is,” the university president said. “When you move that tassel, you are moving education and the love of education into your heart forever.”
The ceremony was done. Many graduates joined their loved ones inside a visitation hall for slices of white and chocolate sheet cake and cups of punch.
The graduates walked back to their housing units with more than just hope for what their futures might bring. One day, they’ll walk out of the prison gates with degrees that don’t bear an asterisk revealing they earned it while in prison.
They’ll walk toward a second chance.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press initially published a version of this story on June 28, 2023. It was updated to reflect the July 3 parole of Gerald Massey and adds additional background from the U.S. Department of Education.
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This is the second in an occasional Associated Press series examining the lives and conditions of prisoners in U.S. correctional facilities. Send confidential tips to ap.org/tips. The Associated Press receives support from the Public Welfare Foundation for reporting focused on criminal justice. The AP is solely responsible for all content.