Resources

chains turning into birds

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010).

Alliance for Higher Education in Prison. National Directory & Document Library. https://www.higheredinprison.org/national-directory/document-library

Aspen Institute Education and Society Program. “Statement on Equity.”

Beuten, Cathy. “Prison Ed Enables Former Inmates to Assimilate, Thrive in Society.” CU Regents, October 6, 2022. https://www.cu.edu/regents/news/prison-ed-enables-former-inmates-assimilate-thrive-society

Beyond the Box. U.S. Department of Education, 2023. https://lincs.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/beyond-the-box.pdf

Carlock, Jacob, and Sean Mueller. “Educating Incarcerated Individuals: An Easy Choice.” Westword, December 18, 2022. https://www.westword.com/news/prison-education-incarceration-commentary-15720107

Center for American Progress. “Educational Resource Equity.” https://www.americanprogress.org/topic/educational-resource-equity

Colorado Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (C-CHEP), 2026 Report. This annual report highlights the continued growth and impact of higher education programs across the Colorado Department of Corrections system. It includes updates on academic partnerships, student success outcomes, program expansion, and the coalition’s ongoing commitment to increasing access to accredited, degree-bearing opportunities for incarcerated learners statewide.

Access the full report: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/communication/cu-denver-prison-education-program

Condliffe Lagemann, Ellen. Liberating Minds: The Case for College in Prison (2017).

Dedrick, Jay. “CU Denver Hosts Higher Ed in Prison Leaders at Conference.” CU Connections, February 12, 2026. https://connections.cu.edu/people/cu-denver-hosts-higher-ed-prison-leaders-conference

Dedrick, Jay. “CU Denver Program Helps Incarcerated Learners Reach Milestone.” CU Connections, January 6, 2023. https://connections.cu.edu/spotlights/cu-denver-program-helps-incarcerated-learners-reach-milestone

Gellman, Mneesha. Education Behind the Wall: Why and How We Teach College in Prison (2022).

Hartnett, Stephen J., and Cosgrove, Meghan R. Celebrating the Arts and Education in Prison as Practices of Survival, Resistance, Healing, and Transformation. Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, Vol. 21, No. 4 (2025). https://clas.ucdenver.edu/communication/sites/default/files/attached-files/liminalities_2025.pdf

Hartnett, Stephen J. Editor. Challenging the Prison-Industrial Complex: Arts, Education, and Activist Alternatives(2011).

Hartnett, Stephen J., Wood, Jennifer K., and McCann, Bryan. “Turning Silence into Speech and Action: Prison Activism and the Pedagogy of Empowered Citizenship.” Communication and Critical Cultural Studies (2011).

Karpowitz, Daniel. College in Prison: Reading in an Age of Mass Incarceration (2017).

Myers, Judith S., and Walker, Patricia H. Teaching on the Inside (2016).

National Reentry Resource Center. https://nationalreentryresourcecenter.org

Nocella II, Anthony J., Parmar, Priya, and Stovall, David. From Education to Incarceration: Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline (2014).

Open Campus. College Inside newsletter. https://www.opencampusmedia.org/category/newsletters/college-inside

PCARE Collective. “Fighting the Prison-Industrial Complex…” Communication and Critical Cultural Studies (2007).

Pell is Not Enough. Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison, 2023. https://cherp.utah.edu/projects/pell_is_not_enough.php

Prison Education Guide. Christopher Zoukis (2016).

Prison Journalism Project. Taveuan Williams, author archive. https://prisonjournalismproject.org/author/taveuan-williams/

Prison University Project & Alliance for Higher Education in Prison. Equity and Excellence in Practice (2019). https://www.higheredinprison.org/publications/equity-and-excellence-in-practice-report

Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison. Proposed Best Interest of Students Metrics for Prison Higher Education (2023). https://prisoneducationproject.utah.edu/advocacy-and-research/upep_research_proposals/guidance_from_public_comments_april2023.pdf

Robinson, Gerard, and Smith, Elizabeth English. Education for Liberation: The Politics of Promise and Reform Inside and Beyond America's Prisons (2021).

The Chronicle of Higher Education & Ascendium Group. The Expanding Role of Colleges in Prison Education(2021).

U.S. Department of Education. Beyond the Box (2023). https://lincs.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/beyond-the-box.pdf

Vera Institute of Justice. Accessing Pell Grants for College Programs in Correctional Settings (2023). https://www.vera.org