Education over incarceration: Arizona’s new path to reentry

By Stacy Mantle
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Arizona is the latest state to join a growing movement focused on transforming incarceration through education.

Through a new Community of Practice launched by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and the Vera Institute of Justice, Arizona joins Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota and Virginia in rethinking how postsecondary education can serve incarcerated and formerly incarcerated learners.

With more than 35,000 inmates, Arizona prisons could be fertile ground for educating the incarcerated and providing workers with training and companies with workers, officials say.

“Arizona is in a great position to make notable progress on developing feasible, low-cost opportunities to deliver effective educational pathways for first-time and nonviolent individuals,” said Vannessa Moreno, community development and engagement manager for Valley of the Sun United Way. 

The Arizona Board of Regents is leading the state’s involvement in coordination with the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry, Arizona State University in Tempe and nonprofit partners including Valley of the Sun United Way in Phoenix.

“This is about making education a core part of reentry — not an afterthought,” said Chad Sampson, executive director of ABOR. “By working together across systems, we can reduce recidivism and build safer, more economically stable communities.”

A plan rooted in outcomes

The effort aligns with Reentry 2030, a statewide initiative launched by Gov. Katie Hobbs through an executive order that sets measurable goals to improve post-prison outcomes:

• A 30% increase in industry-recognized credentials or apprenticeships earned prerelease.
• A 20% increase in employment within one year of release.

These benchmarks reflect a growing recognition that education — not just housing or supervision — is central to successful reentry.

Arizona spends more than $30,000 annually per incarcerated person. Even modest reductions in recidivism could translate into significant public savings and workforce gains.

“Education is prevention,” said Kacie Gastanaga, southern regional education director at ADCRR. “When people leave custody with real skills and real options, communities benefit. It’s that simple.”

What’s changing — and what comes next

During the next year, the state will focus on four key strategies:

• Policy review: Identifying legal and accreditation barriers that limit access to Prison Education Programs, including gaps in Pell Grant eligibility.
• Barrier removal: Streamlining enrollment processes for incarcerated students and increasing transparency around available programs and pathways.
• Workforce alignment: Expanding short-term credentials in fields with local job demand and ensuring those credentials are recognized by Arizona employers.
• Cross-Sector collaboration: Deepening partnerships across higher education, corrections, workforce agencies and nonprofits to build a sustainable statewide model.

Arizona has several programs in place. Arizona State University operates reentry education programs in several correctional facilities. The new initiative aims to build on those efforts by expanding access, standardizing quality and scaling across urban and rural communities.

“Working together to improve unemployment and education access ultimately makes our communities safer,” Moreno said. “This is about creating second chances that actually work.”

Learning from other states

Arizona’s peers in the Community of Practice provide a glimpse of what’s possible.

• In Minnesota, prison vocational training programs led to a 32% drop in recidivism for participants.
• Louisiana’s partnership with local colleges helped to increase job placements by 15% for returning residents.
• Virginia doubled community college enrollment among incarcerated students within 18 months of launching its reform plan.

Success depends on more than access. Programs must be employer-informed, accredited and accompanied by strong wraparound services. These are challenges that they are aware of and have planned for.

“This year is about discovery,” Sampson said. “We’re mapping what’s already working, identifying the gaps and building a strategy that meets our state’s needs long-term.”

Looking ahead

While the Community of Practice is privately funded through state higher education association and the Ascendium Education Group, the findings are expected to shape Arizona’s broader reentry and higher education policies.

The state will begin by compiling an inventory of existing prison programs, many of which are short-term or noncredit, and determining how to expand options that lead to meaningful, stackable credentials.

However, questions remain:

• Which universities will take the lead on instruction?
• How will students navigate Pell Grant eligibility and reentry barriers?
• How will often under-resourced rural facilities be included?

For reform advocates, the opportunity is clear.

“Arizona has a chance to lead,” Gastanaga said. “If we get this right, we don’t just reduce recidivism — we rewrite what’s possible for thousands of people across this state.”

Editor’s note: A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.