COVID-19 is creating unprecedented conditions for people incarcerated. The Alliance is working to collect and disseminate information and resources from higher education in prison programs that are taking action to support their students and working to adapt their programming. Our COVID-19 Action page contains materials and resources created by/for or that are meaningful for higher education in prison programs from across the United States.

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Read the Alliance's Public Statement on COVID-19 and Request for Immediate Action to Ensure the Health and Safety of All People Who Are Currently Incarcerated

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Additional National and Statewide Advocacy Efforts

• Open Letter to NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
• Open Letter to Governor Newsom (CA) on incarceration and coronavirus (shared by Kirsten Pickering) 
• Open Letter to Governor Holcomb (IN) about prisons and Covid-19 (shared by Kelsey Kauffman) 
• Public Letter from Sean Pica, Alliance for Higher Education in Prison Advisory Board Member and Executive Director, Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison
• Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (Letter on Mitigating Disaster and Just Response to Covid) and Open Letter and Petition to Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Change.org)
• Letter from the Southern Center for Human Rights to Georgia state prison and parole officials asking for release of elderly/sick people in prison, an end to technical violations, and for a whole slew of important measures to protect those who are left inside

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To join a Community Conversation

In an effort to create a space to share information and resources and share experiences and lessons learned, the Alliance will host community conversations. The calls are open to anyone who would like to share how their program is responding and/or learn from others across the country. Community Conversation dates and times will be shared via the Alliance's mailing list/Newsletter (Newsletter Sign-up), social media (@AllianceforHEP) and the Prison_Ed Listserv (Join the Listserv). Notes from each call will be shared here.

Community Conversation Notes

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To Learn More about the COVID-19 Executive Leadership Support Program

Note: The program is no longer taking applications and will begin meeting the week of March 30, 2020

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Public Resources and Information

To share a resource

• Email: alliance@higheredinprison.org
• Attach the resource as a .pdf or .doc
• Provide a 2-3 sentence description of the resource including: person/group/program it was created by; who it was created for; how it was distributed; and any other relevant information

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Crowdsourcing Efforts

• COVID-19 Prison and Jail State-by-State Tracker (Prison Policy Initiative)‍
• Tracking Prisons' Response to Coronavirus (The Marshall Project) ‍
• Incarceration and COVID-19 Annotated Bibliography (created by Sheri-Lynn S. Kurisu) ‍
• The Appeal is tracking demands and local and state government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic‍
• The Justice Management Institute has catalogued updates on criminal justice system responses to COVID-19 at the state and local levels

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COVID-related Guidance

• Coronavirus Guidance for the Criminal and Immigration Legal Systems (Vera Institute of Justice)
• Toolkit to Support Local Demands for Mass Release of People in ICE Custody (Detention Watch Network)
• COVID-19 Responses and Resources (The Justice Collaborative) 
• Department of Education Guidance on COVID-19
• COVID-19 General Decarceral Guidelines (Justice Collaborative) 
• #COVID19 Decarcerate Syllabus: A Political Education Resource (Curated by: California Coalition for Women Prisoners)
• The Justice Collaborative Fact Sheets: Practices for Jails and Prisons; Practices to Avoid in Jails and Prisons; Practices for Prosecutors; Practices for Law Enforcement; and Practices for Protecting Immigrant Communities
• Decarceration Toolkit (Showing Up for Racial Justice) 

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Public Advocacy (downloads below) 

• Letter to Washington State DOC Secretary Stephen Sinclair (from a coalition of community-based organization, legal service provides and concerned stakeholders)
• Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison (IL-CHEP) sent a letter to the Governor, Lt. Governor, all state legislators, all state’s attorneys, and wardens and sheriffs asking for, among other things, review and early release of vulnerable populations in prisons and jails; reduction in jail intakes; and distribution of cleaning materials.
• IL-CHEP Statement on Advocacy and Mutual Support for Returning Citizens During COVID-19 (Illinois Coalition for Higher Education in Prison) 
• COVID-19 Emergency Plan To: Save Thousands Of Lives, Make Prisons Manageable during the Pandemic, Generate Jobs, Minimize Societal Disruption, & Protect Prison Employees and Their Families