Updated: January 14, 2026 (References added)

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Today, the article, “Prison Education May Raise Risk of Reincarceration” (subsequently changed to “Prison Education May Raise Risk of Reincarceration for Technical Violations”) was published by Inside Higher Ed. As the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, the national organization for the field of higher education in prison in the United States, it’s crucial that we clarify that this IHE article misrepresents the cited study and sensationalizes the issues at hand rather than accurately reflecting the data. The article has already begun to circulate on social media, and thus has very real implications for the public’s understanding of higher education in prison as well as policy decisions. 

Despite the claim made within the title of the IHE article, the cited study by Romaine Campbell and Logan Lee – “A Second Chance at Schooling? Unintended Consequences of Prison Education” (July 01, 2025), which is an unpublished working paper – does not find that prison education causes an increase in recidivism. In fact, as stated in the abstract itself, there is “no relationship between education and reincarceration after we control for release type.” Instead, the observed increase in reincarceration in the study is related to work-release, and even this increase in recidivism is primarily from technical violations rather than increased criminal behavior or new offenses.

The study authors themselves caution against interpreting the findings as evidence that education is harmful (p. 20, Campbell & Lee, 2025), and identify systemic supervision and release practices as the key drivers of observed outcomes. They also find evidence that education may improve post-release employment outcomes (p. 31, Campbell & Lee, 2025).

The study does raise important questions about how education affects release placement, supervision level, and technical violation risk. These are not well explained in the IHE article but are the real story behind this study. 

The appropriate provocation of the study is to rethink technical violations as well as supervision and release decision-making in the United States, which so often sets people who are re-entering society up for failure rather than success. The study itself does not state that education has a direct correlation to a rise in recidivism. Indeed, a large body of research has consistently shown that participation in higher education while incarcerated is directly correlated with positive outcomes, including significantly lower recidivism rates (please see some examples of this research in the references listed below).

We have reached out to the publication and welcome further discussion. We will update this page with additional information, as appropriate. 

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References:*

‍Bozick, R., Steele, J., Davis, L. C., & Turner, S. (2018). Does providing inmates with education improve postrelease outcomes? A meta-analysis of correctional education programs in the United States. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 14(3), 389–428. https://perma.cc/NKE4-KDFK

Davis, L. M., Bozick, R., Steele, J. L., Saunders, J., & Miles, J. N. V. (2013). Evaluating the effectiveness of correctional education: A meta-analysis of programs that provide education to incarcerated adults. RAND Corporation.

Denney, M. G. T., & Tynes, R. (2021). The Effects of College in Prison and Policy Implications. Justice Quarterly, 38(7), 1542–1566. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2021.2005122

Pompoco, A., Wooldredge, J., Lugo, M., Sullivan, C., & Latessa, E. J. (2017). Reducing Inmate Misconduct and Prison Returns with Facility Education Programs. Criminology & Public Policy, 16(2), 515-547. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12290

Stickle, B., Schuster, S.S. Are Schools in Prison Worth It? The Effects and Economic Returns of Prison Education. American Journal of Criminal Justice 48, 1263–1294 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-023-09747-3

Steele, J. L., Davis, L. M., Bozick, R., Saunders, J., & Miles, J. N. V. (2017). Effects of correctional education on recidivism, employment, and reading and math scores: A meta-analysis. Journal of Experimental Criminology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11292-018-9334-6

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*Please note that these studies are offered as a snapshot of the wide range of research showing the positive impacts of higher education in prison, not a comprehensive look at the entire body of research on this topic.