Students at Buckingham and Dillwyn correctional centers graduate with associate degrees from Piedmont Virginia Community College on May 21. (Photo courtesy Virginia Department of Corrections)
Virginia is taking a major step toward changing what happens after prison. This spring, Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill into law creating the Virginia Prison Education Task Force, a new statewide body tasked with making education in Virginia’s prisons more accessible, consistent and effective. The task force will convene state agencies, colleges, employers and advocacy groups to examine policy options and develop a long-term plan for education behind bars.
Currently, opportunities are only available to a small portion of those who could benefit. Out of Virginia’s 37 prisons, 14 offer postsecondary degree programs through partnerships with three community colleges and two four-year universities.
In 2025, only about 1,500 incarcerated individuals were enrolled in college programs, while between 12,000 and 13,000 people exited the Virginia Department of Corrections and reentered the workforce. According to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the General Assembly’s research and watchdog agency, approximately 1 in 4 prisoners in Virginia is on a waitlist for an education program and a spot that might not become available before release.
Funding exists, but it does not reach most incarcerated students. Pell Grants, the federal aid program for low-income students, can now be used in approved prison education programs. While nearly 150,000 students on Virginia campuses received Pell support in the 2023-2024 school year, only about 600 (less than 1%) participated in federally approved prison-based college programs, according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. That gap represents thousands of people who are eligible for financial aid but lack access to classes, advisers and approved programs.
According to an analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative, 27% of formerly incarcerated individuals nationwide are unemployed, largely because of long-standing hiring barriers and limited access to postsecondary education. Advocates in Virginia argue that expanding high-quality, workforce-focused degree programs in prisons is a strategic way to prepare returning citizens for stable, higher- skilled employment with benefits and opportunities for career growth. Research highlighted by Virginia Works shows that “second-chance” employees tend to stay longer, have higher attendance and show greater loyalty than peers who have never been incarcerated.
The new task force, introduced by Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, as House Bill 1041, and signed into law by Spanberger in April, is designed to ensure that current efforts don’t remain isolated or short-lived.
“The task force has an opportunity to make Virginia a national leader, and some of that will entail steps like planting college programs at every VDOC residential facility. We’re still about 20 prisons short,” explains Terri Erwin, director of the Virginia Consensus for Higher Education in Prison, an initiative of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy. “It also means adding seats and technology access in those programs and others that build advanced skills and expertise. Experts around the task force table will be challenged to close gaps, and when we do, it will be transformative for public safety and, more so, for people’s lives.”
The focus, she says, is on the commonwealth’s ability to scale up prison programs to meet growing demand.
