Roughly one in four inmates in Virginia are waiting to enroll in prison education programs — a backlog that state officials say could hinder rehabilitation and reduce chances of success after release. Lawmakers this week heard a range of possible fixes aimed at expanding access and lowering recidivism rates. 

Inmates housed at facilities operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections are permitted by state law to participate in educational and vocational programs, including a “functional literacy” program for inmates testing below the 12th-grade level, adult basic education, career and technical education, and postsecondary education. However, not all prisons are required to offer inmate education. 

As of February, 5,671 inmates were on waiting lists for educational programs, highlighting the demand that far surpasses the department’s capacity, according to a report presented by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission at the direction of state lawmakers. About 40% of inmates require education to successfully reintegrate into society. 

“We take this very seriously at the Department of Corrections,” said Chadwick Dotson, the agency’s director. “And again, the reason we do this is because every recidivism point we can drop, that’s one fewer victim, that’s one more father, mother raising their child. So it’s a win-win for everyone.” 

Researchers found that inmates who participated in educational programs had better employment outcomes and quality of life after release than those who did not. But the demand continues to exceed the department’s capacity. 

In addition to limited capacity, challenges include security staffing shortages — with vacancy rates over 20% at 16 of the 37 facilities — technology and infrastructure issues, and inconsistent programming when inmates transfer between facilities. 

Recommendations included better management of waitlists, improvements to GED testing processes (which dropped by 35% between 2022 and 2025), and stronger links between career and technical education (CTE) programs and job opportunities. The discussion also emphasized the need for more funding and infrastructure upgrades to support education in prisons and jails. 

Virginia currently allocates $36.8 million to adult basic education, CTE and postsecondary education programs, which make up 2% of the department’s $1.56 billion total budget. 

Dotson told lawmakers that the agency is working to balance GED testing frequency, develop stronger employment connections, and improve technology and inmate transfers. 

He said the department is introducing new tablets to enable distance learning, expanding broadband access in facilities, and exploring an offender management system used in other states to better track and minimize disruptive transfers during coursework. 

Terri Erwin, director of the Virginia Consensus for Higher Education in Prison — an initiative of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy — said one priority is expanding access to higher education for inmates following recent changes in Pell Grant eligibility. She said about 67% of people incarcerated in Virginia are academically eligible for college. 

“We’d like to see a return of college programs to the prisons because they have such a dramatically beneficial effect on reducing recidivism, but also increasing employability and wages and benefits for folks who ultimately return back to society,” Erwin said. 

Lawmakers could introduce related legislation when they return to Richmond on Jan. 14 for the start of the General Assembly session. The study did not include juvenile detention centers. 

Betsy Carr

 

Meanwhile, several agencies are developing a strategic plan to expand educational opportunities for incarcerated individuals. The effort stems from House Bill 2158, carried by Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, which aimed to strengthen carceral education from basic literacy through postsecondary programs but was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

“We’re really excited about it, to be able to sit around the table and kind of noodle and do the math over how we fix some of the things that were referred to today but, in fact, it really requires some very pragmatic sitting around the table and figuring stuff out,” Erwin said. 

Erwin said participating agencies include the State Council of Higher Education, the Department of Corrections, Virginia’s Community College System, and her own organization. 

The plan could take between 10 and 12 months to complete. 

Still, she said, it’s a good time for lawmakers to act. 

“We feel like it’s actually a very ripe time for legislators; there’s a lot of really good will towards expansion of educational opportunity, postsecondary and generally, to build that pipeline ... with the ABE and the GED, because that’s the ecosystem inside the prison,” Erwin said. 

This story originally appeared on VirginiaMercury.com.