Assessing the Prison Education Program Experiences of Incarcerated Individuals with Learning Disabilities

• In Event: The Prison Experience for Incarcerated People and Their Support Systems

Abstract

People incarcerated in state and federal prisons are more likely to report a learning disability diagnosis than the general United States population, largely because learning disability diagnosis — often taking place in schools — is patterned by a number of social variables that impact each individual’s likelihood of being diagnosed. Though incarcerated individuals with learning disabilities are a sizable population, prior research demonstrates that existing policies disempower members of this group, contributing to their increased victimization and isolation. Thus, it is plausible that this population feels unsupported when enrolling in and completing prison education programs, contributing to a lower take-up rate, negative perceptions of the programs, and a lack of motivation to complete them. I analyze data from the 2016 wave of the Survey of Prison Inmates collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to explore (1) whether prison education program uptake varies among state and federal prison inmates with and without a diagnosed learning disability and (2) whether motivations and perceptions of prison education programs vary among these populations. The answers to these questions are a crucial step toward fully understanding what aspects of prison education programs are and are not effective at supporting incarcerated individuals with learning disabilities.

Author

• Morgan McMains-Nurisio, Rutgers University