Criticizing the program’s lack of adequate counseling and providing lessons without books or computers, inmates complained to Los Rios Community College in 2023.
California’s capital city —
Nine faculty members were investigated by the Los Rios Community College District, casting doubt on the future of the Prison and Reentry program. This program offers college programs within local correctional facilities.
The dissemination of letters written by students is the central focus of the investigation, according to faculty members.
The program’s faculty coordinator, Kalinda Jones, stated that among these letters were ones that addressed student issues and some that were part of a long-running class project in which students wrote letters to their future selves.
The district alleged that the letter’s physical conveyance may have been in violation of a policy of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which mandates the approval of the prison warden for letter transit.
The inquiry into allegations of impropriety by Los Rios employees has been concluded, according to a spokesman from the company.
But according to Jones, the program’s future is still up in the air. Classes cannot take place in the fall until a new contract is signed, as the contracts of the faculty members employed by the prison have expired due to the investigation.
According to Jones, this contract lays out specific safeguards for professors, including safety, training, and intellectual freedom.
Due to a lack of data, the Los Rios teachers union will need to collaborate with the district to establish prison-specific working conditions. The executive board of the faculty union does not convene during the summer to vote on the contract.
The San Diego sheriff has instituted stricter measures to ensure the safety of inmates and visitors by instituting a screening system.
No matter what, the district has stated that they will “offer classes this fall and are continuing to work with faculty to put together as complete a schedule as possible for the upcoming semester.” A representative from the district stated that discussions “about how to provide the best possible environment for faculty in this program” are being held continuously
SEE MORE –
226-Year Prison Term for Man Who Tortured, Killed Two Alaska Native Women
“Our goal had always been to continue the program and offer as many classes as possible this fall. From the district’s perspective, any investigation was unrelated to that goal,” stated Gabe Ross, chief strategy and communications officer for the district.
In the winter of 2023, a number of inmates voiced their disapproval of the program through letters sent to the college’s student associations. There were no books or laptops in the classroom, and students said they did not receive enough counseling. The previous year, the district allegedly employed a counselor.
Inmate Angelo Ward, a current student at Sacramento State, expressed his belief that inmates are being treated as “three-fifths of a student” in the program. Because we are in prison, it’s as if our opinions don’t count. Keep it out of sight and out of mind.
The program helped Ward see things in a new light. He recounted experiencing racism and being ignored because he was Black and Pomo Native American. So Ward threatened to take his frustrations out on those around him.
The people he studied with and the material they covered helped him develop personally, changed the way he interacts with people, and gave him the confidence to use his voice for good. For the sake of his daughter and himself, he is focusing on improving himself now. Students serving time in prison have benefited from such programs. For ex-offenders, getting a bachelor’s degree can mean starting over and reducing their recidivism rate.
According to Ward, who thinks his teachers were completely above board, the inquiry started after students wrote emails to voice their concerns and formed a student task force.
Jones and other faculty members claimed the district got away with this abuse because it knew it could. Inmates have the opportunity to remain invisible, unlike their non-incarcerated classmates.
SEE MORE –
Dangerous News! 7-Years Prison Term for DC Teen Involved in Supermarket Shooting
“On campus, this would never happen,” Jones stated. The reason behind that is that our people are concealed behind barbed-wire barriers.
Jones has no idea whether the children will get the resources they asked for, even though the investigation is over. Colleges are required by law to follow certain guidelines when designing prison education programs, but according to Jones, the district has disregarded these guidelines.
Incarcerated students at Los Rios do not have access to an education that is comparable to that of their campus peers or that complies with the penal code, according to Jones.
Ward added that inmates felt their voices were ignored by the government whenever they spoke out. While he acknowledged that district administration had initially been supportive of the task force, he later claimed that their backing had become apparent as being “for show.”
According to Ward, this task force aimed to “receive some type of aid” for the initiative.
Teachers said the district was unresponsive in meeting the program’s needs and was sluggish to distribute materials to classrooms.
Veronica Lopez, a lecturer, expressed her feelings of frustration and sadness. Every person’s life is touched by this incredible program. “It has changed my perspective,” has been the response from student after student.
Jones wrote to student senates to address their concerns regarding the initiative. Jones learned she was the subject of an investigation after sending the messages via email on December 5.
A statement stating that Jones “put the safety of Los Rios administration and classified employees at risk” was given to her in a meeting just before Christmas break, according to Jones, who claimed to have been summoned to appear later that month.
According to Jones, she was informed that she would not be permitted to teach at another prison until the investigation was over.
It is “still unclear what exactly (the district was) investigating,” she stated. “Illegally used district email to distribute student letters” was the only information she was given, according to her.
Student letters will not be distributed. “They were advocating for a class project, and this is their work,” Jones explained.
Notified in March that they were likewise under investigation were eight additional academic members.
Coordinator of prison reintegration programs Veronica Jones expressed shock and disbelief that she was being probed simply for being copied on an email. “That was my duty.”
Teachers who have written these letters claim the school system is “criminalizing” their lessons, even though they do not think this breaks any laws.
As faculty member Joshua Fernandez put it in June, “they’re kind of picking and choosing that law to sort of criminalize us,” despite the fact that the law clearly does not apply to individuals teaching within a prison. People who are genuinely taking personal letters outside of prison are the ones who are subject to that law. No one teaching should be exempt from that law; it is for that purpose.
There were more grounds for investigating the faculty. It was “a criminal act,” according to Fernandez, an English teacher, to cover content that wasn’t specifically covered in his course outline.
According to Fernandez, only the course description, start and end dates, and grading rubric are legally mandated on a syllabus; beyond that, the content is left to the discretion of the teacher.
According to Jones, the letter initiative has always been well-received by college authorities, including those from Folsom Lake College, the district academic senate, and the Los Rios Prison Education Administration. Jones claims that she has never heard any complaints about the project.
Jones expressed his belief that Los Rios would not be prepared to support the project financially or with the respect it deserves. Just asking the professors a few questions would have gotten us far in this research. Simply communicate with us by asking questions and seeking clarification.