Increasing Equity in Pathways to Postsecondary Education for Individuals With Disabilities in Prison

The recent expansion of higher education programming in prison risks increasing inequality for disabled students who lack equitable access to these opportunities. Through a cumulative (dis)advantage framework, we describe existing educational pathway barriers to postsecondary education for incarcerated individuals with disabilities, demonstrating disability-related inequality in access to, and benefits from, prison education. Accordingly, we present a preliminary model of systemic improvements—Disability Identification, Integration, and Inclusion (DI3). The model provides a foundation for policy and practice recommendations to create equitable pathways to postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities in correctional settings.