How Prison Education Lowers Recidivism Costs

Prison education reduces recidivism by 43%. Georgia just cut its prison education programs. Georgia State University’s Prison Education Project stopped accepting students after a $24.4 million budget cut. For every $1 spent on prison education, taxpayers save $4-5 in reduced incarceration costs. In 2023, only 38 bachelor’s degrees were awarded across Georgia’s entire prison system of 48,000+ inmates. Georgia chooses to pay for failure instead of investing in success. ¹

The Evidence Is Clear

Research proves prison education works:

43% reduction in recidivism—educated inmates return to prison far less often
$4-5 return per $1 invested—education costs less than incarceration
6.9% higher employment—educated inmates find jobs after release
30% reduction with degrees—secondary education cuts reoffending dramatically

The Bard Prison Initiative reports less than 4% recidivism among graduates—compared to 40% nationally. Education transforms outcomes. Georgia defunds it.

Georgia’s Failed Investment

While other states expand prison education, Georgia cuts:

$24.4 million budget cut forced Georgia State’s program closure
38 bachelor’s degrees awarded in 2023 for 48,000+ inmates
44 states expanding prison education after Pell Grant restoration
Georgia cutting while the nation invests

Georgia spends $60,000 per inmate annually on warehousing people—and almost nothing on preparing them to succeed after release.

The Real-World Impact

Lack of education drives recidivism:

60% of inmates struggle with basic literacy
No job skills—unprepared for employment after release
No credentials—employers won’t hire without education
Cycle continues—uneducated releases become re-arrests

Georgia releases financially desperate, uneducated people with criminal records into a job market that won’t hire them—then imprisons them again when they fail.

What Works

Effective prison education includes:

Automatic enrollment—assess skills and place in appropriate programs
College partnerships—universities teaching inside prisons
Vocational training—job skills that lead to employment
Earned-time credits—sentence reductions for completing programs

Programs that connect education to employment show the best results. Georgia offers neither adequately.

Take Action

Use Impact Justice AI to send advocacy emails demanding prison education funding. The free tool crafts personalized messages to Georgia lawmakers—no experience required.

Demand:

Restoration of cut education programs
University partnerships with Georgia prisons
Pell Grant access for eligible inmates
Vocational training that leads to employment

About Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS)

Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS) is a nonprofit investigative newsroom built in partnership with incarcerated reporters, families, advocates, and data analysts. Operating independently from the Georgia Department of Corrections, GPS documents the truth the state refuses to acknowledge: extreme violence, fatal medical neglect, gang-controlled dorms, collapsed staffing, fraudulent reporting practices, and unconstitutional conditions across Georgia’s prisons.

Through confidential reporting channels, secure communication, evidence verification, public-records requests, legislative research, and professional investigative standards, GPS provides the transparency the system lacks. Our mission is to expose abuses, protect incarcerated people, support families, and push Georgia toward meaningful reform based on human rights, evidence, and public accountability.

Every article is part of a larger fight — to end the silence, reveal the truth, and demand justice.

Footnotes

GPS Statistics, https://gps.press/gdc-statistics/[↩]