Second Chance and the Human Right to Learn

Overview & Synopsis

This article substantiates the need for consolidated government support and coordination of postsecondary correctional education in the United States. Using the case of New York as a point of entry to critically examine the human right for all to learn and transform with dignity -- including millions of people languishing in prisons under mass incarceration -- the author situates the history of higher education in prison within a dynamic network of education providers that emerged across the state. The analysis contends that withholding the right to learn violates a basic human right to (inter)personal growth, and that freedom to learn is fundamentally debased when education embedded in meaningful human relations -- absent exploitation and predatory practices -- is foreclosed. As such, the threat of fully online modalities and delimited education content comprise a form of censorship that undermines the true value of embodied and diverse learning experiences, with particular ramifications for people in prison.