New program will help prisoners earn high school diplomas using tablets

A leading supplier of digital devices to U.S. prisons is launching a new program to help inmates earn their high school diplomas using the company’s tablets.

Advocates say the expansion of virtual education holds promise, especially since many prisoners lack basic literacy skills. But some advocates say there are limits to what prison technology can achieve.

ViaPath, which sells secure telecommunications devices and services for use in the criminal justice system, announced that inmates across the country will soon be able to sign up for virtual classes through a partnership with Promising People, an educational technology company, and American High School, a private online school based in South Florida that will issue diplomas.

The asynchronous classes will be available free of charge on ViaPath tablets, of which the company says 700,000 are already in use in nearly 2,000 prisons and jails.

“If you get a high school diploma, you get a high school education with some trades and skills. The likelihood of you going back to our prisons is very small,” said Tony Lowden, ViaPath’s Chief Social Impact Officer. “We believe there’s an opportunity to help men and women get home in a different way.”

A meta-analysis by the RAND Corporation found that education significantly reduces recidivism, meaning that every $1 invested in prison education could result in savings of $4 to $5 in re-incarceration costs.

Lowden said the high school diploma program will provide a more well-rounded education than existing GED courses and give inmates greater earning potential upon release. The company said it will also offer career and technical education through virtual reality headsets.

ViaPath maintains that its tablets are free to inmates and that it won’t charge for educational programs. Still, prison telecommunications is a lucrative industry, with state and local governments signing multimillion-dollar contracts for phone services, tablets and apps that inmates can use to call loved ones, stream music or read e-books — for a fee. Fees for those services can quickly mount for inmates who earn as little as 25 cents an hour, if that, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

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After 11 years in a Florida prison, Ryan Moser has learned the pros and cons of prison tablets.

“The tablet has many advantages. You can learn whenever you want,” said Moser, who is now a freelance journalist and communications consultant.

But using a tablet behind bars isn’t the same as scrolling through an iPad at home, Moser said. The devices are typically charged or updated at a central kiosk in the prison, and access can be inconsistent and unpredictable — and ultimately up to corrections officers.

“I remember it took me four days to charge the tablet,” Moser said. “If you were a disciplinary problem or someone who was giving them a bad mood, they might keep (the tablet) for a week, two weeks.”

Keri Watson directs the Florida Prison Education Project at the University of Central Florida, which offers college-level courses in prisons. She has questions about delivering virtual learning behind bars but said she is encouraged by efforts to improve access.

“The more programs in as many areas as possible, the better,” Watson said.

Digital infrastructure has helped prisons continue to offer programs during times when volunteers cannot get inside, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic or safety lockdowns.

Watson said that during the pandemic, her staff had to transition from in-person classes to virtual learning using tablets provided by another company. She said it was a difficult transition.

“The technology wasn’t there,” she said. “So until it becomes more like the technology that can be offered to non-incarcerated students, I’m not sure it’s feasible.”

The devices’ features are limited by design for security reasons. Lowden, the ViaPath official, told The Associated Press that the company’s tablets will not include a note-taking app because of security risks, such as secret prisoner communications.

Still, advocates say prisoners desperately need more access to education to prepare for release. According to the latest annual report for the Florida state prison system, 1,339 inmates earned GEDs in 2022, less than 2% of the state’s prison population of more than 80,000.

“While participation in educational programs remains optional, overall inmate participation in these programs continues to increase,” the Florida Department of Corrections said in a statement to the AP. “The department has focused its resources on programs that address functional literacy and job training.”

During his years as a GED prep teacher at a state prison near the Florida Everglades, Moser saw firsthand the impact a basic education could have on fellow inmates.

“I remember watching the guys’ faces,” Moser said. “Getting into education and achieving something there was one of the proudest moments in some of those guys’ lives.”

Moser said the virtual high school diploma program could help meet basic educational needs for inmates and allow them to bypass waitlists for in-person classes. But just like on the outside, he said there’s “no substitute” for incarcerated students being able to sit in a real classroom and learn from a qualified teacher.

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