March 26, 2024
Explore essential guidelines and best practices for data use agreements in postsecondary education in prisons programs.
Postsecondary education programs in prisons collect data on their students to inform program planning, assess students’ academic progress and outcomes, and meet institution, government, and funder reporting requirements. Also, programs applying to the U.S. Department of Education to become an approved prison education program (PEP) must include documentation in their application showing that their postsecondary institution has entered into an agreement with the oversight entity (typically a state department of corrections [DOC]) to obtain data on the transfer and release dates of incarcerated individuals.[1] To have consistent access to relevant DOC data on students who are incarcerated, especially if the data are not public and use is restricted, postsecondary institutions should establish data use agreements (DUAs), also known as data sharing agreements (DSAs), with their DOC partners.
For individuals who are incarcerated, DOCs collect demographic information such as gender, age, and race/ethnicity, and education and training information, including prior educational history, attainment of a high school credential, and participation in cognitive and vocational training programs. The data also include details about their incarceration, such as admission date, expected date of release, release community, employment, transfers and transfer locations, risk and needs scores, and records of disciplinary infractions that may affect program eligibility, participation, and completion. DOCs may also have access to information collected by other state agencies (e.g., community corrections and labor), such as employment after release.
A DUA is a contractual document that governs the exchange and use of data among agencies and organizations. DUAs can be initiated by the postsecondary institution or DOC but should involve the postsecondary institution’s institutional research office. On the DOC side, DUAs may involve inputs and approvals from research, information technology, and compliance offices, as well as legal representatives.
A DUA specifies what data will be shared and requirements around how the data are managed, including:
Once a DUA is in place, a DOC might share data files on a one-time or regular reporting schedule or provide data system access to a postsecondary institution staff member who, following training, can access data in accordance with the agreement.
Because processes for accessing data vary by DOC, the first step toward establishing a DUA is to learn about the process and requirements by meeting with the director of the DOC research office. Information about DOC research offices can typically be found on DOC websites. In preparation for the meeting, it can be helpful to collect information that will be needed for the DUA, such as:
Data from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision have helped researchers from the State University of New York’s Office of Higher Education in Prison (SUNY) investigate the effects of carceral conditions on student success in postsecondary programs in prison. The office’s recent analysis of student outcomes found lower graduation rates among students who experienced transfers across facilities and among students with shorter sentences, who rarely continued their education after release. The evidence supports the study’s recommendations for greater cross-facility coordination among postsecondary education programs in prison and for connecting students to college in the communities that they return to.
DUAs can take a few weeks to months to establish because review by multiple offices on both sides is typically necessary and staff capacity may be limited. DOCs may have a preferred DUA template or request that the postsecondary institution supply one. If the DOC is new to data sharing, their data analysts may also need time to establish procedures and determine the programming required to create the data files. To avoid duplication of effort, some DOCs prefer that postsecondary institutions coordinate DUA development through a consortium or data working group or create one DUA that is used by all partners, which may require additional work up front. For example, one DOC in a state with a Ready for Pell grantee is exploring the possibility of creating a single data sharing platform for its postsecondary partners that will be governed by a data trust agreement similar to the Virginia Data Governance Framework.
Postsecondary institutions should keep in mind that flexibility may be needed to meet DOC requirements, particularly if the data requested are not public. For example, if a DOC is unwilling to share identifying information, the DOC may be able to instead receive identifying data from the college, conduct the match, and share deidentified information back.
Jobs for the Future strives to use equitable and inclusive language in all of our published content. Sometimes we share materials like these prepared by other organizations whose language choices differ from our own. In those cases, we use their terms to preserve accuracy. See our Language Matters Guide to learn more about the terms we use when we’re writing about education and employment programs for people with records of arrests, conviction, or incarceration.
[1] Pell Grants for Prison Education Programs; Determining the Amount of Federal Education Assistance Funds Received by Institutions of Higher Education (90/10); Change in Ownership and Change in Control, 87 FR 68900 (proposed November 11, 2022). To access the text of the legislation and information on regulations for Pell Grants for Prison Education Programs, see https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/prison-education-programs.
Research university websites include additional resources on DUAs, such as how-to guides and templates. For example, Tulane University, a Ready for Pell grantee, maintains a website on DUAs: https://research.tulane.edu/ott/faculty/mtas-duas. Other helpful resources are DOC websites, which typically include research and data resources that postsecondary institutions can use to understand DOC policies, procedures, and available data. The following are examples of DOC websites in states with Ready for Pell grantees:
The U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid Office’s Knowledge Center provides information on federal legislation related to Pell Grant reinstatement, as well as a link to the Application for Approval to Participate in the Federal Student Financial Aid Programs: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/topics/prison-education-programs.
Building Fair Chance Ecosystems at the State Level A national initiative led by JFF’s Center for Justice & Economic Advancement to transform state systems so people with histories of incarceration can access education and careers…
Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, and Oregon will receive up to $2.1M in funding through Jobs for the Future initiative to increase access to education and training in correctional facilities BOSTON, MA (Jan. 14, 2026) —…
Stateline