CHINO, Calif. — On Oct. 3, 2025, in a major step toward educational equity and prison reform, 23 incarcerated women at the California Institution for Women (CIW) received bachelor’s degrees through Cal State LA’s Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI), marking the first women’s cohort to graduate from the state’s only in-person prison bachelor’s degree program.
The milestone highlights the persistent challenges and disparities in access to higher education for incarcerated women as PGI accelerates efforts to dismantle systemic barriers in the criminal justice system.
“This is the biggest accomplishment of my life,” said graduate Leticia Montoya, who served as a student speaker during the ceremony, which coincided with her 48th birthday. “I didn’t graduate high school; I got a GED. I thought that’s it for me. Higher education was never in the plan; it wasn’t valued in my household.”
Montoya was one of 23 students who completed their Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies in just five consecutive terms, one of the fastest graduation timelines in the country, according to PGI staff.
PGI Director Bidhan Roy said the accelerated schedule was an ethical response to systemic barriers that uniquely impact incarcerated women. “They worried they wouldn’t be able to complete their degrees once they were outside,” Roy explained. “We never heard that from the men.”
According to Roy, one major concern was the role many incarcerated women return to upon parole. “Most women, upon release, instantly return to their roles as heads of household,” he said. “They would have to provide childcare and take care of other familial concerns.”
A Vera Institute of Justice report estimates that nationally, only seven to 22 incarcerated women earn bachelor’s degrees each year. CIW’s first cohort surpassed that number.
PGI leaders also had to address legal and geographic barriers. “The law requires that parolees be returned to their last legal residence before incarceration,” Roy said, “which could be hundreds of miles from Los Angeles.”
That distance can prevent women from finishing their degrees in person at Cal State LA. “In contrast, male students from Lancaster and the California Institution for Men in Chino are more likely to parole in or near L.A. County,” Roy added.
Shorter sentences further complicate women’s access to education. A California Policy Lab study found that from 2014 to 2024, the average sentence for men was 6.9 years, while for women it was only 4.4 years. This made PGI’s two-year roadmap crucial.
“We changed our graduation roadmap so they would finish in five consecutive terms—not because we wanted to rush, but because they expressed these concerns,” said Roy. “It is our ethical responsibility to make sure they complete their credentials.”
The program began by interviewing prospective students during an on-ramp year in 2022 to identify what degree and curriculum would best support them. Many expressed interest in careers in law, education, social work, the arts, and technology.
“In general, with prison education, we balance certain factors that are different for students on the outside,” Roy said. “The Liberal Studies degree offers a broad range of classes that gives us the flexibility to tailor it to the cohort’s expressed interests.”
The Department of Liberal Studies reimagined the program as an “Applied and Professional Humanities” degree. “The department created a very career-focused degree,” Roy explained, “which allowed us to pull from other departments within course clusters that give us both a coherent but flexible degree.”
Graduate Nikki Carroll, who was paroled in December 2023 and returned to CIW for the October ceremony, said walking the stage with her cohort mattered most. “I was reunited with my sisters,” she said. “We started this journey together and we completed it together. We did it.”
The program, which began with incarcerated men at Lancaster in 2016, has now expanded to three state prisons and is scheduled to launch at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in summer 2026. San Quentin will be the first to operate under the California Model, which prioritizes rehabilitation and reentry.
PGI has graduated 72 students so far, including 20 parolees who finished their degrees at Cal State LA. The program currently reports a recidivism rate of zero percent.
Cal State LA President Berenecea Johnson Eanes praised the graduates, calling the milestone “a testament to our students’ commitment to higher education, as well as the innovation of PGI.” She added, “When our new graduates and alumni are ready to find employment and seek out community, Cal State LA will continue to have your back.”
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