9 The Prison Environment and Student Attendance

“Everyone who came there and gave their time just to make sure we got through this class and just to show us that we are all worth more and we are able to do more. That is going to remain in my life forever.” —Mark, class of Fall 2021

 

OBB instructors and/or tutors will typically only spend time in education areas (such as the school building) of the prison, unless they are given tours by prison staff. While prison education staff are often present during regular class and tutoring sessions, there is usually no security officer in the classroom. Such a security presence, when it does occur, may cause students to feel uncomfortable, but we have no control over this issue.

Time is extremely regimented in prison. In most prisons, students have specific times for movement from place to place and must receive permission to access certain areas. This means that class times are predetermined by the institution, and it’s necessary to end class by the dedicated time, as students often need to get back to their cells for a mandatory head count. Counts happen at specific times throughout the day.

At any time, a prison lockdown (i.e., restrictions on movement within the prison) or other event could result in a last-minute class cancellation. Lockdowns can occur for any number of reasons. For example, a fight might have broken out in another area of the prison, the prison might lack sufficient security staff that day to enable student movement, security staff might need to conduct an emergency head count or search for contraband, or there could be suspicious activity near the boundaries of the prison. Any of these could result in a disruption to the class schedule.

If class is canceled, do not complain to DOC staff.  We must trust that these disruptions are justified. In the past, OBB instructors have recouped the class time by using a scheduled tutoring session the week of the cancellation.

One or more of your students might be moved to segregated housing (students may refer to this as “seg” or “the hole”) during the semester. Students are moved to segregated housing as a punishment for a violation of prison rules. It is typically impossible to provide course materials and/or writing feedback to students in segregation, and generally once a student is sent to segregated housing, we no longer have any communication with them. If this occurs during the semester, the timing of the event will affect how best to deal with the situation. If a student is sent to segregated housing within the first few weeks (or even months), we are able to unenroll the student. If it is near the end of the semester, it may be best to give them the grade earned up to that moment. If this occurs in your class, please contact the OBB program manager as soon as possible to discuss the best options for the student. We may also consult an OBB-affiliated academic advisor, who can provide further guidance.  See ‘Grading’ under Instructor Guide.

When students are enrolled in college-level educational programming, the DOC places an education hold on the students so that they are not transferred to another institution during the semester. However, circumstances may arise in which a student faces an impending transfer. If there is a talk of a student transfer, please inform the OBB program manager immediately.

Students also face random searches and seizures of their property, and this may include school materials (books, research materials, etc.). Some institutions are working to address this proactively by creating systems in which students’ materials are marked or otherwise categorized as school-related to prevent their seizure or disposal. We are working with each institution to ensure that seizure of their school-related property is avoided at all costs.

In sum, there is little that we—as instructors, tutors, and OBB staff—have control over within the prison environment. Education staff at the prison do their best to ensure that students are present and accounted for in each class and tutoring session, but unforeseen circumstances can and often do arise. Students may have a court date scheduled during class time, may be required to attend to work duties when there is a staff shortage, or may be investigated for an infraction (or the infraction of their cell mate).

Please communicate all student absences to OBB staff, whether the absence is voluntary or involuntary. If you are able to learn any information about the absence—from other students in the class, for example, or from prison education staff—please relay it to the OBB program manager. Student retention remains a top priority for OBB. We strive to find alternative ways to support students if they must miss a class, and we aim to intervene as soon as possible if a student chooses not to come to class or tutoring.