Education Justice Project

The mission of the Education Justice Project is to build a model college-in-prison program that demonstrates the positive impacts of higher education upon incarcerated people, their families, the neighborhoods from which they come, the host institution, and society as a whole. EJP is based in Illinois and is a unit of the College of Education at the University of Illinois. We offer for-credit courses at Danville Correctional Center, a medium-security state men’s prison. Our ESL program, Language Partners, and our anti-violence program, Community Anti-Violence Education (CAVE) were initiated by EJP students. Other programs that the EJP learning community has developed at the facility include writing and science workshops, guest lectures, a mindfulness discussion group, computer lab, and community library. Outside the prison, EJP produces reentry guides, which are available at no cost to incarcerated individuals, family members, and service providers, and also downloadable from our website. EJP's scholarship program offers $1,000 awards to formerly incarcerated students, family members of people who are incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and family members of IDOC or JVCC staff. Applications are due on November 1 of each year. Finally, EJP also engages in advocacy and hosts events to support critical understanding of incarceration and criminal justice.