What seemed like an impossible dream for women behind bars at the California Institution for Women (CIW) was achieved.

Amid thunderous applause and cheers from family and friends, a group of 23 women incarcerated at the California Institution for Women in Chino graduated from California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA).

“It’s incredible. This “It is the greatest achievement of my life,” said Leticia Montoya, one of the graduates.

“I didn’t graduate from high school; I got a GED (high school equivalency diploma). I thought that was enough. Higher education was never in my plans; it wasn’t valued in my home,” she said.

Leticia was one of the student speakers during the graduation ceremony on Friday, October 3, her 48th birthday.

Keynote speaker Billie Jean King offered Montoya and her fellow graduates words of encouragement.

“Never stop learning and learning. Be problem-solvers and innovators. Only you graduates truly understand what it took to earn this degree. Keep believing in yourself, keep dreaming, and keep going,” said King, a Cal State LA alumna, sports icon, and advocate for equality.

These graduations were made possible by the Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI) from Cal State LA who presented the program to the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino in 2022.

The Prison Graduation Initiative is the state's first in-person bachelor's degree program for incarcerated students, and has graduated more than 40 male students from the California State Prison Los Angeles County in Lancaster.

But offering this program to incarcerated women came with its own set of challenges.

As reported by Cal State LA,University faculty and staff quickly realized that the female student population at the California Institution for Women faced unique circumstances that prevented them from completing their education if they were paroled before earning their Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies.

So they committed to ensuring that the female students would graduate within two years.

According to the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to penal reform, the number of incarcerated women nationally who earn their bachelor’s degrees annually ranges from 7 to 22. The inaugural group at the California Institution for Women in Chino surpassed that number by a single graduation.

“This historic achievement demonstrates our students’ commitment to higher education, as well as the innovation of PGI,” said Cal State LA President Berenecea Johnson Eanes.

“The Prison Graduation Initiative is innovative. We remain committed to this community. When our recent graduates and alumnae are ready to find jobs and a community, Cal State LA will continue to support them.”

According to Bidham Roy, director of the Prison Graduation Initiative, the anemic national graduation rates can be attributed to several factors, including the limited number of bachelor’s degrees offered at women’s prisons across the country.

“Many prisons only offer vocational courses such as secretarial or culinary training.”

During interviews with students at the California Institution for Women in Chino, it was discovered that the women have difficulty completing their degrees if they are granted early parole.

Fifty-eight percent of incarcerated women are mothers, and as soon as they are released, they decide to seek employment. jobs to provide for their children instead of finishing college.

“They have to take care of the children and attend to other family matters. They worry about not being able to finish their studies once they get out. We never knew that about men,” Roy said.

Furthermore, women who are paroled to counties outside of Southern California would not be able to complete their studies in person at Cal State LA.

California only has two women’s prisons: the California Institution for Women in Chino and the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, and the law requires women who are paroled to return to their last legal residence before incarceration, which could be hundreds of miles from Los Angeles.

In contrast,Male students at Lancaster and the California Institution for Men at Chino, the third prison where the Prison Graduation Initiative is offered, are likely to be paroled into Los Angeles County or neighboring counties, giving them easy access to the Cal State LA campus.

In addition, women typically receive shorter sentences than men for comparable crimes.

According to the California Policy Lab, the average sentence for men in California between 2014 and 2024 was 6.9 years, compared to 4.4 years for women, which influenced the Prison Graduation Initiative’s accelerated graduation timeline.

“We couldn’t guarantee that we would help them finish if they were paroled early,” Roy said.

“We modified our graduation roadmap so they would complete their degree in five consecutive semesters, the fastest in the nation, not because we wanted to rush it, but because they expressed these concerns. It is our ethical responsibility to ensure they complete their credentials.”

Student interviews conducted during the 2022 intake year allowed students to complete their lower-division courses and helped determine which Liberal Studies degree they would be offered.

“Generally, with prison education, we balance certain factors that are different for students on the outside,” Roy said.

“Because our program is organized by cohorts, we must consider a wide range of interests. Students cannot choose their major, but the Liberal Studies program offers a wide range of classes that gives us the flexibility to tailor it to the expressed interests of each cohort.”

When asked about their career goals, students offered widely varying responses, including law, education, social work, the arts, and the technology sector.

The Department of Liberal Studies, led by President Michael Willard, tailored the degree to students’ needs and reimagined it as a flexible Professional and Applied Humanities option that prioritizes career development, critical thinking, communication, interpersonal skills, and employability in a competitive job market.

The university’s Center for Effective Teaching and Learning trained faculty to create career-oriented curricula.

“The Department of Liberal Studies was very receptive and open to adapting their program to the needs of students at the California College for Women in Chino,” Roy said.

“The department created a very career-oriented program, which allowed us to incorporate resources from other departments within the course groups and provide a coherent and flexible program that really fits the needs of the group at that time.”

The Prison Graduation Initiative currently offers bachelor’s degrees at CIW, CIM, and Lancaster.

In the summer of 2026, it will add a fourth institution, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. San Quentin will be the first institution in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation system to operate under the California model, which emphasizes rehabilitation, education, and reentry.

The Prison Graduation Initiative has graduated 72 students, including 20 parolees who completed their studies at Cal State LA. To date, the recidivism rate for its students is 0%.

Nikki Carroll was paroled from the California Institution for Women in Chino in December 2023. She attended Cal State LA’s graduation ceremony in May 2025.

“I was reunited with my sisters. We started this journey together, and we finished it together. We did it.”

Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento spoke at the California Institution for Women’s graduation ceremony, honoring the graduates of Cal State LA’s Prison Graduation Initiative.

“You are not just defying the odds, you are rewriting them. You are forging your future, and the future of your families and communities. And for that, I want to thank you on behalf of the residents I represent in the Second District, which includes the cities of Santa Ana, Anaheim, Tustin, Orange, and Garden Grove.”

“Our children face some of the most challenging and difficult obstacles growing up. You will inspire them. You will let them know that they are not judged by their worst day.”

Another graduate, Jennifer Henderson, said she is proud to be part of a rehabilitation program that values ??her for the woman she is today, for the courage of her thoughts and the inspiration of her voice.

“Life without parole (LWOP) now means living with opportunity and purpose. I chose to grow and develop my mind and spirit, and to empower others to live beyond any label,” Jennifer said.

This article was originally published on LatidoBeat, a coalition of leading local Spanish-language news organizations united to spread the rich diversity of Latinx voices across the United States. It currently includes La Opinion (Los Angeles), El Diario (New York), La Raza (Chicago),The Houston Press, Orlando Press, Colorado Press, and Charlotte Press.