Last month, our very own Prison Education Program Director, Shaul Cohen, testified to the Oregon State
Legislature on higher education in prisons. Shaul was invited to the legislature’s House Committee on
Judiciary on behalf of University of Oregon’s Prison Education Program. Legislative committees are
focused groups of Oregon’s legislators who are appointed across political parties to bring bills to the
Senate and House floor.
The law-making process in Oregon is dependent on committees, where much of
the work to shape legislation and influence public policy actually occurs. Public hearings held by
committees offer lobbyists, press, members of the public and legislators not appointed to the given
committee an opportunity to submit written or verbal public testimony on certain issues. This legislative
session features several bills with the potential to impact prison education, and thus we are closely
tracking committee meetings and are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with folks at the Capitol.
Shaul’s presentation to the Judiciary committee included background information on higher education in
prisons across Oregon and specifics of UO’s PEP, including the numbers of students and faculty engaging
in inside-out classes, art exhibits, LEAP packets, and future directions of the program. The
Representatives in attendance listened intently as Shaul outlined the central components of PEP as well as
the importance and benefits of prison education.
You may access the full video recording of the
committee meeting at this link:
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/mediaplayer/?clientID=4879615486&eventID=2023011197.
If you are interested in tracking the progress of committee meetings or any anticipated bills this session, you
may find more information on the Oregon Legislative Information System site: Oregon Legislative
Information System (oregonlegislature.gov).