Access to higher education for youth with conviction histories is driven by expanded access to community colleges, especially in California. In 2024, 7,100 incarcerated students were enrolled and 4,500 formerly incarcerated students had taken courses at California community colleges. For youth with conviction histories, this access can reduce racial inequalities, given that a disproportionate share are Black and Latinx. Yet there is little research on the educational pathways of these youth, the characteristics of community colleges that enroll them, or the technologies community colleges use to support their degree completion. With this award, Britton will examine whether and how community colleges support educational attainment for Black and Latinx youth with conviction histories and the role of artificial intelligence technology in this process. Zachary Pardos, Associate Professor of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, will provide mentorship in adaptive learning and artificial intelligence. Moritz Hardt, director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, will provide mentorship in machine learning and algorithmic decision making.
Does community college enrollment improve the educational attainment of Black and Latinx youth with conviction histories?
