Justice-impacted developers building open source technology to increase education access in prison, while simultaneously creating scalable data infrastructure to support decarceration efforts.
Team Leader
Jessica Hicklin
Justice-impacted developers building open source technology to increase education access in prison, while simultaneously creating scalable data infrastructure to support decarceration efforts
Solution Pitch
The Problem
There are 11 million people incarcerated worldwide. The US incarcerates over 2 million alone. The United States contains 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile facilities, and 80 Indian country jails. UnlockED’s goal is to ensure that every incarcerated individual has access to high-quality educational opportunities.
The Solution
UnlockED is an open-source education access and management platform for prisons that integrates with and collects data from existing learning management systems. With UnlockEd, correctional systems and incarcerated learners can forge a path towards formalized courses and degree completion. With UnlockED, correctional staff and prison educators can facilitate classes and programs. Course administrators can manage student enrollment, assign students tasks and projects, assess their students through quizzes or tests, and award certificates and degrees for completion. At the same time, UnlockED gathers reliable data on program enrollment, engagement, and efficacy. Management of that data is essential to both the individual and the institution. UnlockED facilitates keeping comprehensive records of achievement, enabling individuals to tangibly see what they have accomplished while incarcerated and prove their accomplishments to a parole board. Correctional administrators can track longitudinal outcomes, prove what works, refine policy and target both public and private investment.
Stats
3,000 users of UnlockED’s platform
UnlockED is deployed in six prisons (four in Missouri and two in New York)
Market Opportunity
There are 2.3 million individuals incarcerated in the US. Of those, 60% of adults are functionally illiterate; less than 6% have access to higher education and 83% will be rearrested within 10 years of release. Our solution brings data driven opportunities to solve this crisis by increasing access and best-practices, especially in regions where arrest rates seem to be highest.
Organization Highlights
UnlockED is collaborating with two organizations (under NDA) and in the early stages of partnering with another to further its reach and impact.
Partnership Goals
UnlockED seeks:
Support generating revenue to complete statewide implementations as a national proof of concept.
Additional state partnerships for potential platform roll outs.
What is the name of your organization?
Unlocked Labs
What is the name of your solution?
UnlockED
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Justice-impacted developers building open source technology to increase education access in prison, while simultaneously creating scalable data infrastructure to support decarceration efforts
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
St. Louis, MO
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
United States
What type of organization is your solution team?
Nonprofit
Film your elevator pitch.
—
What specific problem are you solving?
There are 11 million people incarcerated worldwide. The US incarcerates over 2 million alone. The United States contains 1,566 state prisons, 98 federal prisons, 3,116 local jails, 1,323 juvenile facilities, and 80 Indian country jails. UnlockED's goal is to ensure that every incarcerated individual has access to high-quality educational opportunities.
What is your solution?
UnlockED is an open-source education access and management platform for prisons that integrates with and collects data from existing learning management systems. With UnlockEd, correctional systems and incarcerated learners can forge a path towards formalized courses and degree completion. With UnlockED, correctional staff and prison educators can facilitate classes and programs. Course administrators can manage student enrollment, assign students tasks and projects, assess their students through quizzes or tests, and award certificates and degrees for completion. At the same time, UnlockED gathers reliable data on program enrollment, engagement, and efficacy. Management of that data is essential to both the individual and the institution. UnlockED facilitates keeping comprehensive records of achievement, enabling individuals to tangibly see what they have accomplished while incarcerated and prove their accomplishments to a parole board. Correctional administrators can track longitudinal outcomes, prove what works, refine policy and target both public and private investment.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
We serve incarcerated learners seeking structured access to education and credential pathways. Through infrastructure partnerships with departments of corrections, we enable enrollment in GED, vocational, and postsecondary programs; support completion of industry-recognized credentials; strengthen digital literacy development; and improve documentation of earned-time participation.
By providing secure platform access and reliable data systems, learners are better able to track and demonstrate academic progress across facilities and over time.
At the institutional level, we work with departments of corrections, education providers, and policymakers to develop governance, procurement, and data frameworks that enable scalable, accountable program delivery. Strengthened infrastructure improves program visibility, supports alignment with earned release and workforce goals, and builds the foundation for sustained public investment in correctional education.
