Over the past two years, EdTrust’s advocacy at the Texas Capitol has helped shape the future of higher education in prison (HEP) —  the journey has been anything but linear. What began as a push to codify postsecondary education inside Texas prisons has grown into a statewide effort to center quality, access, and accountability in an emerging policy landscape.

This work was led by Alexa Garza, a formerly incarcerated woman who earned her degree while in prison and stepped into the Capitol for the first time during the 88th Texas Legislative Session in 2023. As a member of EdTrust’s inaugural Justice Fellows Policy Program, where she learned to navigate policy work, Alexa applied that foundation to her advocacy in Austin. At that time, the recent reinstatement of federal Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students created an opening for state advocates and leaders to revisit the landscape of programs and policies shaping HEP.

The 88th Session: Building Legislative Awareness

As a policy analyst with EdTrust in Texas, Alexa worked with a small group of partners, including Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering safe and supportive school environments and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. Together, they aimed to shape and advance House Bill 4251, which sought to establish clear guidelines, standards, and data-sharing requirements for HEP programs across Texas. While HB 4251 was significantly revised and ultimately did not pass in the 2023 session, its introduction and progress raised broader awareness of the issue and provided a crucial opportunity to educate key legislators, including committee members who were previously unfamiliar with federal changes and the lack of statutory oversight governing HEP in Texas. Furthermore, the experience was invaluable to Alexa’s personal development as she navigated the legislative process for the first time. She learned how to communicate with staffers, craft a narrative rooted in her lived experiences, and recognize that relationships, timing, and persistence are essential for effective advocacy.

The Interim: Building Momentum Through Sunset

In the interim between the 88th and 89th legislative sessions, EdTrust continued to meet with committee staffers, present at state-level convenings, and engage in the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission’s review of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and Windham School District (WSD). Sunset is a unique process in which state agencies undergo review and legislative reauthorization on a periodic cycle. It involves careful study by independent staff, public hearings, and ultimately results in a must-pass bill that shapes the agency’s future. Alexa’s input and research (cited in the staff report) emphasized the need for statutory oversight, stronger program coordination, and improved data to expand access to quality postsecondary opportunities within prison walls.

In addition to the Sunset process, other efforts helped maintain visibility of the issue and expand the network of engaged partners. These included a statewide HEP convening sponsored by the Trellis Foundation and the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, a breakout session at the Community College Association of Texas Trustees (CCATT) annual conference, and a workshop facilitated by Justice Fellows at the 10th Annual Texas Correctional Education Conference hosted by Lee College. Each of these events highlighted student voices and anchored the work in real experiences.

Meanwhile, Alexa continued to monitor the ongoing implementation efforts through the newly established Texas Higher Education in Prison Consortium of approved programs and worked to build open lines of communication with state leaders, particularly those at TDCJ and WSD. These trusted relationships helped position EdTrust as a trusted convener and reduced friction with stakeholders who had previously been neutral or hesitant to engage. By maintaining a steady presence and creating space for collaboration, momentum continued to build between sessions.

The 89th Session: Aligning Key Leaders for a Legislative Win

By organizing strategy meetings, having conversations with legislative staff, and contributing to the Sunset process, the EdTrust team ensured that HEP remained part of the conversation as other advocates and state legislators returned for the 2025 session. While Alexa provided testimony at the Sunset Advisory Commission and subsequent committee hearings, the work was not always public facing. Throughout the session, the team convened key stakeholders, including Lee College, Alamo Colleges, the Texas Business Leadership Council, Texas 2036, Texas Appleseed, and others, to strengthen and showcase broad, cross-sector support for the policy recommendations from the final Sunset report and resulting bills. Key partners, such as Texas 2036, played a vital role in grounding our shared advocacy efforts in data, thereby strengthening our case with policymakers. Others helped refine our policy goals through their lived experiences and practitioner expertise.

With bipartisan support, Senate Bill 2405 passed — officially establishing postsecondary education in prisons in Texas for the first time and providing a framework for future program oversight and expansion. Specific provisions codify the Postsecondary Reimbursement Program, establish data sharing to monitor and guide program improvement, and formalize an advisory board that is required to include impacted students, families, and advocates.

But this story is not just about a single bill. It’s about the long-term strategy of policy change. By building a broad coalition of support through deliberate and sustained partnerships and developing a deeper understanding of the political and institutional landscape, we can successfully advance policy priorities that seemed out of reach only a few years ago.