Thread by @newsjunkyjimmy

Arizona Prisons are still requiring in-person attendance for GED classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inmates who refuse to attend have been disciplined. Prison teachers say the policy is endangering their lives and the lives of their students kjzz.org/content/156705…

Most K-12 schools, colleges and universities in Arizona have gone digital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and an emphasis on social distancing. But in prisons across the state, students are still being forced to go to class in-person every day.

I interviewed inmates, their family members, & teachers who work in the prisons. All spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. One teacher cited the "paramilitary-style" way the Department of Corrections is run as a reason for not wanting to print their name

When asked why inmates are required to attend General Educational Development classes and other courses in-person, an ADC spokesperson said “programming is considered an essential service as part of reentry planning, while also providing institutional safety and security.”

However, teachers at the state prisons say the continued in-person classes are endangering lives, and the Department of Corrections has the ability to continue the inmates’ education without forcing them to physically attend the programming.

“Our classrooms are crowded,” one teacher said. “There are 18 students and six or seven tutors plus a teacher in about 900 square feet. You obviously can’t be 6 feet apart from each other.” The teacher said most instructors lead morning and afternoon classes every day.

The teachers estimated there are at least 100 instructors working with close to 1,000 students each day in Arizona state prisons. They say their students have expressed concern about contracting COVID-19 from staff members.

“They are nervous about employees bringing the virus into their world." Inmates are not allowed to wear masks in Arizona state prisons and the classrooms are no exception. Teachers, like correctional officers, are provided masks and are allowed to wear them in the prisons.

A woman whose sister is incarcerated in the Perryville women’s prison says her sister was disciplined for refusing to attend GED classes:

“She stopped going and took the consequences for doing so, but at least it made her feel less vulnerable,” she said.

“To her, attending the classes is much less important than risking her life,” the woman said. “But because she refused to go, they have reduced her visitations and the amount of time she can talk on the phone.” She said she could also end up having her release date pushed back.

A woman whose husband is incarcerated at the Florence prison said he has also been disciplined for refusing to go to GED classes during the pandemic:

"They are saying he’s going to suffer the consequences if he doesn’t comply, but he doesn’t want to risk his life anymore."

"ADC officials threatened him saying he would lose a lot of his rights. They said he would get a ticket, lose phone privileges, and they would restrict his visitation.”

“They’re putting my husband at risk. They’re going to end up killing him in there over a marijuana charge.”

A man whose fiance is incarcerated at the Perryville prison says the women there are concerned about being forced to take in-person classes now that an inmate has tested positive for COVID-19.

The man’s fiance expressed her concerns in recent email: “Today, a few women were brought back to our unit for GED testing along with the women who are here going to school every day, and they took no precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the inmate population"

“People from different units are having to travel together to our yard and every inmate takes their 8th grade literacy test just feet away from the women from the other units,” the woman wrote. “We watch as the teachers go in and out of the classroom all day without a mask."

A prison teacher said it would not be hard to transition from the current classroom instruction to correspondence courses for a few months: “It is very easy to send a textbook home with them to work on for a week or two or three while they get this situation to under control"

“We appreciate the work of the correctional officers who facilitate the inmates’ movement to and from class,” the teacher said. “But we acknowledge it is another burden for an already overworked labor force that is also being hit with COVID-19 infections.”

One teacher remarked that their mission had changed as they transitioned from instructing students in public schools, to working with an incarcerated population.

“We are very grateful to the Department of Corrections for facilitating these classes, and for acknowledging the important work we are doing,” the teacher said. “But the question remains: ‘Are in-person education programs vital in these circumstances?’”

They said answer is “No"

“Especially when we can continue their education through alternative lesson planning,” the teacher said. “We can make this process safer for everyone involved. It would lower the risk to our communities, and it would lower the risk of us bringing the virus into the prisons.”