Blog Content
February 6, 2026
The plan offers a three-year roadmap for increasing programming to maximize the benefits to individuals and the community, leveraging strengthened cross-agency collaboration to increase efficiency.
Bedford, NH– (February 6, 2026) – The Granite State is leading the New England region with the release of a three-year strategic plan for strengthening educational access, workforce preparation, and reentry outcomes across the New Hampshire correctional system. The Strategic Plan for Correctional Education and Vocational Programming in New Hampshire debuted at the New England Prison Education Collaborative (NEPEC) Acceleration Summit. Held at the Bedford Village Inn in Bedford, New Hampshire on the evening of Thursday, February 5, 2026, the summit drew over one hundred attendees from across the six New England states.
The plan is a practical roadmap created by the Corrections Education and Vocational Planning Group (CEVPG), a cross-agency, cross-sector group established through legislation that passed the General Court of New Hampshire with bipartisan support and was signed into law by then-Governor Sununu in June 2024. Charged with assessing and improving educational and vocational programs within New Hampshire’s state correctional system and making an annual report on their activities to the governor and the legislature, the CEVPG was created to maximize the benefits of the 2023 reinstatement of federal Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated learners—given the compelling evidence that providing postsecondary programming to those who are incarcerated has tangible benefits within facilities and communities post-release.
Entities represented on this group include the New Hampshire Department of Corrections (NHDOC), the Community College System of New Hampshire, the University System of New Hampshire, as well as the New Hampshire Departments of Education and Employment Security.
For Nicholas Duffy, Director of Rehabilitative Services at NHDOC and the planning group’s chair, having a robust group of stakeholders at the table regularly made all the difference. “During my 11 years with the department,” Duffy reflected, “there has been a long-held commitment to expanding opportunities for those in our custody, but the work has been slow-going and impeded by individual departmental capacity. Through the CEVPG, we were able to generate significant forward motion and increase efficiency by drawing on the shared interests of the agencies at the table. The work reached above the siloes to align resources and capitalize on converged interests to build an educational strategy that is stronger and more efficient—one that positions the state to meet both institutional and reentry needs.”
To produce their three-year-plan, the CEVPG partnered with the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) to receive targeted support for a year-long planning process that commenced in March 2025. NEPEC is a regional initiative of the NEBHE, empowered by a five-year grant from Ascendium Education Group. Significant subgrants enable multiple years of competitive grants for postsecondary institutions working to meet the demand for Pell-eligible coursework in the region’s carceral facilities. Additional subgrants equip NEPEC to support all six of the New England states through a cross-agency, cross-sector strategic planning cycle.
For NEBHE President and CEO Michael Thomas this work “perfectly embodies NEBHE’s regional intermediary role supporting key stakeholders and catalyzing the expansion of postsecondary programming in state correctional facilities.”
The productivity unlocked through the CEVPG was on full display for NEPEC Director Sarah Kuczynski: “To engage with this group over the last year has been to watch with excitement as the momentum for this work increased in real time, with each monthly meeting,” she noted.
Executive Corrections leadership is looking forward to both statewide and departmental results from implementation of this plan over the next three years. Indeed, as Commissioner William Hart sees it, “this plan supports incarcerated individuals with acquiring the skills needed for successful reentry which, in turn, reduces recidivism and eases long-term staffing and resource demands on the department. This makes expanding educational and vocational opportunities a common-sense investment because it strengthens institutional order, builds safer communities and a more robust workforce in the Granite State—all while enabling us to use our limited public resources more effectively.”
The plan is guided by a vision of “students thriving in an educational system within the New Hampshire Department of Corrections through access to a wide range of educational programs, career pathways, and critical supports that empowers individuals with the skills and confidence leading to successful reintegration into the workforce and their communities.” Early on, the plan focuses on establishing the foundation for expanded prison education initiatives, including securing braided funding for educational technology pilots, building infrastructure partnerships, and rolling out new Pell-eligible postsecondary credentials at facilities where such options are not available. Building upon this initial work, the plan will seek to deepen employer and workforce partnerships and formalize comprehensive reentry supports for program graduates while securing the long-term funding and policy alignment necessary to sustain the overall effort.
The successes this group secures and any obstacles they encounter in pursuing the goals set forth in this plan will surely be of interest to the states following New Hampshire in this process. In fact, for the funder supporting NEPEC’s work, what emerges may have purchase beyond the region. As Ascendium Senior Strategy Officer Molly Lasagna puts it, “The publication of this first cross-agency, cross-sector strategic plan and the intensive, contextually responsive process by which it was produced stand out as a model of what Ascendium hopes to replicate beyond New England.”
The full plan is available here.
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About Ascendium Education Group
Ascendium Education Group® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization driven by the belief that learning after high school gives people the power to build better futures. Our national philanthropy focuses on increasing opportunities for learners from low-income backgrounds to achieve upward mobility through postsecondary education and workforce training. We partner with organizations whose objectives align with our core strategies to expand opportunity, support learner success, and connect and align systems. Our grantees include postsecondary education and workforce training providers, intermediaries, researchers, and media organizations from across the U.S. To learn more, visit ascendiumphilanthropy.org.
About NEBHE
Higher education is New England’s most critical sustainable resource. The region’s governors knew that over 70 years ago when they founded the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). Today, NEBHE promotes greater education opportunities and services for the residents of New England and its more than 250 colleges and universities. Its mission is to advance postsecondary outcomes through convening, research and programs for students, institution leaders, and policymakers. NEBHE’s vision is that everyone in New England will have lifelong access to affordable, high-value postsecondary education.