Cellblocks or Classrooms?: The Funding of Higher Education and Corrections and Its Impact on African American Men

The economic recession, corporate scandals, dot.com meltdown, and the events of September 11th set the stage for a "perfect storm" that hit U.S. states' budgets hard. This report looks at the nexus of education spending and prison spending and gives a state-by-state analysis of how these priorities have played out since 1985 and its acute effect on young men of color. As states continue to suffer fiscal hardship, do they need to continue the policies that have led to this dire condition? Policy recommendations include:

• Repealing mandatory sentencing, restoring judges' discretion, and placing low risk nonviolent offenders in alternatives to incarceration.
• Reform drug laws to divert drug offenders from incarceration.
• Restructure sentencing.
• Reform parole practices.