Thousands of incarcerated people in Connecticut want to enroll in higher education — and financial aid is available — but limited space and resources in the state’s prison system have prevented the programs from expanding to meet the demand.

About 320 incarcerated people were enrolled in higher education programs as of October 2024. That’s a fraction of the estimated 3,000 people who are eligible.

State leaders, correction officials and educators say a shortage of classrooms and a lack of internet access are key barriers.

“With the classroom space we are currently allotted, we are really only able to admit maybe 12 to 15 students per year out of hundreds who express interest annually,” Zelda Roland, founding director of the University of New Haven Prison Education Program and the Yale P

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