Ban the Box in Higher Education
In 2016, the Department of Education, led by Secretary John B. King Jr., and the Department of Justice, represented by Attorney General Loretta Lynch collaborated to produce the Beyond the Box Toolkit, which provided colleges and universities with resources to remove criminal history questions from admissions and increase support for students with prior convictions. The Department of Education built on the beyond the box initiative by asking colleges and universities to take the Fair Chance in Higher Education Pledge and “ban the box” (i.e. stop asking about criminal history) on admissions applications. Sixty-one colleges signed and stopped considering criminal history in their admissions process.
Since 2017, seven states have created legislation that prohibits or limits colleges and universities from asking about criminal history on their applications. The effort got started in Louisiana in 2017 and was followed by Maryland later that same year. In the 2018 legislative cycle, Washington became the next state to pass legislation. Colorado was next in 2019, followed by California in 2020. Most recently, the states of Oregon (2021) and Virginia (2021) have passed ban the box in higher education laws. States now on the verge of introducing and potentially passing legislation include New York, Connecticut, Missouri, and Georgia. Several private and public universities have also implemented the policy at the school level to remove criminal history questions from their applications.
Ban the Box at a Glance
States with Passed Ban-the-Box Legislation CaliforniaColorado Louisiana MarylandWashington Oregon Virginia States with Introduced Ban-the-Box Legislation Illinois Kentucky MaineNew York PennsylvaniaAdvocate Webinar Trainings Completed ArizonaPennsylvaniaWisconsin Interested AdvocatesArkansasFloridaGeorgiaMichigan Missouri New Jersey North CarolinaOhioSouth CarolinaTennesseeTexasUtah Why Ban the Box?
Incarceration & employment
Education Impact
2,000,000 People currently incarcerated in US
75% Remain unemployed one year after release
95% Released back into community
50% Recidivism rate within 3 years of release
27% Unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated (5X national average)
41% Do not have high school diploma
28% Recidivism rate decrease for those with bachelor degree
65% Jobs in US economy require post secondary education
95% Who seek education stay out of prison
60% College application attrition rate (3X national average)
Resources
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FACT SHEET: White House Announces New Commitments to Fair Chance Higher Education Pledge
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Self-Assessment
As part of our commitment to educational access and reducing the collateral consequences of justice involvement, the U.S. Department of Education has developed a self-assessment tool for postsecondary institutions to examine whether and how to use criminal justice information in the higher education admissions process.
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2016 Beyond the Box U.S. Department of Education Report
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U.S. Department of Education Beyond the Box Site