CHINO, Calif. — On Oct. 3, 2025, in a major step toward educational equity and prison reform, 23 incarcerated women at the California Institution for Women (CIW) received bachelor’s degrees through Cal State LA’s Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI), marking the first women’s cohort to graduate from the state’s only in-person prison bachelor’s degree program.
The milestone highlights the persistent challenges and disparities in access to higher education for incarcerated women as PGI accelerates efforts to dismantle systemic barriers in the criminal justice system.
“This is the biggest accomplishment of my life,” said graduate Leticia Montoya, who served as a student speaker during the ceremony, which coincided with her 48th birthday. “I didn’t graduate high school; I got a GED. I thought that’s it for me. Higher education was never in the plan; it wasn’t valued in my household.”
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