Security Levels

What are security levels in prison and how do they impact people?

Prisons tend to be organized around security levels, with people living in higher security levels having less access to freedom of movement and opportunities than those in lower security levels.

What is an example of security levels?

For example, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has traditionally operated under a four-level security classification system, with higher levels indicating increased security and more restrictive movement. Placement has generally been determined by factors such as length of sentence, disciplinary history, and overall custody classification.

How do security levels impact higher education in prison programs?

Security level has direct implications for higher education in prison programs. In higher-security settings, movement restrictions, institutional priorities, and increased lockdowns can disrupt class schedules, reduce instructional continuity, and limit access to materials and supplemental support. These interruptions can significantly affect student momentum and overall program stability.

Sentence length and parole timelines also shape the educational experience. Students with limited time before parole may face compressed academic pathways, while those serving longer sentences may experience more stable enrollment but remain subject to custody-related disruptions.

Effective higher education in prison programs must account for these structural realities. Designing flexible course sequencing, building in academic continuity plans, and maintaining close collaboration with correctional partners are essential to sustaining rigor and access across security levels.

What are protected populations?

Protected populations in prison refer to groups of individuals who are separated from the general population due to safety concerns. This may include people who are at higher risk of harm in traditional prison settings because of factors such as their case, identity, past affiliations, or other vulnerabilities.

How do protected populations operate within California prisons?

Within CDCR, yard designations shape social dynamics, safety considerations, and access to programming, all of which influence higher education in prison classrooms. Sensitive Needs Yards typically house individuals who cannot safely remain in traditional general population settings, including those who are no longer gang-affiliated, have high-profile cases, or are otherwise vulnerable. In these environments, establishing psychological safety, trust, and clear academic norms is essential.

Non-Designated Programming Facilities were developed to integrate individuals from Sensitive Needs and General Population backgrounds into shared programming spaces following individual review. These integrated settings may bring together students with varied housing histories, requiring faculty to reinforce respectful dialogue, shared purpose, and consistent classroom expectations.

General Population yards are structured around custody level and classification criteria and may include established social hierarchies that shape peer interactions. Across all yard designations, higher education programs must avoid assumptions based on housing status and instead create classroom environments grounded in dignity, equity, and academic rigor.

Sensitive Needs for HEP

When it launched, SDSU-VISTA was the only BA degree program for students on a Sensitive Needs Facility in a California State Prison. This meant that access to higher education was expanded to this population for the first time. Students on this facility in the inaugural VISTA classes at Centinela State Prison came from different prisons across the state in order to have access to a BA degree. Some had waited years for this opportunity. SDSU is proud to have the opportunity to provide higher education to students in both the general and the protected populations.

SDSU offers degree programming for students in general and protected populations. Per correctional protocol, these students cannot interact or even know each other's names. In practice, this means that SDSU-VISTA offers everything in duplicate, two sections of each class, two graduations on the same day at different times, two workshops for each cohort.