Photo: T.J. Kirkpatrick

Inside Maine’s maximum-security lockup, Leo Hylton is giving a tour. Thirteen undergraduates, wearing bright-green lanyards strung with panic buttons, follow closely behind asking questions.

Hylton, who is serving 50 years for burglary, robbery, and attempted murder, began his higher education journey here. On this particular day, he is co-teaching a class for Colby College as part of a novel teaching arrangement that brings a prisoner into the classroom as an instructor.

For months now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been in the news for his administration's aggressive higher education proposals to dramatically change how Florida's public postsecondary educational institutions operate. 

Two decades ago, another governor launched a number of controversial moves on Florida's higher ed system. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush adds context to the current debates in the Sunshine State with his reflections on the higher ed policies he once championed, along with his successes and regrets.

Brittney Dixon has high hopes for her future. That includes a master's degree in psychology. Currently, the 29-year-old is incarcerated at Taycheedah Correctional Institution, a state women’s prison in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

For the first time in nearly three decades, incarcerated people like Dixon will soon be able to access federal Pell Grants to pay for college courses offered in prison. This episode of Here & Now explores how students and colleges in Wisconsin are preparing.