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Feb 20, 2026
Governor Newsom transforms San Quentin, opens nation-leading learning center
State's once most notorious prison now a national model for rehabilitation and successful reentry
What you need to know: Governor Gavin Newsom opens the new Learning Center at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
SAN QUENTIN – Marking a historic milestone in California's public safety transformation, today Governor Gavin Newsom announced the opening of the new San Quentin Learning Center – the main pillar of the state's effort to remake the former notorious prison into a place built on education, rehabilitation, and earned second chances.
As the fastest state project in history – in just 18 months, experts from around the world designed and built the Learning Center as the first in a series of updates to implement a new model of criminal justice focused on accountability, education, rehabilitation, and reentry. Once home to California's death chamber and a symbol of an outdated, cruel system, the three buildings at the learning center are the physical embodiment of the California Model.
Three years ago, I stood here and promised to turn this symbol of the old system into the crown jewel of a new one. Today, with the opening of this Learning Center, we are proving that rehabilitation and public safety go hand in hand — and that hope is a powerful tool for safer communities.
Governor Gavin Newsom
Returning to San Quentin
In March 2023, Governor Newsom stood at San Quentin and announced a bold vision: to transform California's most notorious prison into the nation's most innovative rehabilitation facility. Joined by legislators, survivors of crime, victim advocates, civil rights leaders, and correctional staff, the Governor unveiled a plan to reimagine the institution.
"This historic initiative is aimed at making communities safer by creating change, using data-backed, proven measures to break cycles of crime for the incarcerated population, while improving workplace conditions for institution staff," said CDCR Secretary Jeff Macomber.
That announcement launched a historic transformation never pursued at this scale in the United States. An advisory council composed of state and world-renowned experts in rehabilitation, public health, public safety, victim advocacy, and corrections was formed to guide the transition.
What began as a vision in 2023 is now becoming a reality.
"Thank you Governor for your willingness once again to act with boldness and clarity. Today's historic opening is a testament to your insistence that accountability, compassion, and smart policy must go together," said San Quentin Advisory Council Lead Advisor Darrell Steinberg. "The San Quentin Rehabilitation Center will help define justice and hope in California. People who serve their time deserve a second chance to work, contribute, and come home safely to their families. This center must be a model for our state and nation."
The new 81,000-square-foot Learning Center nearly triples available classroom and programming space at SQRC and establishes a campus-style environment dedicated to education, workforce training, media, and reentry preparation.
The three interconnected buildings include:
Building A – Technology and Media Center
Building B – Education Hub
Building C – Community and Workforce Space
Designed in partnership with an architecture firm and informed by more than 50 stakeholder meetings — including incarcerated residents and staff — the complex uses natural light, open sightlines, green-building principles, and campus-style courtyards to create an environment grounded in dignity and accountability.
More on The Californer
The 18-month progressive design-build project was completed on time and on budget at $239 million, funded through a lease revenue bond.
Crime is down, prevention works
Governor Newsom's approach to public safety is all-encompassing – California has invested $2.1 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve overall public safety.
On top of the investments to provide incarcerated residents with the tools to rehabilitate while serving their time, the Governor recently announced the awarding of $107 million in grant funding to help Californians avoid violence so that they never step foot inside a prison. Since 2019, the state has provided $350 million in violence intervention funding to stop more than 30,000 violent incidents from even happening.
National research shows that people who participate in correctional education programs are 43% less likely to return to prison. For every $1 invested in rehabilitation, taxpayers save more than $4 in reduced reincarceration costs.
"The opening of the new learning center at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center marks a major milestone in the ongoing transformation of CDCR facilities into places that center rehabilitation, inspired by Governor Newsom's launch of the California Model," said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. "The new learning center will scale the work that has begun here and provide residents with more tools to advance their individual journeys as they work to become better than when they came in, making us all safer in turn."
California's transformation of San Quentin comes as crime continues to decline statewide. According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, in California's major cities:
Compared to 2019 (the last pre‑pandemic year), violent crime across the same large California city police departments tracked in the MCCA year‑end surveys is down about 12% in 2025 — driven by robberies down about 29% and homicides down about 12%.
Not every major jurisdiction is seeing California's same results: violent crime increased in Atlanta (+17%), with robbery up (+27%), and homicides rose in El Paso (+25%) and Omaha (+37%).
This progress reflects a balanced approach — accountability alongside prevention.
Crime victims and survivors benefit from the increased accountability that results from effective rehabilitation programs. By nearly 3 to 1, crime survivor groups prefer sentences that hold individuals accountable while including programming that prevents recidivism. CDCR's investment in rehabilitation increases public safety and breaks cycles of recidivism, which means fewer families are harmed by crime and safer communities.
Remaking San Quentin: the California Model
The Learning Center is the cornerstone of broader reforms, including:
"This new Learning Center is more than bricks and mortar — it brings hope for the future of corrections in California," said California Correctional Peace Officers Association Neil Flood. "If we are capable of building this at San Quentin, then we are capable of making the workplace safer for every officer who walks in the gates, and making every incarcerated person a better neighbor when they walk out."
"The San Quentin Rehabilitation Education Center's opening marks a significant step in transformation through education. The Learning Center provides opportunities for students to gain digital fluency and marketable skills that result in gainful employment," said The Last Mile Executive Director Kevin McCracken. "This will create stronger families, safer communities, and better outcomes for all Californians. The Last Mile extends our heartfelt gratitude to Governor Newsom, his staff, CALCTRA, CDCR, and the team at San Quentin for their invaluable partnership in making this vision a reality."
More on The Californer
This transformation reflects the California Model — an evidence-based approach inspired by international best practices that prioritizes dynamic security, dignity, staff wellness, and meaningful programming.
The San Quentin Learning Center symbolizes a shift away from an outdated system that focused solely on punishment and toward a model that recognizes rehabilitation as a core public safety strategy.
"Today marks a turning point for our state," said Californians for Safety and Justice Executive Director Tinisch Hollins. "For too long, our prison system has focused almost entirely on punishment, at great cost and with too little return for public safety. The opening of this learning center signals a new direction — one that treats rehabilitation and healing as central to accountability. Given that the vast majority of people in prison will one day return home, when we invest in education and create real pathways to self-improvement and stability, we make our communities safer for everyone."
The transformation of San Quentin builds on Governor Newsom's earlier actions to reform California's justice system — including placing a moratorium on executions in 2019.
Through executive order, the Governor halted executions, withdrew California's lethal injection protocol, and ordered the immediate closure of the execution chamber at San Quentin. The order did not release anyone from prison or alter existing convictions or sentences — but it ended the state's role in carrying out executions. CDCR has safely integrated people with death sentences into the general population, which allows them to work and pay victim restitution.
Supporting survivors and victims
Crime victims and survivors can learn more about the ways the San Quentin Learning Center increases accountability and decreases recidivism by contacting CDCR's Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services (OVSRS). OVSRS helps people impacted by crime to enforce their rights and access services that foster a sense of healing, accountability, and justice. OVSRS works to ensure that crime victims, survivors, and their families are treated with respect and receive information about and timely notice of their rights, including opportunities to participate and be heard. OVSRS also helps crime victims with restitution and other services. CDCR encourages victims and survivors to contact OVSRS for support and to register, which is a confidential process.
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Feb 20, 2026
Governor Newsom transforms San Quentin, opens nation-leading learning center
State's once most notorious prison now a national model for rehabilitation and successful reentry
What you need to know: Governor Gavin Newsom opens the new Learning Center at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
SAN QUENTIN – Marking a historic milestone in California's public safety transformation, today Governor Gavin Newsom announced the opening of the new San Quentin Learning Center – the main pillar of the state's effort to remake the former notorious prison into a place built on education, rehabilitation, and earned second chances.
As the fastest state project in history – in just 18 months, experts from around the world designed and built the Learning Center as the first in a series of updates to implement a new model of criminal justice focused on accountability, education, rehabilitation, and reentry. Once home to California's death chamber and a symbol of an outdated, cruel system, the three buildings at the learning center are the physical embodiment of the California Model.
Three years ago, I stood here and promised to turn this symbol of the old system into the crown jewel of a new one. Today, with the opening of this Learning Center, we are proving that rehabilitation and public safety go hand in hand — and that hope is a powerful tool for safer communities.
Governor Gavin Newsom
Returning to San Quentin
In March 2023, Governor Newsom stood at San Quentin and announced a bold vision: to transform California's most notorious prison into the nation's most innovative rehabilitation facility. Joined by legislators, survivors of crime, victim advocates, civil rights leaders, and correctional staff, the Governor unveiled a plan to reimagine the institution.
"This historic initiative is aimed at making communities safer by creating change, using data-backed, proven measures to break cycles of crime for the incarcerated population, while improving workplace conditions for institution staff," said CDCR Secretary Jeff Macomber.
That announcement launched a historic transformation never pursued at this scale in the United States. An advisory council composed of state and world-renowned experts in rehabilitation, public health, public safety, victim advocacy, and corrections was formed to guide the transition.
What began as a vision in 2023 is now becoming a reality.
"Thank you Governor for your willingness once again to act with boldness and clarity. Today's historic opening is a testament to your insistence that accountability, compassion, and smart policy must go together," said San Quentin Advisory Council Lead Advisor Darrell Steinberg. "The San Quentin Rehabilitation Center will help define justice and hope in California. People who serve their time deserve a second chance to work, contribute, and come home safely to their families. This center must be a model for our state and nation."
The new 81,000-square-foot Learning Center nearly triples available classroom and programming space at SQRC and establishes a campus-style environment dedicated to education, workforce training, media, and reentry preparation.
The three interconnected buildings include:
Building A – Technology and Media Center
- A reentry center on the ground level — reinforcing that preparation for release begins on day one
- Podcast studios, television production facilities, and recording spaces supporting nationally recognized programs like Ear Hustle and Uncuffed
- Coding instruction through partners like The Last Mile
Building B – Education Hub
- Partnerships with Cal State LA, UC Berkeley, and Mt. Tamalpais College
- Classrooms supporting high school completion and college-level coursework
- Expanded library and reading spaces
Building C – Community and Workforce Space
- Multi-purpose gathering hall, café, and store to normalize social and vocational experiences
- Outdoor classrooms with views of the Bay — the first time in years many will be able to see the water they've long been able to hear and smell
Designed in partnership with an architecture firm and informed by more than 50 stakeholder meetings — including incarcerated residents and staff — the complex uses natural light, open sightlines, green-building principles, and campus-style courtyards to create an environment grounded in dignity and accountability.
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The 18-month progressive design-build project was completed on time and on budget at $239 million, funded through a lease revenue bond.
Crime is down, prevention works
Governor Newsom's approach to public safety is all-encompassing – California has invested $2.1 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve overall public safety.
On top of the investments to provide incarcerated residents with the tools to rehabilitate while serving their time, the Governor recently announced the awarding of $107 million in grant funding to help Californians avoid violence so that they never step foot inside a prison. Since 2019, the state has provided $350 million in violence intervention funding to stop more than 30,000 violent incidents from even happening.
National research shows that people who participate in correctional education programs are 43% less likely to return to prison. For every $1 invested in rehabilitation, taxpayers save more than $4 in reduced reincarceration costs.
"The opening of the new learning center at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center marks a major milestone in the ongoing transformation of CDCR facilities into places that center rehabilitation, inspired by Governor Newsom's launch of the California Model," said San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. "The new learning center will scale the work that has begun here and provide residents with more tools to advance their individual journeys as they work to become better than when they came in, making us all safer in turn."
California's transformation of San Quentin comes as crime continues to decline statewide. According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, in California's major cities:
- Violent crime dropped 12% in 2025 compared to 2024
- Homicides declined 18%
- Robberies declined 19%
Compared to 2019 (the last pre‑pandemic year), violent crime across the same large California city police departments tracked in the MCCA year‑end surveys is down about 12% in 2025 — driven by robberies down about 29% and homicides down about 12%.
Not every major jurisdiction is seeing California's same results: violent crime increased in Atlanta (+17%), with robbery up (+27%), and homicides rose in El Paso (+25%) and Omaha (+37%).
This progress reflects a balanced approach — accountability alongside prevention.
Crime victims and survivors benefit from the increased accountability that results from effective rehabilitation programs. By nearly 3 to 1, crime survivor groups prefer sentences that hold individuals accountable while including programming that prevents recidivism. CDCR's investment in rehabilitation increases public safety and breaks cycles of recidivism, which means fewer families are harmed by crime and safer communities.
Remaking San Quentin: the California Model
The Learning Center is the cornerstone of broader reforms, including:
- Conversion of East Block, formerly death row, into rehabilitative housing
- Repurposing of the Upper Yard into expanded recreation and community space
- Installation of murals and art projects to humanize the environment
- Greater staff participation in rehabilitative programming
"This new Learning Center is more than bricks and mortar — it brings hope for the future of corrections in California," said California Correctional Peace Officers Association Neil Flood. "If we are capable of building this at San Quentin, then we are capable of making the workplace safer for every officer who walks in the gates, and making every incarcerated person a better neighbor when they walk out."
"The San Quentin Rehabilitation Education Center's opening marks a significant step in transformation through education. The Learning Center provides opportunities for students to gain digital fluency and marketable skills that result in gainful employment," said The Last Mile Executive Director Kevin McCracken. "This will create stronger families, safer communities, and better outcomes for all Californians. The Last Mile extends our heartfelt gratitude to Governor Newsom, his staff, CALCTRA, CDCR, and the team at San Quentin for their invaluable partnership in making this vision a reality."
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This transformation reflects the California Model — an evidence-based approach inspired by international best practices that prioritizes dynamic security, dignity, staff wellness, and meaningful programming.
The San Quentin Learning Center symbolizes a shift away from an outdated system that focused solely on punishment and toward a model that recognizes rehabilitation as a core public safety strategy.
"Today marks a turning point for our state," said Californians for Safety and Justice Executive Director Tinisch Hollins. "For too long, our prison system has focused almost entirely on punishment, at great cost and with too little return for public safety. The opening of this learning center signals a new direction — one that treats rehabilitation and healing as central to accountability. Given that the vast majority of people in prison will one day return home, when we invest in education and create real pathways to self-improvement and stability, we make our communities safer for everyone."
The transformation of San Quentin builds on Governor Newsom's earlier actions to reform California's justice system — including placing a moratorium on executions in 2019.
Through executive order, the Governor halted executions, withdrew California's lethal injection protocol, and ordered the immediate closure of the execution chamber at San Quentin. The order did not release anyone from prison or alter existing convictions or sentences — but it ended the state's role in carrying out executions. CDCR has safely integrated people with death sentences into the general population, which allows them to work and pay victim restitution.
Supporting survivors and victims
Crime victims and survivors can learn more about the ways the San Quentin Learning Center increases accountability and decreases recidivism by contacting CDCR's Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services (OVSRS). OVSRS helps people impacted by crime to enforce their rights and access services that foster a sense of healing, accountability, and justice. OVSRS works to ensure that crime victims, survivors, and their families are treated with respect and receive information about and timely notice of their rights, including opportunities to participate and be heard. OVSRS also helps crime victims with restitution and other services. CDCR encourages victims and survivors to contact OVSRS for support and to register, which is a confidential process.
Press releases, Public safety, Recent news
https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkur..." rel="nofollow">https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https...">https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=h...">Recent news
Governor Newsom announces appointments 2.20.26
Feb 20, 2026
News SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:Ryan Young, of Oakland, has been appointed Public Advisor at the California Energy Commission. Young has been Deputy Public Advisor at the California Energy Commission since 2024. He...
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