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The University of Utah received $8 million to establish the Prison Education Action Research Lab (PEARL).

PEARL will advance educational justice for incarcerated communities through research and leadership.

The initiative aims to improve educational opportunities and influence policies for incarcerated students.

SALT LAKE CITY — A team of researchers at the University of Utah was awarded $8 million to launch the nation's first center dedicated solely to prison education research and leadership.

"It's huge. I'm not sure it's completely sunk in yet," said Erin Castro, co-founder of the Utah Prison Education Project and associate professor of educational leadership and policy at the U.

Castro and her team will use the $8 million awarded by

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