In 2024, the Minnesota Department of Corrections committed to providing all incarcerated people in state custody with access to prison-approved tablets — devices that allow inmates to access educational content, send and receive electronic messages, manage their commissary accounts, and access entertainment and programming materials. By the time a Star Tribune analysis examined the rollout, fewer than 30 percent of Minnesota state inmates had received a tablet, and MNDOC cited "unexpected implementation challenges" — including state accessibility standards — as the cause of the delay.
Why Tablets Matter in Prison
Access to tablets in correctional settings has become one of the most consequential quality-of-life issues in state prisons over the past decade. Tablets are not primarily about entertainment — though some entertainment is available. They are a communication platform, an educational tool, and a connection to the outside world for people who would otherwise spend most of their time without meaningful intellectual stimulation or consistent family contact.
Specific uses that tablets enable in Minnesota DOC and similar systems:
- Electronic messaging: Families can send and receive messages through the tablet platform — often cheaper and more convenient than phone calls, and available at any time the inmate has tablet access rather than only during scheduled calling hours.
- Educational content: GED preparation materials, vocational training modules, and literacy programs can be accessed on-demand rather than waiting for scheduled classroom sessions.
- Legal research: Some tablet platforms include access to legal databases, helping incarcerated people research their cases and prepare motions without depending on an understaffed law library.
- Commissary and account management: Managing the trust account and placing commissary orders electronically rather than on paper.
- Programming and reentry preparation: Cognitive-behavioral modules, reentry planning tools, and job preparation content.
What Caused the Delay
MNDOC cited two categories of challenges:
State accessibility standards: Minnesota requires that technology provided to state populations — including incarcerated people — meet accessibility standards for people with visual, hearing, and cognitive disabilities. The tablet provider's software did not initially meet Minnesota's standards, requiring modifications before deployment could proceed statewide. This is a legitimate administrative hurdle, but advocates noted that it should have been anticipated and addressed before MNDOC made the deployment promise.
"Unexpected implementation challenges": MNDOC's official explanation was vague on specifics beyond accessibility compliance. Contract terms, device distribution logistics, network infrastructure in older facilities, and staff training for managing a new technology system are all common sources of tablet rollout delays in correctional settings nationally.
Advocates' View
Advocacy organizations monitoring the MNDOC rollout expressed frustration with the pace. For individuals serving long sentences far from their families, even a few months of delayed tablet access represents a meaningful reduction in the communication and programming access the commitment was supposed to provide. The MRRA framework — which requires incarcerated people to actively engage with rehabilitation programming — is also harder to implement effectively without the digital tools that can deliver program content on-demand in housing units.
Where Things Stand
The MNDOC has continued the rollout but has not publicly committed to a new completion date for universal access. Families whose loved ones are in Minnesota state prisons can ask during visits or calls whether a tablet has been assigned and, if not, when their housing unit or facility is scheduled for distribution.
MNDOC headquarters: 1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 200, St. Paul, MN 55108. Phone: (651) 361-7200. Website: mn.gov/doc.