Publication

 December 2024

How Pell Grant Restoration Impacts Jails

UP Policy Brief Dec24 786x786

Overview

Pell Grant restoration took effect on July 1, 2023, ending the nearly 30-year prohibition on need-based federal postsecondary financial aid for people incarcerated in United States prisons. Although people incarcerated in jail settings had remained eligible during the intervening period—as the 1994 Crime Bill’s ban was limited to “federal or state penal institution[s]”—the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act, in addition to reinstating Pell Grant access for people in prisons, dictated new regulations impacting jails. According to those new regulations, any criminally sentenced person must enroll in a U.S. Department of Education (ED)–approved prison education program (PEP) to be eligible for Pell funding.

To help officials from educational and correctional institutions, and other relevant stakeholders, as they modify existing and develop new program opportunities, the Vera Institute of Justice summarized and interpreted key regulatory information.

Key Takeaway

New regulations require colleges to become ED-approved PEPs in order to administer Pell Grants to criminally sentenced students, at jails and prisons alike. When developing and modifying Pell-eligible postsecondary programs, stakeholders should consider how to best accommodate the circumstances of students in jail settings, including people sentenced to a prison term but temporarily housed in the jail and those with shorter-term sentences.

Publication Highlights

  • People detained pretrial in jail are not serving sentences and remain eligible for Pell Grants in the same way they did before both the 1994 Crime Bill and the FAFSA Simplification Act.

  • Because jail populations tend to be more transient, credential offerings should accommodate shorter-lengths stays, such as Pell-eligible certificate programs.

  • If a student is released or transferred before completing a course, instructors may be obligated to issue a failing grade; not meeting “satisfactory academic progress” can risk students’ future access to federal financial aid.

Key Facts

In Louisiana, more than half of people held in jails are serving state criminal sentences.
The “Return of Title IV Funds” policy mandates colleges return unearned portions of federal aid if a student withdraws before completing 60 percent of the semester, leaving students financially liable for tuition and potentially harming their debt status and future Pell eligibility.