When the U.S. Department of Education announced last summer that federal Pell grants would become available to incarcerated college students, lawmakers and state corrections officials sought to adjust legislation and strengthen potential partnerships with universities. I ran around.
But nearly a year later, universities and institutions are beginning to realize that gaining approval from the U.S. Department of Education poses difficult administrative challenges. So far, he has only started one new program in California that is eligible for federal financial aid grants.
“We're going to see an impact, it's coming. It took a little while to get there because of the focus on quality within the regulations,” he said of the expansion of university programs in correctional facilities. said Ruth Delaney, who heads the program at the Vera Institute of Justice. “What's great is that there's a lot of energy from universities and correctional facilities to start new prison education programs.”
Pell Grants for incarcerated students were officially reinstated in July 2023, following a nearly 30-year federal ban that barred most incarcerated students from receiving aid. The ban was one of the provisions of the 1994 comprehensive federal crime bill signed by President Bill Clinton.
More than 750,000 incarcerated students could be eligible for Pell Grants. But to be eligible, a person must be below the family income limit and be in a prison that offers a college program approved by the federal Department of Education.
To date, only one program has been fully approved: Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California. Students there will receive Pell grants starting next fall and will be eligible to earn degrees in communications from California State Polytechnic State University, Humboldt.
Still, state corrections officials in Maryland, Michigan and Wisconsin told Stateline that since PELDORS became available, more colleges and universities have become interested in establishing prison education programs. said. Since last summer, 44 state corrections departments and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have developed applications and other systems for approving prison education programs, according to the Vera Institute of Justice.
“There are people in prison who have been waiting for this opportunity for 30 years to come back, and they're just so eager to get in,” Delaney said in an interview. “Anything we can do to quickly implement high-quality programs, that’s what we want.”
state action
Pell Grants, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, are provided to low-income students nationwide to help cover the cost of college. Most students apply online using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Due to limited access to the internet, incarcerated students are typically required to submit paper applications. The current grant cap is $7,395 for the entire academic year.
University saved my life. It was a place where I could be free. I was able to read, learn, and grow. It was a huge change for me to realize that my life wasn't over yet.
– Alexa Garza, Education Trust analyst and formerly incarcerated
States pay to house inmates in prisons, but many states do not pay for higher education. Prison college programs often rely on alternative funding, such as donations and state grants. Some are part of a federal pilot program called the Second Chance Pell Testing Site Initiative, which includes about 40,000 incarcerated learners. Otherwise, students must pay out of pocket or rely on scholarships and donations from nonprofit organizations and universities.
Regardless of the cost, the purpose of providing college-level education in prisons is to make it easier for incarcerated people to reintegrate into society upon release and connect them with meaningful, well-paying jobs.
“University saved my life. It was a place where I could be free. I could read, I could learn, I could grow. It was such a big change for me, and my life I realized I wasn’t done yet,” said Alexa Garza, who earned two associate degrees and a bachelor’s degree while incarcerated in Texas. Mr. Garza currently works as an analyst for the Higher Education Justice Initiative at The Education Trust, a Texas policy analyst and education access advocacy organization.
Advocates of prison education say it's important for schools to go beyond simply offering classes and expand the college experience inside prisons. It means fostering meaningful relationships between professors and students.
“There were no family members in the courtroom. There were professors in the courtroom,” said William Freeman, who served time in Maryland and now heads the Education Trust's Justice Policy Fellowship. “Now I'm a college graduate, a homeowner, and all first-generation. I don't think my parents made the kind of money I'm making now.”
Many state legislators have worked to strengthen prison college programs in hopes that Pell grants will help more incarcerated students earn degrees, but with mixed results.
In Washington state, for example, legislation scheduled to go into effect in June will allow more incarcerated learners to seek both federal and state financial aid grants to cover the cost of post-secondary education programs. It becomes like this.
The Maryland General Assembly has introduced a bill to Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that would require the state Department of Corrections to help incarcerated students access Pell Grants and set participation goals. Moore's office said the bill is under consideration.
A Florida bill that would make students eligible for in-state tuition even if they have been incarcerated within the state in the past year passed committees in the House and Senate, but was introduced before the Legislature adjourned.
And in Montana, lawmakers said after a legislative audit found limited prison education and workforce programs, characterized by long waiting lists and unequal access between private and public facilities. He harshly criticized state corrections officials.
New programs and partnerships
Corrections departments and universities in several states have recently announced new partnerships, some of which will soon become Pell-eligible.
The Maryland Department of Corrections recently announced a memorandum of understanding with the University System of Maryland that will provide incarcerated students with the opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree or credit-based certificate from one of 12 university systems. University systems will also be able to accept Pell Grants.
Daniel Cox, director of education for the state Department of Corrections, said the goal is to have university programs in all state facilities by 2027.
In Utah, female students incarcerated at Utah Correctional Facilities can apply to the University of Utah's new undergraduate degree program through the school's Prison Education Project. At least 11 of the 15 applicants have already received admission decisions, said Erin Castro, associate professor of higher education at the University of Utah and co-founder of the Prison Education Project.
“This is the first time that a major public institution will host a currently incarcerated population,” Castro said.
The Nebraska Department of Corrections and Southeast Community College are expanding their partnership to provide more higher education opportunities for students at five state facilities. The university will enroll her 229 students this spring semester and is also working to gain federal approval to offer Pell Grants as an official prison education program.
The university currently offers an associate of arts degree in degree transfer and plans to offer an associate of applied science degree in business and more career and technical education programs in the fall.
bureaucratic barriers
But some advocates say the new application process through the U.S. Department of Education requires significantly more administrative effort.
So far, at least one university has decided to discontinue its prison education program. Georgia State University cited new federal rules for Pell grants and a $24 million budget cut as reasons for ending the program this summer, according to Open Campus, a nonprofit news organization that covers higher education. This program has been in place since 2016.
“The form and intent of this new system is seriously damaging to the prison college framework,” Jessica Neptune, director of national engagement for the Bard Prison Initiative at Bard College in New York, said in an email to Stateline. wrote. .
“A lot of the recent policy activity, especially related to Pell, is moving toward making it increasingly difficult for universities to be just universities and not criminal justice interventions,” she said.
The Department of Education did not directly respond to advocates' concerns about the new application requirements, but announced a “negotiated rulemaking process that seeks input from many stakeholders to propose the best possible regulations.” He said he went.
Some prison education advocates say the new bureaucratic process separates the mission of educating incarcerated students from the mission of other students and encourages the “othering” of currently or formerly incarcerated individuals. Some people claim that they do.
“Anytime you create a separate system for individuals that reinforces process, isolation, and alienation, especially if they are incarcerated, it doesn’t work,” said Bard Prison Initiative Senior Government Affairs Officer and Bard College. Alumni of.
“Incarcerated students should receive the same full Pell Grant benefits as any other student in this country,” Tatro said.
This article was first published by Stateline. Like the Alaska Beacon, Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by a coalition of grants and donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence.