By Zoe Turner, NASFAA Policy Staff

This blog is the first in a two-part series highlighting the imperative work of higher education programs offered to justice-impacted scholars. Below, “Prison Education Programs Conceptual and Historical Overview” provides a contextual introduction and timeline of higher education in prison in the United States as impacted by key cultural and political milestones. Professionals in the field of higher education, including financial aid professionals, hold a unique ability to shape student lives with their advocacy for learning. 

Education is both a human right and a core principle of restorative justice. With the reinstitution of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students, several NASFAA member institutions have taken steps to achieve designation as a Prison Education Program (PEP). I encourage readers to explore the PEP resources NASFAA has to offer, including the expertise of staff and members, to discover the opportunities your institution has to support justice-impacted scholars.

Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted unanimously by the United Nations in 1948, holds “Everyone has a right to education.” Although the United States has failed to ratify this treaty, extensive data-driven research confirms the societal and personal benefits realized from access to education, especially for incarcerated persons. The United States imprisons more people per capita than any other nation at an extraordinary rate of 583 per 100,000 people[1]. Lack of accessibility and affordability among institutions of higher learning on the inside and the outside compound to disadvantage both currently and formerly incarcerated individuals upon release. 

Nearly 75% of formerly incarcerated individuals report unemployment a year after release[2]. Additionally, research finds earnings of formerly-incarcerated individuals to be 41% less than their non-incarcerated counterparts[3]. A culture of cyclical punishment and structural barriers place justice-impacted individuals in a state of perpetual second-class citizenship. Comprehensive access to education will not only transform earnings potential for justice-impacted scholars, but reduce spending for a billion dollar prison industry fueled by high rates of recidivism. A justice system committed to reducing recidivism and upholding the human rights of its population must invest in meaningful education opportunities. As agents of higher education administration, financial aid professionals and their colleagues occupy a valuable position to promote restorative justice and create real impact in the lives of justice-impacted persons.

The following section represents a timeline of recent prison education history, highlighting selected events that reflect systemic change in the field.

1965 - Passage of the Higher Education Act

The nation’s most comprehensive and foundational piece of education legislation was enacted in 1965 as the Higher Education Act (HEA). The HEA solidified the federal government’s interest in higher education policy and laid the structural groundwork for several student and institutional programs. With its introduction emerged a nationwide demand for prison education courses[4].

1972 - Establishment of the Pell Grant

The Pell Grant was created under the 1972 reauthorization of the HEA, designed to serve students demonstrating the highest level of need.

1982 - Estimated 350 Programs for Higher Education in Prison

Nearly 20 years after HEA, and 10 after the establishment of the Pell Grant, higher education in prison programs served roughly 27,000 students nationwide. This number comprised 9% of the total prison population at the time[5].

Early 1990s - Estimated 772 Programs for Higher Education in Prison

It is estimated that 772 higher education in prison programs were successfully operating across 1,287 correctional facilities nationwide in the early 1990s[6].

1992 - Higher Education Act Amendment S.1150

S.1150 prohibited a Pell Grant to an incarcerated student:

1. in an amount exceeding normal tuition and fees plus an allowance for books and supplies;
2. if it is used to supplant, rather than supplement, the state's FY 1988 level of postsecondary education assistance to incarcerated individuals; or
3. if the individual is serving under a death sentence or a life sentence without eligibility for parole or release.

Following the amendment passage, bipartisan support to eliminate federal aid eligibility for incarcerated individuals strengthened. In a 1994 statement given by Democrat Representative Bart Gordon of Tennessee, he remarked, “Law-abiding citizens should be fiscally and morally outraged when a Pell Grant for a policeman’s child is cut, but a criminal the officer sends to jail can still get a big check.”[7] Gordon would go on to successfully push his amendment to ban all incarcerated individuals from receiving Pell onto the final Crime Bill.

1994 - The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Bill

The 1994 Crime Bill ended Pell Grant eligibility for all incarcerated students. Unable to access this source of student aid, the number of higher education in prison programs decreased drastically. Current students without sufficient external resources to fund their education were forced to abandon progress toward degrees. Even for incarcerated individuals with in-facility work opportunities, token wages earned were incomparable to the price of college. 

Prior to this bill, Pell Grants for justice-impacted scholars made up only 1% of total expenditures, or $56,000,000 of $9,300,000,000[8]. This legislation represented a major setback for PEP, one the community is still recovering from 30 years later. 

1997 - Eight Estimated Remaining Prison Education Programs ( AEI)

Remaining programs are largely philanthropically funded.

2013 - RAND Corporation Study

In 2013, the RAND Corporation released their report: “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs that Provide Education to Incarcerated Adults.” At large they found that receiving education while incarcerated reduces an individual’s risk of recidivating. Other key findings include 1) The odds of obtaining employment post-release among incarcerated individuals who participated in correctional education was 13%higher than the odds for those who did not participate in correctional education; and 2) providing correctional education can be cost-effective when it comes to reducing recidivism[9]. Upon conclusion of this study RAND put forth several recommendations to conduct further research and fund grants to be used in furthering the field. This study would become widely cited in favor of the push to reinstate prison education programs nationwide.

2015 - Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative

The Department of Education (ED) released a Federal Register Notice in August of 2015 inviting institutions of higher education to apply to participate in the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative (ESI). The ESI allowed eligible institutions to partner with state and federal penal institutions to provide a federal Pell Grant to incarcerated students without access otherwise[10]. In the first six years of the program, nearly 40,000 students received Second Chance Pell funded education, and 12,000 of them have received credentials across 100+ institutions[11]. 

March 2019 - Government Accountability Office Report Illuminates Higher Education in Prison Accessibility Challenges

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) was invited to review the Second Chance Pell Pilot that took effect in 2015. GAO analyzed summary-level Education data from the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years and conducted interviews across a non-generalizable sample of 12 schools and other department officials. Their report highlighted several procedural and regulatory barriers that impeded the efficiency of pilot implementation among the 12 institutions. Specifically, interviewees spoke to issues establishing Pell eligibility for their students, obtaining necessary verification documents, and overcoming technological limitations. As a response, the GAO issued the following recommendation: 

“GAO recommends that the Secretary of Education complete its evaluation of the pilot to report on its findings and conclusions. Education concurred, with clarification, and stated that it had actions underway to evaluate the pilot.”[12]

2020 - FAFSA Simplification Act Restores Pell Eligibility for Incarcerated Individuals

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 signed into law in December 2020 lifted the ban on Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals and expanded postsecondary access for millions of incarcerated students across the country[13].

April 18, 2023 - Introduction of Revised Second Chance Pell Experiment via Federal Register Notice

With the introduction of the FAFSA Simplification Act, restoring Pell Eligibility for incarcerated students, the Second Chance Pell Experiment was set to end on June 30th, 2023. To provide a transition for currently operating Second Chance Pell sites, ED introduced the Revised Second Chance Pell Experiment. The revised experiment provided waivers for the currently operating program to continue program operation after July 1, 2023. Approved programs must make progress toward achieving PEP status over a 3-year period[14].

July 1, 2023 - First Date of Eligibility for PEP Application

As of July 1, 2023, incarcerated individuals became eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant if they enrolled in an eligible Prison Education Program, as defined by statute. In order to apply for PEP status, institutions must use the Electronic Application for Approval to Participate in the Federal Student Financial Aid Programs[15]. A few key general requirements for approved PEPs include:

1. PEP must be offered by an eligible public or non-profit higher education institution that has been approved to operate in a correctional facility by the oversight entity.
   1. a. The oversight entity is defined as “The appropriate State department of corrections or other entity that is responsible for overseeing correctional facilities, or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.”
2. The oversight entity will evaluate if the PEP is operating in the students’ best interest.
   1. a. The best interest determination evaluates performance with information on PEP instructors, transferability of credits, and academic or career advising. It may also include data about rates of recidivism, completion, continuing education post-release, earnings, and job placements.
3. PEP credits must be transferable to at least one eligible institution within the state the correctional facility is located.

Additional information regarding responsibilities of relevant parties and the application process also become available under the department’s final regulations[16].

August 2024 - Present Day

Thirteen months past the opening of PEP applications authorized under FAFSA Simplification, we see continued educational commitment from the participants in the revised Second Chance Pell experiment, and we see significant numbers of other programs working through the pipeline to full PEP approval. It is important to recognize the several barriers preventing institutions and their students from receiving program approval and financial aid in an efficient manner. Technology constraints, administrative delays, and burdensome regulatory procedures can make the journey to achieving PEP status laborious. Yet, the value of restoring the right to higher education to justice-impacted scholars remains paramount. 

Stay tuned for a second blog detailing the NASFAA’s resources for helping PEPs and their students reach the education they deserve.

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[1] Prison Policy Initiative and Wendy Sawyer and Peter Wagner, “Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2024,” Prison Policy Initiative, n.d., https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2024.html.
[2] The White House, “A Proclamation on Second Chance Month, 2022,” Press release, March 31, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/03/31/a-proclamation-on-second-chance-month-2022/.
[3] Vera Institute of Justice, “Investing in Futures: Economic and Fiscal Benefits of Postsecondary Education in Prison,” January 2019, https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/investing-in-futures.pdf.
[4] Gerard Robinson and Elizabeth English, “The Second Chance Pell Pilot Program: A Historical Overview,” American Enterprise Institute, September 2017, https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/The-Second-Chance-Pell-Pilot-Program.pdf#page=2.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Christopher Zoukis, “Pell Grants for Prisoners: New Bill Restores Hope of Reinstating College Programs,” Prison Legal News, August 2015, https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2015/jul/31/pell-grants-prisoners-new-bill-restores-hope-reinstating-college-programs/.
[8] Robinson and English, “The Second Chance Pell Pilot Program: A Historical Overview.”
[9] RAND Corporation, “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education:  a Meta-Analysis of Programs That Provide Education to Incarcerated Adults,” August 2013, https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR266.html.
[10] The United States Department of Education, “Second Chance Pell Fact Sheet,” 2001, https://experimentalsites.ed.gov/exp/pdf/SecondChancePellFactSheet.pdf.
[11] Niloufer Taber and Asha Muralidharan, “Second Chance Pell: Six Years of Expanding Higher Education Programs in Prisons, 2016–2022,” Vera Institute of Justice, June 2023, https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/second-chance-pell-six-years-of-expanding-access-to-education-in-prison.pdf.
[12] United States Government Accountability Office, “FEDERAL STUDENT AID: Actions Needed to Evaluate Pell Grant Pilot for Incarcerated Students,” March 2019, https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-19-130.pdf.
[13] National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, “Pell for Incarcerated Students Working Group Report.”
[14] Federal Student Aid, “Invitation to Participate in a Revised Second Chance Pell Experiment Under the Experimental Sites Initiative,” Press release, April 18, 2023, https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2023-04-18/invitation-participate-revised-second-chance-pell-experiment-under-experimental-sites-initiative.
[15] Federal Student Aid, “Prison Education Program Fact Sheet - Program Approval Process” (The United States Department of Education, July 1, 2023), https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/PEPFactSheetProgramApprovalProcess.pdf.
[16] Federal Student Aid, “Eligibility of Confined or Incarcerated Individuals to Receive Pell Grants,” Press release, March 29, 2023, https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/dear-colleague-letters/2023-03-29/eligibility-confined-or-incarcerated-individuals-receive-pell-grants.

Publication Date: 9/17/2024

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