Pell Grant Eligibility for Second Chance Experimental Sites

Currently, a stipulation of Pell Grant eligibility for the Second Chance Pell experiment is that students must be eligible for parole, with priority given to students who will be released within 5 years of enrollment in the program.¹ With the option of priority given to individuals with anticipated release dates within 5 years, exclusion is inevitable. If Congress reinstates Pell for incarcerated adults, but a 5-year restriction on eligibility were enforced, access to higher education could be denied to a substantial population of incarcerated adults.

“I have a fear that if Pell is made permanent, they will try to implement limits. That is not good. Regardless of the crime committed or the time you have, you should be able to take college classes.”

—currently incarcerated student, June 2019