Am I eligible for federal grants while I’m incarcerated?

Maybe, It depends on where you are confined.[2911] In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE) launched a new federal program called the “Second Chance Pell Pilot Program,” which allows some incarcerated people to receive federal Pell Grants to cover many of the costs of college (tuition, fees, books, and supplies) while incarcerated.[2912] Before this announcement, currently incarcerated people in state and federal facilities were NOT able to receive Federal Pell Grants.

The “Second Chance Pilot Pell Program” focuses on those who are eligible for release, especially students who are likely to be released within five years of getting their college education. The program is available only at certain state and federal correctional facilities that have applied to participate. More than 100 correctional facilities across the country are currently participating in the program, in partnership with 67 colleges and universities.[2913] As of the publishing of this guide, the following California institutions are participating: California State Prison, Los Angeles County; California Institution for Women; Sierra Conservation Camp; and Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.[2914] BUT NOTE: If you are committed to a juvenile detention facility, and you otherwise meet the requirements, you ARE eligible for a federal Pell Grant.

NOTE: In order to be eligible for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) you must have already received a Pell Grant. Therefore, if your institution does not offer one of the “Second Chance Pilot Pell Grants” because you are incarcerated, then by default, you are also not eligible for a FSEOG.

  1. 2911

    U.S. Dep’t of Educ. Fed. Student Aid Office, Federal Student Aid Eligibility for Students Confined in Adult Correctional and Juvenile Justice Facilities (Dec. 2014), https://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/aid-info-for-incarcerated-individuals.pdf. ↑

  2. 2912

    The Pell Grants can only be used to pay for tuition, fees, books and supplies required by education program. Incarcerated individuals will not be eligible to receive other types of Federal student aid under this pilot program. See U.S. Department of Education, “U.S. Department of Education Launches Second Chance Pell Pilot Program for Incarcerated Individuals,” (Jul. 31. 2015), http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-launches-second-chance-pell-pilot-program-incarcerated-individuals. ↑

  3. 2913

    U.S. Dep’t of Educ., 12,000 Incarcerated Students to Enroll in Post-Secondary Educational and Training Programs Through Education Department’s New Second Chance Pell Pilot Program (Jun. 2016), https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/12000-incarcerated-students-enroll-postsecondary-educational-and-training-programs-through-education-departments-new-second-chance-pell-pilot-program. ↑

  4. 2914

    U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Institutions selected for participation in the Second Chance Pell experiment in the 2016-2017 award year, https://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/second-chance-pell-institutions.pdf. ↑