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New place to find all the latest news on prison education programs
November 02, 2022
With legislative changes in recent years that expanded Pell Grant eligibility to incarcerated students, interest in prison education programs has been increasing.
To keep the higher education communication updated on any information related to this topic, the Department of Education has added a Prison Education Program (PEP) Topics page in Federal Student Aid Knowledge Center website.
In a November 1 Electronic Announcement, the Department said the Topics page “serves as a repository for all regulations, guidance, training, questions and answers, and other information related to implementation of PEPs for incarcerated students and will be updated as additional information is released.”
The FAFSA Simplification Act, passed on December 27, 2020 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, made changes to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), including the restoration of Pell Grant eligibility for students incarcerated in federal or state penal institutions and students who are subject to involuntary civil commitments.
The provisions of the FAFSA Simplification Act that apply to confined or incarcerated individuals have an effective date of July 1, 2023.
For more information about the PEP approval process, send an email to PEP@ed.gov.