Despite improvements in financial aid, earning a degree in prison remains difficult

After nearly three decades, incarcerated people in the United States are once eligible to receive Pell Grants to pay for their college education in prison. More than 750,000 incarcerated individuals are estimated to be eligible today. Yet, the promise of the Pell Grant restoration is, so far, a slow-moving reality, even though there has historically been significant interest among incarcerated people. Only 140 people incarcerated in Pennsylvania state prisons participated in a Pell-funded program last year. These facilities house approximately 40,000 individuals.