Pell and TAP Grants Reinstated for All Incarcerated Individuals

Pell Grants Reinstated for All Incarcerated Individuals

Since 1994, incarcerated students have been ineligible to receive Pell and TAP funding. At the end of 2020, federal legislation was passed to restore Pell funding to all incarcerated individuals by the fall of 2023. Later, in April 2022 the New York State Legislature repealed the ban on the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for incarcerated New Yorkers. The return of public funding for prison education is a huge step forward in creating equitable access to higher education, increasing opportunities for incarcerated individuals, and enabling SUNY to serve a greater number of incarcerated students in our communities.

HEJI’s team and the Office of Student Financial Aid will be sharing information as it becomes available related to the implementation of Pell and TAP for incarcerated students. New York’s Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) is currently working on developing appropriate guidance related to TAP for incarcerated students and the U.S. Department of Education is working to establish regulations for Pell. In the meantime, we encourage campuses to work with their financial aid offers and our SUNY college-in-prison community to identify new opportunities, best practices, and key challenges.

2019 Shawangunk Graduation; Photography by Babita Patel/Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison

What the expansion of higher education in prison means for SUNY

Below are a few ways the expanding field of higher education in prison may impact SUNY campuses:

The expansion of public funding for higher education in prison provides new opportunities for enrollment and to fulfill SUNY's mission of providing "the people of New York educational services of the highest quality, with the broadest possible access." If you are interested in learning more about building a program inside a correctional facility, contact SUNY’s Higher Education for the Justice Involved team at SUNY-HEJI@suny.edu.
More justice involved students may be applying for transfer or admission to main campuses upon their return to the community. As more incarcerated New Yorkers have opportunities to earn college credits during their incarceration, more students may be looking to continue their education or complete their SUNY degrees upon release. This is an opportunity to consider how to be prepared to address the needs of justice involved students. To learn more about the needs of justice involved students, see resources below or contact the HEJI team.
As you may know, SUNY banned the box in 2016, which was a hugely important step in ensuring all justice involved individuals are treated fairly and with dignity and respect on all SUNY campuses. To continue these efforts, SUNY campuses should consider conducting an internal assessment of campus policies and practices that may discourage, limit, or alienate justice involved students, faculty, or staff. For example, this could include reviewing policies related to admission, campus housing, hiring, and a closer examination of language used in these policies.
Anticipate being contacted by currently incarcerated students, their families, other SUNY campuses in which they are enrolled, or third parties advocating on their behalf. Incarcerated individuals do not have internet access in NYS prisons and therefore may reach out to your campus in a variety of alternative ways. Although applications, transcripts requests, and financial aid forms may all be digital, incarcerated students looking for information will not be able to access them prior to release. Consider what policies or procedures may need to be developed to still serve these students.
You may want to explore existing campus resources, programs, and initiatives that can support and strengthen re-entry pathways from prison to campus to be utilized by justice-involved students. Also consider developing scholarship opportunities or programs specifically designed to support justice involved students on campus.
Join the national conversation! SUNY has a national leadership role to play in building a high-quality and integrated system of college-in-prison programs and reentry opportunities. As the nation's most comprehensive university system and the largest provider of college-in-prison in New York State, we need to maintain a presence and voice in statewide and national conversations about the future of this work.

Additional Resources and References

SUNY Resources
Higher Education for the Justice Involved: How college-in-prison changes lives and communities
Faculty Recruitment Toolkit and Training Resource Guide
SUNY Higher Education for the Justice Involved
SUNY’s Vision of Education Equity for Incarcerated People

Further Reading and Research
Changing Minds: The Impact of College in a Maximum Security Prison
Equity and Excellence in Practice: A Guide for Higher Education in Prison Report
Needed Specialists for a Challenging Task: Formerly Incarcerated Leaders' Essential Role in Postsecondary Programs in Prison
Unlocking Potential: Pathways from Prison to Post-Secondary Education
What Corrections Officials Need to Know to Partner with Colleges to Implement College Programs in Prisons

Second Chance Pell

In 2016, the U.S. Department of Education created the Second Chance Pell (SCP) Experimental Sites Initiative to provide need-based Pell grants to those in state and federal prisons. Since it’s inception the initative led to helping incarcerated students earn over 7,000 credentials. As of 2022, 200 academic institutions across the country are participating in Second Chance, below are the eight SUNY campuses who are participating:

North Country Community College (2016)
Columbia Greene Community College (2020)
SUNY Adirondack Community College (2020)
SUNY College at Potsdam (2020)
Corning Community College (2022)
Herkimer County Community College (2022)
Jamestown Community College (2022)
SUNY Empire (2022)