The Second Chance Pell experiment was established in 2015 and provides need-based Pell Grants to incarcerated individuals to allow them to participate in eligible postsecondary programs. With the passage of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act in 2020, Congress expanded the ability to serve confined or incarcerated individuals by reinstating Pell Grant eligibility for otherwise-eligible confined or incarcerated individuals enrolled in eligible prison education programs (PEPs) beginning July 1, 2023. As a result, the current Second Chance Pell experiment will end on June 30, 2023.
We are pleased to announce that a Federal Register notice was published on April 18, 2023, that invites postsecondary educational institutions that currently participate in the Second Chance Pell experiment to apply to participate in a new experiment under the Experimental Sites Initiative (ESI). The revised Second Chance Pell experiment will provide new waivers to allow current Second Chance Pell institutions to continue serving their confined or incarcerated students after July 1, 2023. This will give participating institutions time to seek Department approval of their PEPs (as defined under the new regulations in 34 CFR part 668 subpart P) and avoid interrupting the educational opportunities of confined or incarcerated students currently enrolled in approved programs under the experiment. Specifically, the revised experiment will allow current participating institutions to continue offering their current programs to confined or incarcerated individuals for up to 3 award years while they work through the application and approval process for the PEP(s) they wish to offer under the new provisions.
This revised experiment will waive the statutory provision in new HEA section 484(t)(3), requiring that a student confined or incarcerated in a Federal or State penal institution be enrolled in an eligible PEP (as defined in subpart P of 34 CFR part 668) in order to receive a Pell Grant. The experiment will allow some otherwise-eligible students who are confined or incarcerated in Federal or State penal institutions to receive a Pell Grant to help cover the costs of their participation in a postsecondary education and training program offered by a participating postsecondary educational institution while the institution works to meet the new PEP requirements. Participating institutions must reach specific milestones that demonstrate progress toward developing approved PEP(s).
Only institutions that are approved and actively participating in the Second Chance Pell experiment as of June 30, 2023, may apply to participate in the revised experiment.
An institution interested in participating in the revised experiment must:
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Notify the Department of its desire to participate in the revised experiment by submitting a letter of interest;
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Agree to make efforts to reach the specific milestones that demonstrate progress toward developing approved PEP(s), as outlined in the Institutional Requirements section of the Federal Register notice;
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Be in compliance with the reporting requirements under the current experiment as outlined in the Program Participation Agreement (PPA) Amendment;
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Be in compliance with Title IV HEA regulatory and statutory requirements, including administrative capability and financial responsibility; and
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Adequately describe in its letter of interest how it will comply with the requirements of the revised experiment outlined in the Federal Register notice, including its plan and the date it expects to comply with the new PEP provisions in subpart P of 34 CFR part 668.
Letters of interest should take the form of an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) attachment and must be sent to the following email address: experimentalsites@ed.gov. The subject line of the email should read “ESI 2023--Pell for Students Who Are Incarcerated.” The text of the email should include the name and address of the institution. The letter of interest should be on institutional letterhead and be signed by the institution's financial aid administrator and must include the following information:
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The institution's official name and the Department's Office of Postsecondary Education Identification (OPEID) number.
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The name of a contact person at the institution, including a mailing address, email address, and telephone number.
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The name and address of the correctional facility(ies) with which the institution partners.
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A listing of the academic programs that the institution is offering under the current experiment and that the institution expects to include in the revised experiment. For each of those programs, provide an estimate of the number of participating students. We understand that institutions' academic program listings and the actual number of students who participate may vary from the information submitted in the letter.
As noted in the Federal Register, letters of interest from current Second Chance Pell experiment participants interested in participating in the revised experiment must be submitted to the Department, following the procedures outlined in the notice, no later than May 18, 2023 to receive priority consideration.
If you have any questions about the application process or the revised Second Chance Pell experiment, please send an email to experimentalsites@ed.gov.