The Obama administration will soon give some inmates the chance to take college courses on the government’s dime.US President Barack Obama is set to grant prisoners financial aid to take college courses whiles behind bars.
US President Barack Obama
The
Education Department and Justice Department on Friday are expected to
announce a pilot program giving some prisoners access to federal Pell
grants. The aim is to test how effective correctional education programs
can be in breaking the cycle of repeat offenders.
Congress
banned prisoners from being eligible for Pell grants in 1994. Since
then, the prison population has grown significantly to 1.6 million
nationwide, and calls for reform are coming from President Obama — who
recently became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison —
as well as members of both parties.
The
administration can’t lift the ban on Pell grants without Congressional
approval, but the Education Department can use its authority to
temporarily run a pilot program.

