Congress Poised To Simplify FAFSA, And Help People In Prison Go To College
at 6:07 pm NPR
U.S. lawmakers have announced an agreement on a handful of higher education measures that would provide meaningful help to marginalized students, students of color and many of the schools that serve them. The aid is part of a broad new set of legislation, meant to fund the federal government through fiscal year 2021. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the proposed changes this week. This bipartisan agreement is a significant step toward making higher education more affordable for millions of Americans, Rep. Bobby Scott, the Democratic chairman of the House education committee, said in a statement Sunday night.
Congress agrees on education reforms that include restoring Pell Grants for incarcerated persons!!
As well reported in this NPR piece, headlined Congress Poised To Simplify FAFSA, And Help People In Prison Go To College, it appears federal lawmakers have reaching a deal on an array of higher-education reforms that include a very important reform for incarcerated individuals. Here are the details (with links) from the NPR piece:
For the past 26 years, one sentence in federal law has withheld federal Pell Grants from the nearly 1.5 million people in state and federal prison. The proposed change would strike this line from the law, and allow incarcerated people eligibility to use federal dollars to pay for college while in prison. This change was already approved by the U.S. House in July.