Are There Limits On the Amount Of Federal Pell Grant Funds an Incarcerated Student Can Receive?

Yes, under certain circumstances. Regulatory changes effective July 1, 2023, as announced in the October 28, 2022 Federal Register, limit the amount of a Federal Pell Grant funds that a confined or incarcerated student enrolled in a prison education Program (PEP) may receive as follows:

• The Pell Grant for such a student must be reduced until the amount of the Pell Grant does not exceed the COA and does not result in a Title IV credit balance.
• If the incarcerated or confined student receives other financial assistance, which combined with the Pell Grant, exceeds the student's COA, the other financial assistance must be reduced by the amount that the total financial assistance exceeds the COA.
• If the student's other financial assistance cannot be reduced, the Pell Grant must be reduced so that the total financial assistance does not exceed the COA. [See 34 CFR 690.62(b)(1)]

Note, effective July 1, 2023, changes to Section 472 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, [20 USC 1098LL(a)]:

• Require that the COA for an incarcerated or confined student include "only tuition, fees, books, course materials, supplies, equipment, and the cost of obtaining a license, certification, or a first professional credential in accordance with paragraph (14)."
• The cost of obtaining a first professional credential is no longer an optional component of the COA; if the academic program leads to a professional license, certification, or credential, then these actual or average costs must be included as a separate cost component in the COA.
• The COA component for “books and supplies” has been renamed “books, course materials, supplies, and equipment.”

See also "Other Student Eligibility Requirements" in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-23-05 and the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's)  Prison Education Program Questions and Answers website, PEP-Q3/A3 and PEP-Q8/A8.