What Are the Requirements For a Financial Aid Office When a Student Is Released From Incarceration?

Award Year: 2023-24 KA-36654 Helpfulness Rating 122 page views

This guidance is specific to the 2023-24 award year and later.

According to SE-Q5/A5 on the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's)  Prison Education Programs Questions and Answers website:

"When a confined or incarcerated individual is released, they generally become fully eligible for Title IV, HEA funds, including Direct Loan funds, and are no longer required to be enrolled in an eligible PEP in order to qualify for Pell Grant funds. If, after being released, the student enrolls in another Title IV-eligible program in the same award year as when they were enrolled in the PEP, the financial aid administrator should submit a correction to the student ISIR removing the Incarcerated Applicant Flag from the student’s record in FAA Access as soon as possible. Schools should also ensure that future post-release disbursements are associated with the ISIR transaction that reflects the removal of the Incarcerated Applicant Flag to ensure that those disbursements are not associated with the PEP."

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