--- title: White House Could Expand Pell Grant Eligibility to Prisoners description: Ed Secretary Arne Duncan hinted recently that they are “developing experimental sites” that would make Pell Grants available to prisoners canonical: https://time.com/3974983/obama-administration-could-expand-pell-grant-eligibility-to-prisoners/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-28T16:15:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T09:39:30.629Z article:section: Politics og:title: Prisoners Could Soon Be Eligible for College Grants og:description: The Obama Administration could announce pilot programs this week og:url: https://time.com/3974983/obama-administration-could-expand-pell-grant-eligibility-to-prisoners/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1899301857c40c6b/69885cd2f887dc74d9e91945/arne-duncan-obama-prisoners-pell-grants.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Arne Duncan Obama prisoners pell grants og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Prisoners Could Soon Be Eligible for College Grants twitter:description: The Obama Administration could announce pilot programs this week twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1899301857c40c6b/69885cd2f887dc74d9e91945/arne-duncan-obama-prisoners-pell-grants.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Administration Could Expand Pell Grant Eligibility to Prisoners > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 28, 2015 4:15 PM UTC  Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with President Obama at the White House, in March 2015. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with President Obama at the White House, in March 2015. Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 28, 2015 4:15 PM UTC The Obama administration could soon unveil a plan that would make federal college grants available to prisoners. On Monday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hinted [during a policy speech](http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/toward-new-focus-outcomes-higher-education) that the administration is “developing experimental sites” that would, among other things, make Pell Grants available to “incarcerated adults seeking an independent, productive life after they get out of jail.” The Wall Street _Journal_ [reports](http://www.wsj.com/articles/pell-grants-to-be-restored-for-prisoners-1438029241) the announcement could come as soon as Friday, when Duncan and Attorney General Loretta Lynch are slated to make a joint appearance at a prison in Maryland on Friday. The move would be the latest attempt by the Obama administration to provide opportunities to prisoners that could help reduce the national recidivism rate. According to _Inside Higher Ed_, six House Democrats introduced a bill in May that would [expand Pell Grant eligibility](https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/05/22/democratic-bill-pell-prisoners) to those behind bars. 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