Education: Administration and Implementation

This Best Interest Determination (BID) Toolkit was created by the Vera Institute of Justice, in partnership with a BID Council and the members of the 2024 Corrections Education Leadership Academy (CELA), to be a resource for corrections agencies to prepare their BID system with all processes, procedures, and stakeholders in place, as necessary, to assess postsecondary institutions offering a PEP, according to federal regulations. To maintain their PEP status, postsecondary institutions must work with their correctional partner, otherwise known as the oversight entity, to complete a program review termed the Best Interest Determination (BID). The final regulations require that the BID must take place, at minimum, within two years of the PEP being approved by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and must be repeated every time the postsecondary institution renews its Program Participation Agreement or earlier if required by the oversight entity. 

This Toolkit is designed to assist oversight entities with meeting the BID requirements, as outlined in 34 CFR
668.241 of the final regulations, ED’s FAQs that outline the BID process in more detail, and referenced in ED’s
optional form, “Best Interest Determination- Prison Education Program.” Some of the specific suggestions
outlined in this Toolkit are not required by regulations; however, based on a review of the regulations, Vera
recommends oversight entities create the following four tools: 

1. Create a policy describing how the BID will be conducted,
2. Develop template reports for postsecondary institutions offering approved PEPs to complete,
3. Design a BID feedback template for participating stakeholders to complete, and
4. Create a response letter to the postsecondary institution offering the PEP that documents the BID
   outcome.

This resource from Jobs for the Future (JFF) is designed to help prison education programs, correctional agencies, and financial aid departments establish the critical partnerships necessary to effectively administer the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to incarcerated students. Keep in mind that the details may vary depending on state and local context.

Access to education is in high demand among the incarcerated population. There are clear benefits to students who are incarcerated, their families and communities, public safety, and safety inside prisons. Yet the gap in educational aspirations and participation has been largely driven by a lack of capacity due to limited funding.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Investment Initiative funded the College-in-Prison Reentry Initiative (CIP) to close this gap by expanding access to college education in prisons throughout New York State. This fact sheet unpacks the impact of participation in degree programs offered by seven colleges participating in CIP and reveal the effects that college in prison can have on in-facility behavior, recidivism, employment, and income after release.

The 1994 Crime Bill barred incarcerated students from receiving Pell Grants. In 2015, the Second Chance Pell Experiment began allowing a select number of institutions of higher education to provide Pell Grants to eligible incarcerated students. The Research Collaborative on Higher Education in Prison conducted a three-year study with participants at select Second Chance Pell sites to learn about their experiences with implementation. The administrators and program leaders, as well as currently and formerly incarcerated students and alumni, participating in our Exploring the Experiences of Participants in Second Chance Pell study identified numerous challenges that they face in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and accessing Pell Grants in their current form. The challenges that study participants articulated are listed in the first column of the table in the linked document.

The research team asked if institutional leaders provide tuition statements to incarcerated students. If so, the leaders were asked to provide de-identified student bills as part of their participation in the study. Five institutions provided these documents. If they responded, the researchers described what each institution offered to their team. It is important to note that their team received this information and documents from administrators, not students. Thus, they cannot make claims regarding whether incarcerated students actually receive institutional tuition or billing statements.

Launched in 2015, the Second Chance Pell Experiment allowed a select number of institutions of higher education to provide Pell Grants to incarcerated students. Seven years later, and on the cusp of Pell expansion, there are a few noteworthy impacts of the federal experiment:
» As of 2022, up to 200 institutions of higher education can participate in the federal experiment.
» Over 28,000 unduplicated students enrolled in postsecondary education through the Second Chance Pell Experiment from 2016 through 2021.
» Across the pilot’s first 2 years, institutions awarded approximately $35.6 million in Pell Grants to about 8,800 incarcerated students.

A lesser known yet critical area of knowledge and understanding is how, specifically, some incarcerated students are able to participate in the experiment and others are not. At the heart of this inquiry is certainly a question about college admissions, but one that is uniquely rooted in the context of equity and opportunity during incarceration. Until recently, the ways that incarcerated people became part of the experiment were largely unknown beyond anecdotal information from practitioners and participants. Consequently, serious questions about the Pell Grant in prison and issues of equity and access persist.

In this webinar hosted by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), experts on administering financial aid in prison settings discuss what financial aid administrators and prison education practitioners can do to ensure they are prepared to effectively support incarcerated learners with Pell Grant eligibility.

Learn tips to successfully administer Pell Grants for incarcerated students and gain an understanding of the existing regulations and guidance impacting prison education programs and the tools available to assist the financial aid and prison education communities when serving this student population.