R Street Applauds Introduction of the Restoring Education and Learning (REAL) Act
Washington,
D.C. (April 16) – The R Street Institute applauds the
introduction of the Restoring Education and Learning (REAL Act) introduced last
week by Senators Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Dick Durbin,
D-Ill. The REAL Act would restore Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated
individuals, thereby expanding educational opportunity in prisons and reducing
recidivism.
Pell Grants provide students with financial
aid for college. However, the tough-on-crime approach of the 1990s led to the elimination
of Pell Grant eligibility for prisoners in 1994. Without financial support from
these grants, the number of postsecondary education programs within prisons
plummeted from 772 to just 8 within three years.
Recent programs of the U.S. Department of
Education have allowed some colleges to pilot the use of Pell Grants for
postsecondary education in correctional facilities. Two years into this
experiment, results have been promising. The REAL Act would take necessary
action to expand postsecondary education programming for prisoners nationwide.
According to R Street Criminal Justice
Government Affairs Specialist Jesse Kelley, postsecondary education is one of
the most successful interventions for improving safety both inside and outside
of prison.
“The vast majority of incarcerated individuals
will one day be reintroduced to our communities, and we need to do more to
prepare them for life beyond prison walls,” Kelley said. “Restoring federal aid
in the form of Pell Grants is a commonsense way to provide much-needed
educational programming to incarcerated individuals. The REAL Act would help us
move toward an approach that embraces redemption, compassion and second
chances, providing a better investment for taxpayers and improving the whole of
society.”
