From: Suzie Rimstidt
Bloomington
A bill to restore Pell Grants in prisons passed the U.S. House of Representatives and is now awaiting action in the U.S. Senate on S.B. 1074.
An analysis by the RAND Corporation has found that higher education, including college courses and technical/trade courses, can reduce recidivism up to 48%. Currently, 68% of released citizens return to prison within three years at a cost of $30,000 per year, per person.
Others conclude that incarcerated citizens who take higher education courses are positively transformed. With higher education credits, employment opportunities may increase. These individuals are more likely to become productive taxpaying citizens able to support their intact families.
When Pell Grants for inmates were banned in 1994, some rationalized that providing grants to incarcerated individuals could result in non-incarcerated candidates being denied the needs-based grants. In September 2020, however, the New York Times reported that an analysis of the U.S. budget by Nerd Wallet found that $2.6 billion funding of Pell Grants in 2018 remained unused because of lack of applicants.
Please email or call your two Indiana U.S. Senators Todd Young and Mike Braun to express your position on Senate Bill 1074. The bill is named the REAL Act.
