Sex Offenders May Lose Pell Grant Eligibility Under Revised Higher Education Act

Student Loan Girl — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:49:00 GMT

Starting July 1, 2009, sex offenders confined in treatment centers throughout the country may no longer be eligible to receive need-based federal Pell Grants, under a new provision of the reauthorized Higher Education Act, according to an article in the Associated Press (“Congress Cuts Off College Aid For Sex Offenders,” Aug. 4, 2008).

President Bush has yet to sign the act into law, but after the act passed through Congress July 31, Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla., said, “Today, the most insane wasteful spending program in America comes to an end.”

Keller cited an AP article from March that revealed dozens of rapists and child molesters had taken higher education classes at taxpayers’ expense while confined to treatment centers after serving their prison sentences. Some prisoners were using the financial aid to buy clothes, DVD players, and music CDs even after they had dropped their classes in some cases.

While the U.S. Department of Education does not know exactly how many sex offenders receive Pell Grants, spokeswoman Stephanie Babyak predicted that making sex offenders ineligible for the aid would save taxpayers millions.

Critics say the new measure may rule out a higher education for sex offenders who are trying to rehabilitate themselves. Instead of cutting off grant aid to all sex offenders, Congress should better regulate how it administers the program in order to help prevent abuses, said Michael Macleod-Ball, chief legislative and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

The grant aid provision would affect the 20 states that allow violent sex offenders — those who it is believed would likely repeat their crimes if they were to be released — to be held indefinitely in treatment facilities after they have served their prison sentences. Prison inmates have been ineligible for Pell Grants since 1994, but sexual offenders can qualify for the grants once they are transferred from prison to treatment centers.

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States Increase Financial Aid Funding for Student Loans and Grants

Student Loan Girl — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:29:00 GMT

State spending on financial aid for undergraduates increased 6 percent or by a total of $9.3 billion in 2006-07 academic year, after growth slowed to 3.4 percent during the 2005–06 academic year, according to a recent report by the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.

States spent the majority of their financial-aid funds, or $5.29 billion, on need-based grants and student loans for undergraduates this year.

However, state spending on non-need-based aid for undergraduate students has eclipsed the amount of money states have devoted to need-based aid over the past decade, increasing 5.6 percent during 2006–07 to $2.08 billion, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports (“States Spend More on Student Aid,” June 27, 2008).

Funding for student loans received the biggest jump in state spending this year, by nearly 29 percent or $653 million, following a 17-percent increase in spending between the 2004–05 and 2005–06 academic years, according to NASSGAP data.

The report listed South Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Kentucky, and West Virginia as the top spenders in grant-aid, per capita, for their 18-to-24-year-old population in the 2006-07 academic year.

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Student Loan Blog : grant aid

Sex Offenders May Lose Pell Grant Eligibility Under Revised Higher Education Act

States Increase Financial Aid Funding for Student Loans and Grants