Transformative Power of Education Behind Bars

There are 1.5 million people in state and federal prisons in the United States. Very few of them get a chance to earn a bachelor degree. That's due to a decades-old ban on the use of federal money to help people in prison pay for college classes.

But that's about to change. Starting with the 2023-2024 school year, people in prison will be eligible to receive Pell grants in the amount of nearly $7,000 per year. Experts say this change will mean a chance at higher education for hundreds of thousands who are academically eligible.

NPR's Elissa Nadworny reports on what the change means, and tells the story of a man who earned the type of degree that will soon be available to many more people.

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