People incarcerated in Indiana state prisons may soon have access to courses paid by federal financial aid through Ivy Tech Community College.

In 2020 Congress passed a law to lift the 26-year-old ban on people in prison from having access to federal Pell Grants. It’s taken years for rules about the change to be finalized.

Ivy Tech Community College and the Indiana Department of Corrections approved two automotive technology certificates that can be paid for by the grant. A Pell Grant is for people with exceptional financial needs who want an undergraduate degree.

The courses will be offered through the Ivy Tech campuses in Madison Terre Haute.

But first, the U.S. Department of Education and Ivy Tech’s accrediting agencies must approve the programs before people incarcerated in Indiana prisons can apply for the financial aid.  

“Ivy Tech is committed to providing accessible, affordable and high-quality education to all Hoosiers, including those who are justice involved or incarcerated,” Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann said in a statement. “Helping incarcerated individuals earn postsecondary credentials of value not only reduces recidivism, increases employment, supports successful reentry and enhances public safety, it also reflects our ideals as a nation of second chances and limitless possibilities.”

Research has shown prison education programs have shown to reduce recidivism rates. Inmates who participate in education programs had a 43 percent lower odds of recidivating than those who did not, according to a 2013 meta-analysis by RAND Corporation. 

In 2020, over 38 percent of incarcerated Hoosiers returned to jail. A 2022 WFYI investigation found that Indiana Indiana detains and commits youth at a rate that’s about 40 percent above the national average.

Contact WFYI Marion County education reporter Sydney Dauphinais at [email protected].