Dive Brief:

• Juvenile prisoners, along with all local and county prisoners, can receive federal Pell Grants, but not Title IV federal student loans, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
• The department issued new guidance on Monday in a “Dear Colleague” letter.
• The letter says that the Higher Education Act makes state and federal prisoners ineligible for federal student loans or grants, and all incarcerated students ineligible for the federal student loans.

Dive Insight:

This “Dear Colleague” letter was released at the same time as other guidance — a Correctional Education Guidance Package, according to a press release — aimed at strengthening education quality for youth prisoners. Also in the package was guidance for providing quality education in juvenile correctional centers and Dear Colleague letters on students with disabilities who are incarcerated and on the civil rights of juvenile prisoners. The guidance package comes from recommendations made in May in the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force report for improving education in juvenile justice systems.