Jailhouse Pell Grants: Report by NYE or Lose Second-Chance Funding
Published Date: 9/21/2026
Notice
Summary
If your school runs education programs for people in prison using Pell Grants, listen up! For the 2025-26 award year, you must send your annual report to the Department of Education by December 31, 2026. This keeps the funding flowing and helps make sure these programs keep giving second chances through education.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
PEP Annual Report Deadline
If your school runs a Prison Education Program that uses Pell Grants, you must submit the Prison Education Program Annual Report to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System by December 31, 2026. Electronic transactions must be transmitted by 11:59 p.m. Central Time and completed and accepted before midnight; the Department recommends submitting at least 10 days early.
Penalties for Missing the Report
If an institution fails to submit a complete Prison Education Program annual report by the December 31, 2026 deadline, the Department may start adverse actions such as fines or other penalties under subpart G of 34 CFR part 668. Missed or incomplete submissions therefore risk enforcement actions against the institution.
Required Report Data: Transfers and Releases
The annual Prison Education Program report submitted for the 2025-26 award year must include the transfer and release dates of confined or incarcerated individuals who participated in the program, as required by 34 CFR 668.239. Schools operating PEPs must collect and provide those specific dates in the COD submission.
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