Over 9,000 incarcerated students have earned a certificate or diploma through the Second Chance Pell initiative since it launched, according to a report from the Vera Institute of Justice, a research organization focused on criminal justice reform. From 2016 through 2021, a total of 28,119 incarcerated students used federal Pell grants to enroll in a higher ed program. Enrollment in prison higher education programs steadily increased year over year, despite pandemic-related challenges and an overall decrease in the number of incarcerated people in the U.S. White students remain overrepresented in the program, making up 43% of Second Chance Pell recipients but only 30% of the overall prison population.