The Associated Press visited a California prison for a graduation ceremony last month, as dozens of prisoners received college degrees, high school diplomas and vocational certificates earned while they served time.
Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay. That program is about to expand exponentially next month, giving tens of thousands more students behind bars financial aid per year.
