U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. will participate at the Second Chance Pell Convening Tuesday in Washington. He will deliver keynote remarks about the importance of second chances and the Administration’s work so far on the new Second Chance Pell pilot program. Following that, he will moderate a panel discussion on effective college-prison partnerships, which will feature former students from Jackson College, CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Goucher College.
Deputy Attorney General of the United States Sally Q. Yates will also deliver a keynote presentation.
The event is hosted by the Vera Institute of Justice, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and is sponsored by the Ford Foundation and the California Wellness Foundation.
Jackson College, CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Goucher College were among 67 colleges and universities selected in June by the Education Department to participate in the Second Chance Pell pilot program. Second Chance Pell is an experiment announced in July 2015 to test whether participation in high quality education programs increases after expanding access to financial aid for incarcerated individuals.
The pilot program will allow eligible incarcerated Americans to receive Pell Grants and pursue postsecondary education with the goal of helping them get jobs and support their families when they are released. The project builds on the Obama Administration's commitment to create a fairer and more effective criminal justice system, reduce recidivism, and combat the impact of mass incarceration on families and communities through educational opportunity.
Please note, Media must RSVP to Scarlet Neath at [email protected] no later than 3 p.m. ET TODAY, Monday, July 18. Registered media will receive an email including further logistical information.