Section 20411 of the Violent Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (PL 103-322), as amended in the Higher Education Act, prohibits Pell grants for all state and federal prisoners. The current version of 20 Section 1070a (the Act) provides in subsection (b)(8) as follows:

"(8) No Federal Pell Grant shall be awarded under this subpart {20 USCS subsection 1070a et seq.} to any individual who is incarcerated in any Federal or State Penal institution."

Prior to 1994, as indicated in the explanatory notes to 20 USCS section 1070a, the original text of the Act read as follows:

"(A) No basic grant shall be awarded to an incarcerated student under this subpart that exceeds the sum of the amount of tuition and fees normally assessed by the institution of higher education for the course of study such student is pursuing plus an allowance (determined in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary) for books and supplies associated with such course of study, except that no basic grant shall be awarded to any incarcerated student serving under sentence of death or any life sentence without eligibility of parole or release." (Emphasis added)