In California, 125 patients at Coalinga State Hospital are receiving Pell Grants to take correspondence courses through Coastline Community College. The school doesn’t know how many of the grant recipients are committed sex offenders, Coastline spokeswoman Michelle Ma said.
Critics say the new measure will cut off the possibility of higher education for offenders who are trying to rehabilitate themselves. The lack of education could hurt their chances of succeeding if they are ever released, they say, although few of them have been.
Michael Macleod-Ball, chief legislative and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said Congress should have tightened the administration of the program to stop abuses rather than cutting off Pell Grants for the offenders.
However, Larry Zaglaniczny, vice president for government relations at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said the misuse by sex offenders undermined public support for the program.
``When anything brings discredit on the student aid programs, that disgrace needs to be avoided,'' he said.
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