#pell-grants

#pell-grants

Federal funding for Pell Grants, and the number of awards given, plummeted between fiscal years 2011-12 and 2021-22. Black student enrollment in public colleges and universities plunged by nearly a half million students over that same period. A new report, produced by the University of Alabama's Education Policy Center for the Southern Education Foundation, suggests the declines in financial aid and Black students attending college are linked.

The government ran out of money to pay its bills on October 1 after Democratic and Republican lawmakers failed to reach a funding agreement. This means that each federal agency's shutdown contingency plans, which include furloughing thousands of federal employees, closing national parks, and delaying grant disbursements, are now being rolled out. For the Department of Education, the shutdown will slow down the work of an already stripped-down agency.