Pell Grant Flexibility Act
The Pell Grant Flexibility Act would modify how the federal Pell Grant amount is calculated for college students with disabilities. Specifically, if a student has a disability (as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act) and the institution determines a reduced course load is appropriate, that student’s enrollment in the reduced load (or at least 5 credits, whichever is greater) would be treated as full-time for purposes of determining the Pell Grant amount. The bill does not change how semester eligibility is determined; the reduced-load determination would not affect Pell eligibility calculations for a given semester under the standard eligibility rules. In short, the bill aims to increase or preserve Pell Grant awards for students with disabilities who, due to their disability, take fewer than the standard full-time course load, by counting their enrolled credits toward the Pell amount as if they were full-time.
Key Points
- 1Disability-based full-time treatment for Pell amounts: Students with a disability who have a reduced course load approved by their institution would have their minimum eligible credit load (reduced load or 5 credits, whichever is greater) counted as full-time when calculating Pell Grant awards.
- 2Uses ADA definition and institutional determination: The approach relies on the ADA definition of disability and requires the institution to determine that a reduced course load is appropriate.
- 35-credit floor option: The rule uses a floor of 5 credits (or the equivalent) to determine the minimum counted load for Pell amount calculations.
- 4Limited impact on semester eligibility: The ruling for counting toward Pell amounts would not be used to determine Pell semester eligibility under the existing subsection (d)(5) rules.
- 5Domain of change: The change is limited to the calculation of Pell Grant amounts and does not create a broader reform of eligibility criteria or other aid programs.