June 27, 2022

Today, The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice and the American Association of Community Colleges, along with 15 other higher education organizations, sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to repeal the taxation of Pell Grants that students use to support their basic needs like food, housing, and child care. Approximately 3 million Pell Grant recipients are taxed each year. The letter also urges Congress to fix a harmful and confusing interaction between Pell Grants and the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) that negatively affects 730,000 students each year, and to eliminate the AOTC penalty for students with a drug conviction, similar to the change made to Pell Grants under the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020.