This essay describes the economic, social, and civic benefits of college in prison. Turning to history, it describes the unfortunate 1994 decision to eliminate Pell Grant eligibility for people in prison and argues that the time is now right to reverse that policy. Finally, it describes several ways in which scholars of education can contribute to efforts to restore equal rights to financial aid and therefore to education for the 2.2 million men and women living behind bars. [This article was adapted from the AERA Distinguished Lecture given on April 17, 2015, at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting.]