This research considers Pell grant restoration for incarcerated people for the field of higher education in prison. Using the original data, we outline the limits of Pell funding in the prison context by surfacing persistent funding challenges that the Pell grant alone cannot address and may exacerbate. By providing the necessary investments to support higher education in prison, Pell restoration could be an effective lever for advancing racial and economic justice. Using a lens of racial and socioeconomic justice, we identify gaps in prison program costs and argue that the long-term effects of Pell reinstatement will depend on whether the expansion is accompanied by investments in a range of institutional infrastructures and resources. Concluding are implications and recommendations to adequately and responsibly support the growth and infrastructure of higher education in prison programs.