DRUG OFFENDERS' LOSS OF FEDERAL EDUCATION AID DRAWS OPPOSITION

When a Kansas State University sophomore went to court in December for
smoking marijuana, she was worried not only about what the judge would say
but also about what the U.S. Department of Education would do.

The woman, a passenger in a car stopped by police, knew about a new law
that says students convicted of a drug offense will be denied federal
financial aid.

She and her friend had less than an ounce of marijuana between them, and
she had never been charged with a crime before. Now she was in jeopardy of
losing her tuition aid. Without it, she said, she would have been forced to
drop out.

"It was terrifying for me because I've never even had a speeding ticket,"
said the 20-year-old, who asked for anonymity so that her parents and
others would not learn what happened. "I'm pretty much a good kid."

She avoided a conviction by paying a $350 fine and agreeing to supervisory
probation. Now she counts herself among those across the country who are
pushing for repeal of the financial aid law.

The law, which applies to misdemeanor or felony convictions of state or
federal drug laws, is being enforced fully for the first time this year
under the Bush administration. Previously, applicants who left the drug
question blank on their application still could receive aid, but that
changed this year.

Last year, out of nearly 10 million applicants, 9,200 lost all or part of
their financial aid because of the law. National organizations that oppose
the law predict that the number will rise to 60,000 for the coming academic
year.

"We don't feel there should be this second punishment that applies only to
illegal drug users and no other criminals," said David Borden, executive
director of the Drug Reform Coordination Network, a national organization
working to overturn the law. More important, he said: Why should anyone be
discouraged from getting a college education after paying for their crimes
in a court of law?

The law is unfairly aimed at the poor and the working class, he said, and
racial profiling leads to higher conviction rates for minorities.

Student governments at more than 60 universities, including the University
of Missouri-Columbia, have called for repeal. Justin Mills, the incoming
student president at the University of Kansas, said he was thinking about
pushing for a repeal resolution next fall. Students at K-State said such a
resolution was a long-term goal.

"I couldn't believe that the government was doing this," said K-State
student Katherine Dinkel, a junior who this semester helped organize a
chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, another national group
fighting the law. "I'd rather go to school with someone who's smoking a
joint than walk down a hallway with a rapist."

The law, which took effect last July, was approved in 1998 as an amendment
to the Higher Education Act. Rep. Mark Souder, an Indiana Republican,
offered the amendment to hold accountable students who benefited from tax
dollars, said Angela Flood, Souder's press secretary.

"If you are asking for and receiving financial aid, then you have an
obligation to maintain a certain standard of responsibility," Flood said.
"If you are using and selling drugs, you are not making the best use of the
opportunity you have been given."

Statistics at the time showed that drug use among students was increasing,
Flood said. Souder probably would be open to expanding the penalties to
other crimes, she said.

Flood said the law was affecting more applicants than intended because the
Clinton administration had misinterpreted the law. Administration officials
set it up to include applicants for aid, she said, but Souder intended it
to apply only to students already receiving aid. She said her office was
trying to work with the Bush administration to resolve that problem.

Under the law, students who are convicted of possessing an illegal drug
lose their loans, grants and work assistance for a year from the date of
their conviction. A second conviction brings a two-year loss of aid; a
third an indefinite loss.

A person convicted of selling drugs for the first time loses aid for two
years; a second such offense leads to an indefinite loss.

Students can regain their eligibility by completing a drug rehabilitation
program that includes at least two unannounced drug tests.

Students who apply for federal aid must fill out a lengthy form. The drug
issue is addressed in question 35, which asks whether the applicant has
been convicted of a drug offense. Last year, 279,000 applicants who did not
answer the question received aid anyway.

This year Education Secretary Rod Paige and financial aid officers decided
that those who refused to answer the question would not receive aid, said
Lindsey Kozberg of the U.S. Department of Education.

Of the 5 million applicants whose forms were processed from Jan. 1 through
May 6, about 37,100 said they had had a conviction. Of those, 18,800 became
eligible after completing a worksheet that determined eligibility, based on
how long ago the crime occurred and whether the person had completed a
rehabilitation program. An additional 6,700 are still being processed, and
11,600 were denied aid, Education Department statistics show.

An additional 10,000 left the question blank. They will receive notices
stating that the question must be answered before the application can be
processed.

About 5 million applications are yet to be processed for the 2001-2002
school year, officials estimated.

Applications are checked against several databases for drug convictions. If
any part of the application is falsified, the applicant can be prosecuted.

Mark Bresnahan, student president at MU, said the student government had
voted 24-14 in favor of a resolution urging repeal of the law, with five
persons abstaining.

"I could see arguments on both sides," said Bresnahan, who did not have a
vote on the matter. Those who opposed repeal said students should not be
wasting government money, he said.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy has grown from two chapters two years ago
to about 100, mostly because of growing opposition to the law, said Shawn
Heller, the organization's national director. An additional 200 chapters
are in the works, he said.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, has introduced
legislation to repeal the law. Heller hopes it will pass next spring, when
the Higher Education Act comes up for reauthorization, if not sooner.

Heller's group is trying to raise $100,000 to provide financial assistance
to students hurt by the law. It recently handed out its first award -- $600
- -- to Kris Sperry, 23, of Mountain Home, Ark.

Sperry said he had to drop out of Arkansas State University in January
because his financial aid had been cut off. He had two misdemeanor
convictions for possessing marijuana, he said.

"I've paid for my crimes," Sperry said. "I've had my license taken; I've
done community service. ... Now I feel like I am being penalized again."

Heller said he found it extremely hypocritical that President Bush -- who
refused to answer questions in the campaign about possible drug use in his
past -- was making students answer questions about drug convictions.

Bush likes to say that his education plan calls for leaving no child
behind, Heller said. "Certainly a child trying to get his (college)
education should not be left behind," he said.