PROPOSAL WOULD ALLOW EDUCATION AID FOR DRUG OFFENDERS

College students with drug convictions could be eligible for federal
financial aid under a proposal to change existing regulations.

The measure proposed by several House Democrats Wednesday would
repeal a moratorium on such aid, which has been denied to 8,162
students with drug convictions this school year.

"Someone who commits murder or armed robbery is not automatically
barred from financial aid eligibility," said Rep. Barney Frank,
D-Mass. "But if you have even one non-violent drug conviction you
can't get any aid for a year, with longer bans for people with
additional convictions."

As part of the war on drugs, the moratorium was included in 1998
amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965.

"The War on Drugs has turned out to be a war on our own people, in
this case young people," said Maurice Hinchey, D-NY, a sponsor of the
resolution.

"Where individuals are convicted of minor drug offenses and are
trying in good faith to improve their lives through education, I
believe it is a mistake to impose a rigid, blanket ban on federal
financial aid," Frank wrote in a letter soliciting support from his
colleagues.

"This will help ensure that people in low to moderate income families
- - who really need the aid - are not treated unfairly," Frank said at
a Wednesday news conference.

Questions about criminal convictions other than drugs are not
included on applications for student aid.

"It singles out drug use as if it were worse than any other crime," Frank said.

The law blocks students from receiving financial aid for one year if
they had been convicted once, for two years if they had been
convicted twice and indefinitely if they had been convicted more than
twice. Additionally, students convicted of selling drugs would lose
aid for two years from the conviction date for the first offense and
indefinitely for the second. Students can regain their aid if they
complete a rehabilitation program or if the conviction is overturned.

"Substance abuse among our young people is a serious national
problem, but blocking the path to an education is an inappropriate
response," according to a letter sent to representatives by a
Washington group promoting reform of the Higher Education Act.

Frank introduced identical legislation in the last session, but the
measure died.

"We hope it will go through this Congress, or in 2002," said Shawn
Heller, national director for Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, a
group of 77 college chapters, three high school chapters and about 64
interest groups.

Members of the group were among college students on hand at a
Wednesday news conference. Some of the students had lost financial
aid because of the drug conviction exclusion.