FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS SECOND CHANCES FOR NEEDY STUDENTS

NEARLY 30,000 students will be denied financial aid this year because
of prior drug convictions. The offense might have been attending a
party where someone else smoked pot. The punishment? A $50 fine.

But the real crime here is that federal law closes the doors to
college for poor students with misdemeanor and felony drug convictions
for a year, two years, or sometimes forever.

The Higher Education Act of 1965 provides financial aid to needy and
capable students who want to earn a college degree or receive post-
secondary educational training. Students must meet many reasonable
requirements to receive federal funds to help pay educational costs.

These include: eligible citizen or resident alien status, receipt of
high school diploma or defined equivalent, Selective Service
registration compliance, satisfactory academic achievement while in
college and demonstrated financial need.

However, when the act was reauthorized in 1998, as it must be every
five to six years, Congressman Mark Souder (R-Ind.) successfully
sponsored an amendment that denies financial aid to students convicted
of the sale or possession of illegal drugs. Section 484(r), the
Suspension of Eligibility for Drug-Related Offenses, prohibits schools
from providing government grants, loans and jobs to students who have
made mistakes in the past and are now trying to improve their lives.

Additionally, 484(r) is the only section of the Higher Education Act
that punishes those who have broken the law, superseding a judge's
discretion to impose this punishment at sentencing. No other felony or
misdemeanor conviction -- including rape, murder, and armed robbery --
results in the loss of aid to pay for higher education.

College financial-aid administrators agree with Souder in principle --
government assistance is a privilege, not a right. But federal
financial aid to college students is far more than a privilege. It is
a poor student's lifeline to a future of self-sufficiency. Financial
aid is hope for those who might otherwise be destined to poverty, even
if they have the ability to excel.

But it isn't just the student who benefits. Financial aid is one of
the most potent means at Congress's disposal to help insure the future
strength of America.

Studies show that by 2015, a greater percentage of new high school
graduates will come from low-income households. Research also confirms
that higher education is the single best means to move citizens out of
poverty and into prosperity, since degree attainment is strongly
correlated with personal income. In fact, college graduates on average
earn 73 percent more than high school graduates (Census Bureau 1996).

America's best interests are served when its citizens have higher
education. The economic benefits include increased tax revenues,
greater productivity, increased consumption and workforce flexibility,
and decreased reliance on government programs.

The social benefits also are striking. Studies indicate that higher
education correlates with decreased crime rates and increased
charitable giving, community service, and participation in civic life
(Reaping the Benefits, Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998).

In recent weeks, Souder has contended that he meant for the amendment
to apply only to students convicted of drug offenses committed while
receiving federal aid. A simple reading of the law discredits that
contention.

The only way to resolve this unfair situation is to repeal the Souder
amendment to the Higher Education Act and to let all eligible needy
students to receive the help needed to improve their lives and
America's future.

That is why many individuals and organizations, including the National
and Massachusetts Associations of Student Financial Aid
Administrators, are working to have the amendment repealed.
Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced H.R. 786 to do just
that.

If one believes in the possibility of redemption, then even a reformed
dealer should be given the chance to set the past aside and seek a
different future. Post-secondary education should be open to everyone,
not just to those who had the good fortune to be born to a wealthy
family or the uncommon youthful wisdom never to have made a mistake.