DRUG OFFENDERS TO LOSE FEDERAL COLLEGE MONEY

Those Who Sell Illegal Substances Face Stiffer Penalties
Than Their Customers

WASHINGTON-Students convicted of drug offenses - especially for the
sale of drugs - will lose eligibility for federal college tuition aid
programs, including Pell Grants and student loans, under new Education
Department regulations.

Penalties under the rules, which take effect July 1, will range from a
yearlong suspension to permanent denial of financial aid, according to
the regulations, which are based on a law passed last year. Students
must report any past drug violations on federal financial aid forms.

"We are very concerned about students' being truthful about all
aspects of the financial aid application," said D. Jean Veta, the
Education Department's deputy general counsel. "There is no database
(of drug convictions) that we can check. On the other hand, if we find
out a student has lied, we not only require repayment of any aid
received, but the student would be at risk for prosecution for lying
to the federal government."

The rules released Friday, will not apply to juvenile records or
proceedings.

A recent survey indicated that drug use among young adults ages 18 to
25 has risen in the last five years, with 16.1 percent, or 4.5
million, saying they had used such a drug in the month before they
were surveyed. Veta had no estimate of how many students the rules
could affect.

The rules are based on provisions in a higher-education law - passed
amid partisan debate - intended to reduce waste in the federal
student-loan system.

Repercussions will be worse for drug sellers than for those who merely
possessed them. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. - who unsuccessfully sought
to limit the legislation - said that could unfairly hurt young people
who sold drugs because they had, or thought they had, few options.

"Obviously if someone is a drug dealer or a serious user, that is a
reason to say no," Frank said Monday. "This kind of blanket ban is a
mistake."

Some students say the rules set a bad precedent.

"It's kind of backward to deal with a drug policy by denying people an
education." said Jamie Pueschel, a 1998 college graduate who is now
legislative director of the United States Student Association.

Under the rules, a first possession conviction will block aid for a
year, while a sales conviction will bar aid for two years. Students
convicted of possession a second time will lose aid for two years; a
third time, forever. A student convicted twice of selling drugs will
lose aid for good.

Some student offenders will be able to keep or regain eligibility by
completing drug rehabilitation or having their convictions reversed.

Colleges won't have to police their students. Instead, students will
be asked to report their own criminal records on aid forms in each
year of eligibility.