STUDENT DRUG OFFENDERS DENIED COLLEGE AID

A nationwide survey recently released from the US Department of
Education has revealed that Rhode Island ranks fifth in denying
college aid to drug offenders.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), an activist group committed
to providing public education on harms caused by the "war on drugs,"
obtained the information after filing a Freedom of Information
request with the U.S. Department of Education.

The data shows that 807 Rhode Islanders have been denied student aid
under a provision of the Higher Education Act since it was signed
into law by President Bill Clinton in 1998 and enacted during the
2000-01 school year.

The original provision required students to reveal if they had ever
been convicted of possessing or selling drugs when filling out the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

Applicants could then be denied financial aid for pursuing higher
education based on their admission to any prior drug conviction.

In February Congress restricted the reach of the provision to only
those students who were convicted of drug possession while enrolled in college.

Since 2000, there have been 189,065 applicant rejections across the
country because of this provision.

Kris Krane, executive director of the SSDP, said in a telephone
interview from San Francisco that before they obtained the specific
numbers it was difficult to gauge how many students were affected by
the provision.

"We were kind of surprised with some of the numbers," Krane said.
"Now every member of Congress can know exactly how many of their
constituents are directly affected."

Krane said he became involved with the SSDP in 1999 as a student at
American University, where he was chapter head.

He remained part of the organization after graduation and was
appointed the group's executive director just three months ago.

The 807 Ocean State applicants denied federal financial aid because
of drug offenses constitutes 2.9 percent of the 274,167 applicants in
the state that filled out FAFSA forms since 2000.

Rhode Island is one of 13 states that ranked over the national
average of 2.5 percent.

Indiana leads the nation, based on percentage, with 8,903 of their
1,778,982 applicants being denied since 2000; a rate of 5 percent.

Ironically, Indiana Representative Mark Souder is the author of the
controversial legislation that has denied one out of every 200
applicants student aid in his state.

The national leader, based on t overall number of students denied, is
California, which has denied 31,830 applicants over the past six
years based on past drug arrests.

Krane points to the fact that "You can be a murderer, a rapist, or an
arsonist. They only ask about drug convictions on the FAFSA that will
preclude you from receiving any financial aid."

Dan Graney, director of the University of Rhode Island's Substance
Abuse Prevention, said that while he had not dealt with any students
who have been directly affected by the law, he believes it hinders
students who have made a mistake and are trying to move forward.

"I've read up on the law and there's plenty wrong with it," Graney
said in a phone interview. "We're trying our best to educate, to let
the students know it's out there and this is what can happen.

"It's almost out of our hands," he said. "We are more reactionary. We
can't change the law, all we can to is follow it and educate."

The SSDP is one of the more than 250 organizations, including the
National Educators Association, the National Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators, and the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, that have called for the full repeal of the law.

URI President Robert Carothers, a long-time opponent of the
provision, said he has written to Rhode Island's elected officials in
the past and spoken out against the volatile legislation.

"My reasoning has always been that the penalty falls
disproportionately on low income and minority students," Carothers
told The Times in a phone interview. "We gain nothing in keeping them
out of college."

He said the amendment passed by Congress in February was a step in
the right direction but he would like to see the provision repealed completely.

"There's not much correlation in getting busted for smoking marijuana
and college financial aid," Carothers said. "I would prefer to see
these things de-linked."

The SSDP, which is based in Washington D.C., claims that the
provision violates the double jeopardy clause in the Fifth Amendment
for students who have already paid their debt to society and creates
roadblocks on the path of education.

Krane singled out Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Rep. James Langevin in a
press release for their refusal to co-sponsor a bill to overturn the
aid elimination penalty.

"Now Congressmen Kennedy and Langevin know exactly how many of their
own constituents have been devastated by this unjust law," said
Krane. "Students won't allow politicians to keep ignoring the damage
this law inflicts coast to coast. The government should know better
than to think we'll let them keep secrets about laws that hurt our generation."

The SSDP's charge that the government is "keeping secrets" relates to
an initial refusal by the U.S. Department of Education to release the data.

The SSDP was later told they could have the information but would be
required to pay a fee of $4,100 to compensate for the work hours
needed complete the task.

The organization was eventually given the data after their request
for a waiver of the fee was denied and they filed under the Freedom
of Information Act.

Rep. James Langevin is currently reviewing a bill that seeks to
overturn the aid elimination penalty, according to press secretary Joy Fox.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced Congressional bill H.R. 1184 in
March 2005, which seeks to repeal the provisions in the Higher
Education Act prohibiting persons convicted of drug offenses from
receiving student financial assistance.

"Congressman Langevin is still looking at it right now," Fox told The
Times in a phone interview. "He does support a slight repeal or a
toning down of the Higher Education Act."

In March, Langevin voted against an amendment and extension of the
Higher Education Act but his vote was not related to the drug
conviction penalties, said Fox.

"He voted against it because he felt it was a missed opportunity for
more funding," said Fox.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, co-chair of the House Addiction, Treatment and
recovery Caucus, has also failed to co-sponsor H.R. 1184 and voted in
favor of the amendment and extension of the Higher Education Act.

Kennedy's office did not return repeated phone calls requesting comment.

Last month, SSDP and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a
separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the aid ban for
students with drug convictions.

The lawsuit names Margaret Spellings, the Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Education, as the defendant in the suit, which seeks
retroactive reimbursement for students who have been denied financial aid.

The report and full state-by-state data are available online at
www.ssdp.org/states.