LOAN DENIED

Eight years ago President Bill Clinton signed into law a novel
approach to fighting illegal drug use. The law said if you are
convicted of a drug crime, the government won't help to underwrite
your college education. The Department of Education says 189,000
college aid applicants have since been turned down because of drug records.

Indiana has had the highest rate of rejected applicants, according to
an analysis by Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Ironically, the law
was sponsored by Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.). The data show that 8,903
of Indiana's 1.8 million applicants (0.5 percent) for federally
backed college loans, grants and work-study jobs have been rejected
since the law took effect in the 2000-01 school year. In Illinois,
8,071 of 3.2 million applicants have been rejected, about the national rate.

The law has been criticized by colleges and, not surprisingly, by a
fair number of students. But the law is not drastic. Students can't
get aid for a year after a conviction for drug possession and for two
years after a second such offense. The ban is two years if they are
convicted of selling drugs.

Two years ago this page was ambivalent because the law could affect
high schoolers who had no idea they could face such a penalty.
Fortunately, Congress fixed that in February. At Souder's urging, the
law was changed so it would apply only to drug crimes committed while
a student is enrolled in college, not to earlier offenses.

And students can restore their eligibility for aid if they complete a
rehab program. The law is not intended to deny access to college
students who are caught using drugs. It is intended to deter them
from use--and it gives them a way to make amends and restore their eligibility.

The American Civil Liberties Union has challenged the law in a
federal lawsuit on behalf of Students for Sensible Drug Policy and
four college students. The students, who include a freshman at Ball
State University in Indiana, lost aid after convictions for marijuana
use. They contend that the law violates their constitutional
protection against double jeopardy.

That's flimsy. The government isn't reprosecuting, it's withholding a
benefit. Too bad the resources spent challenging the law won't go to
making students aware of the law, aware of their options to restore
their aid status and aware that illegal drug use has consequences.