THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS DENIED AID IN '05-'06

Numbers Stem From Admitting Past Drug Charges On FASFA

More than 16,800 students nationwide were denied financial aid during
the 2005-06 school year because of a drug conviction.

The U.S. Department of Education released statistics regarding a law
passed in 1998 which reduces federal student aid eligibility to
students with past drug convictions.

"This policy discourages access to education among low-to
middle-class people, because those in the upper class are less likely
to apply for financial aid," said Tom Angell, campaign director of
Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a national student organization,
obtained the information as part of a Freedom of Information Act
lawsuit settlement with the U.S. Department of Education.

The Higher Education Act Aid Elimination Penalty stipulates students
filing Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) forms must
report past drug convictions, delaying or eliminating access to
federal aid.

Since enacted in 2000, nearly 190,000 students have had their
applications rejected - some whose access to federal aid will be
permanently blocked.

More than 6,700 of those applications, about 3.5 percent of the
national total, came from Michigan.

Central Michigan University administrators denied knowledge of the law
affecting anyone currently enrolled at CMU, as reported in April by
Central Michigan Life.

"When a student gets a drug charge, suspension, expulsion and jail
time supersede loss of financial aid," said Dean of Students Bruce
Roscoe.

This year Congress altered the law, greatly reducing the number of
students rejected, said Stephanie Babyak, Department of Education
spokeswoman.

"Only convictions while a person is a college student and receiving
aid will cause them to lose their aid - a change the (Department of
Education) administration supported," Babyak said.

The change will go into effect July 1.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Students for Sensible Drug
Policy filed a federal lawsuit this year, claiming the law is
unconstitutional.

"We see (the change) as a huge victory, but it's still punishing
someone twice for the same crime, which violates the Double Jeopardy
Clause of the Fifth Amendment," Angell said.

Because the suit - SSPD v. Spelling - is a class action lawsuit,
anyone denied student aid because of a drug conviction is encouraged
to contact the ACLU or Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

The plaintiff, Education Secretary Margaret Spelling, has yet to reply
to the charges as of Saturday, Angell said. She has less than 30 days
left to respond.

A state-by-state breakdown of the students affected by the Higher
Education Act Aid Elimination Penalty can be found at
www.ssdp.org/states/.