VT. STUDENTS LOST AID DUE TO DRUG QUESTION

More than 200 Vermont college students were denied federal financial
aid in the past six years because they admitted to a drug conviction
or declined to answer the question.

Vermont's rejection rate -- 204 out of 172,625 applications filed, or
0.12 percent -- is the lowest in the nation, according U.S.
Department of Education figures released Monday.

Over the same time period, the policy resulted in 541 of 322,761
applicants (0.17 percent) being denied aid in New Hampshire and 669
of 356,394 financial aid applicants (0.19 percent) in Maine.

As part of changes to the Higher Education Act in 1998, Congress
adopted rules to restrict federal financial aid when students have
drug offenses on their records. The rules went into effect six years ago.

A state-by-state breakdown of the numbers was compiled this month by
the advocacy group Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Students are denied aid for one year for a first offense for drug
possession, two years for a second offense and indefinitely for more
offenses. A first offense for selling illegal drugs makes the
applicant ineligible for two years and indefinitely for any subsequent offense.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Students for Sensible Drug
Policy filed a lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court in South
Dakota. The lawsuit says the policy is unconstitutional because it
punishes someone twice for the same offense.

Congress loosened the restriction in February so that starting in the
fall, only convictions that occur while the student is in college
will result in lost financial aid.

Jill Remick, a spokeswoman for the Vermont Department of Education,
said the state should be proud of its results, even though Congress
has revised the policy to apply only to convictions while a student
is receiving federal financial aid.

"The change made in Congress to only have this rule apply to students
once they reach college could be a compromise, though our aim would
of course be to lower the number of students convicted of these
offenses at any age," she said. "This may be another example for
students that involvement in drugs is a poor choice that could harm
future opportunities."

But some say Vermont shouldn't be too quick to crow over the results.

Allan Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union, said that Vermont has a fairly
extensive diversion program, which allows first-time offenders to
have charges dismissed after they complete a restorative justice
program that typically involves community service.

Because the Free Application for Federal Student Aid only asks about
convictions, that may play a role in Vermont's low denial rate, he said.

"A lot depends on how this thing is worded," he said.

Bruce Post, director of federal affairs for the Vermont Student
Assistance Corp., added that the FAFSA form also asks students to
fess up to drug convictions, with only a few checks for student dishonesty.

"The students are asked to certify on the FAFSA whether they've been
convicted. It's self-certified," he said. "If the school knows a
kid has been convicted, they have to report it."

But he said there isn't a national database to flag those who have
been convicted.

More stringent critics of the federal policy have more broad concerns.

Zachary Heiden of the Maine Civil Liberties Union said that education
funding is crucial to employment and keeping young people away from crime.

The law, Heiden said, discriminates against the poor because it may
not affect students with affluent parents who can pay for college
without financial aid.

It is also unfair because students convicted of other crimes remain
eligible for aid, he said.

"You can literally get away with murder," Heiden said.

Ruth Blauer, executive director of the Maine Association of Substance
Abuse Programs, is quoted in a report from her group warning that
obstacles to education may prevent people struggling with addictions
from becoming productive.

The law "is not a deterrent to drug use; it's a deterrent to
recovery," she said.

The highest rejection rates were in Oregon and California, with Rhode
Island and Connecticut having the top rejection rates in New England.