US OK: STATE RANKS HIGH IN FINANCIAL AID LOST TO DRUG CONVICTIONS, STUDY SHOWS

Hundreds of Oklahomans have been denied federal financial aid for
college because they have drug convictions.

A report by Students for Sensible Drug Policy states that 2,508
Oklahomans -- the 11th highest percentage in the nation -- could not
receive aid the past five years because of a provision of the Higher
Education Act.

About 190,000 would-be students have been affected nationwide, or
about one in every 400, said the group, which obtained the
information through the settlement of a Freedom of Information Act
lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education.

The federal government added a drug conviction question to the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid form in the 2001-02 school year.
Students can be deemed ineligible for a year or more after an offense.

That will change in July, when grants and loans will be cut off only
if a drug conviction comes while a student is in college and already
receiving aid.

Still, critics argue that stripping students of any financial aid
because of drug convictions unconstitutionally punishes them twice
for the same offense.

"We'd like to see the provision completely erased from the law
books," said Tom Angell, campaign director for Students for Sensible
Drug Policy. "Before the provision was passed, judges already had the
ability to deny aid to people with drug offenses on a case-by-case
basis. We'd like to repeal the one-size-fits-all, blanket policy and
return discretion to judges to decide."

While a student can regain eligibility by completing a rehabilitation
program that includes random drug tests, that isn't an option for
most, Angell said.

"These are private treatment programs, and the law doesn't make any
money available to help people pay for the programs, which are often
more expensive than tuition itself," Angell said.

The law needs flexibility, said Ben Brown, deputy commissioner of the
Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

"If someone is in the throes of an addiction, it makes no sense to
allow them to get a loan," Brown said. "But if they are getting their
life back together ... then it makes no sense to deprive them of any
opportunity to go back to school. It just makes a bad situation worse."

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, said the law is intended to deter
students from abusing drugs, not punish those who have corrected
their behavior.

"This law, as intended, gives students who may face peer pressure or
temptations to experiment with drugs a powerful incentive to avoid
drug abuse," he said.

Drug convictions also can prevent students from receiving state aid.
The Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program, the state scholarship
fund for families earning less than $50,000, has a requirement that
students stay out of trouble and not abuse substances. The Oklahoma
Tuition Aid Grant program mandates that students also be eligible for
federal financial aid.