COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID RULES LOOSENED

But Challenges Await Drug-Conviction Policy

Some college students or would-be students who were denied federal
financial aid for past drug convictions will regain eligibility under
a measure passed last week by Congress and expected to be signed soon
by President Bush.

But students convicted of a drug felony or misdemeanor in college
will still be disqualified from receiving federal aid for at least one year.

Now, the American Civil Liberties Union is preparing to challenge the
constitutionality of that law. And other groups opposed to the drug
penalty are pursuing reforms on the state level.

The measure passed last week by Congress scales back a 1998 law
denying federal financial aid to applicants who indicated they had
been convicted of a drug offense. Juvenile offenses don't count;
offenders can regain eligibility by completing certain drug treatment programs.

Groups fighting for a repeal of the drug penalty say the revised
version will help a small number of older students but doesn't go far enough.

"Someone who was caught using or dealing drugs long ago now will get
financial aid," says Chris Mulligan of the Coalition for Higher
Education Act Reform, whose members include civil rights, education,
health and criminal justice groups. But "a student caught with a
joint in college is still going to lose financial aid."

Using Department of Education data, the reform coalition and other
groups estimate about 175,000 applications have been disqualified
since the government began asking about drug convictions on financial
aid forms in 2000. That doesn't account for students who didn't apply
because they assumed they would be denied.

Mulligan says many students are penalized again at the state level. A
coalition study released today shows that 35 states deny educational
funding because of drug convictions even though their legislatures in
most cases have never voted to do so. Most follow federal policies
out of convenience, the report says.

The coalition is urging those states to adopt policies that grant aid
regardless of drug convictions.

Meanwhile, others are taking the question to court. Students for
Sensible Drug Policy recently sued the U.S. Education Department over
a technical dispute as it seeks a state-by-state breakdown of
students who have lost federal aid based on how they answered a
question about drug convictions on the Department of Education's Free
Application for Federal Student Aid.

And the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project is preparing to file a
nationwide class-action lawsuit against officials "who have
ultimately denied student aid" to students with drug offenses, staff
attorney Adam Wolf said. He declined to give details but said lawyers
have worked with "literally hundreds" of students.

The law has had a rocky history. It was the brainchild of Rep. Mark
Souder, R-Ind., who said it would deter students from using or
selling drugs, encourage abusers to get treatment and hold students
accountable for taxpayer money. Souder also introduced the bill to
soften the law, saying it reached beyond his intent.

But a congressionally created advisory committee suggested last year
that the drug issue be dropped, calling it "irrelevant" to aid eligibility.

[sidebar]

HOW THE STATES DIFFER

Each state deals with the federal Higher Education Act drug provision
differently:

Deny all or most state financial aid to students with drug convictions:

Alabama Alaska Colorado Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Louisiana Maine
Massachusetts Montana New Hampshire New Jersey Oklahoma Oregon Rhode
Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Washington
West Virginia

Decisions are made by idividual educational institutions and other factors:

Arizona Connecticut Delaware Kansas Maryland Michigan Mississippi
Nebraska North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Virginia

Grant financial aid to all or most students, regardless of drug convictions:

Arkansas California Illinois Indiana Iowa Kentucky Minnesota Missouri
Nevada New Mexico New York Pennsylvania Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming
District of Columbia

Source: Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform

(http://raiseyourvoice.com/statereport/fallingthrough.pdf)