UP IN SMOKE

Drug Convictions Cost Students Their Federal Aid

A controversial provision added to the Higher Education Act in 1998, which
blocks federal aid to students convicted of drug use, is up for
reauthorization this year by Congress.

Mark Souder, R-Ind., wrote the provision to "deter students from using and
selling drugs," but critics like Tom Angell, campaigns director of Students
for Sensible Drug Policy, said this provision would be punishing students
with drug convictions twice for the same crime.

"Drug crimes are the only infractions that students lose aid for murderers
and rapists are still eligible," he said.

The Higher Education Act was established in 1965 by President Lyndon
Johnson to make higher education more affordable and accessible to
middle-income Americans.

"The act does the opposite and actually makes higher education less
accessible," Angell said. "Over the past seven years, more than 175,000
students have lost their financial aid because of the HEA Drug Provision."

Sue Thau, a public policy consultant to Community Anti-Drug Coalition of
America strongly supports the bill. In a 2004 interview, she told The
Chicago Tribune "By the time you're in college, you're old enough to know
that your actions have consequences."

On the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, students are asked if they
have ever been convicted of "possessing or selling illegal drugs." With no
exception, they are blocked eligibility for aid for a certain amount of
time if it is revealed they have been convicted of a drug-related crime.

If a student has been convicted of a drug-related offence, on their first
offense their ineligibility period for aid is one year. The second offense
causes an ineligibility period of two years. A third offense causes the
period to be indefinite. The sale of a controlled substance on a first
offense is two years ineligibility and a second offense is indefinite.

Angell believes the current provision is ineffective. First, he points out
that college graduates bring more money into the nation's economy.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, college graduates earn 62 percent more
each year and $1 million more over lifetimes than people with only
high-school diplomas. Also, college graduates pay twice as much federal
income tax than high-school graduates.

Second, in a study conducted by the Government Accountability Office, it
concludes that the provision is ineffective in deterring drug use. The
study also found that college education leads to "decreases in crime."