BILL LIFTS DRUG-CONVICTION BAR TO STUDENT LOANS

It Would Ease Curbs On Drug-Crime Convictions

In some ways, Rotasha Snipes' felony drug convictions are long behind her.

She has done her 55 days in jail. She is serving probation. And this
summer, Snipes, 26, of Burlington, said she enrolled in a
prerequisite math course for Alamance Community College's medical-lab
technology program. She has worked one fast-food-restaurant job after
another, and hopes that school will lead to a better job - one that
starts at $13 an hour.

But as she looks toward fall semester, she is not sure whether she
will be able to even start the program. Because she was found guilty
of selling and manufacturing cocaine almost two years ago, she is not
eligible for any financial aid until next year.

Snipes is paying for school out of her pocket, even if that pocket
isn't very deep.

"I'm waiting until late registration to see how much my family can
give me, and that will tell me how many classes I can register for," she said.

The Higher Education Act currently bars financial aid to people
convicted of drug offenses, but Congress appears poised to ease those
restrictions.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is expected to
approve reauthorization of the Higher Education Act today. A
provision in the revised bill clarifies that the financial-aid ban
should apply only to someone who commits a drug crime while enrolled
in college.

The bill must also pass the full House and Senate and be signed by
President Bush before taking effect.

Critics have been pushing for the drug provision to be repealed
entirely. The Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform, or CHEAR,
says that the Department of Education has told them that about
160,000 students have been turned down for federal grants and loans
since the drug-conviction provision was added during the last
reauthorization of the act in 1998.

"Taking away a chance at education," said CHEAR spokesman Chris
Mulligan, "has to be one of the worst things we can do."

Mulligan said that the provision unfairly targets people convicted of
drug felonies or misdemeanors, but doesn't keep those convicted of
child abuse, assault or murder from getting financial aid.

Art Malloy, the dean of students at Winston-Salem State University,
said he agrees with the law in principle, but he said he thinks that
many drug laws should be reconsidered because, he says, they can
target minorities unfairly.

"The campus sanctions you, the courts sanction you, and the federal
government sanctions you," Malloy said. "So now you're being punished
by three different entities for one thing. That's a lot."

In the meantime, he e-mails students twice a year to remind them that
they could lose their financial aid if they are convicted of a drug
crime. Malloy estimates that more than 80 percent of students at WSSU
receive federal financial aid.

Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., was instrumental in getting the drug
provision included in the Higher Education Act and is now leading the
charge to retool it. He said through a spokesman that he never
intended to block aid to people who committed drug crimes before
entering college. The Department of Education, which oversees federal
student-loan applications, has misinterpreted it, said Martin Green,
a Souder spokesman.

The threat of losing financial aid discourages kids from using drugs,
Green said. Besides, "students who receive taxpayer dollars to go to
college have a responsibility to obey the law, even if it's a law
with which they do not agree," he said.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, said that Foxx supports
Souder's attempt to modify the ban but does not support removing the
drug provision in its entirety.

"She believes scarce federal dollars should go toward law-abiding
citizens looking to accomplish their educational goals," spokeswoman
Amy Auth said. "She does not want to reward bad behavior."

Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J., said that Congress' goal should be to
transform drug users into productive citizens. The best way to do
that, he said, is to ensure access to education, not take it away.

"We say to them we want them to fly, but we take away their wings,"
Andrews said. "It really is one of the dumbest laws we have in this country."

Committee members were expected to vote on an amendment late last
night or today that would also remove student-loan barriers for
people who commit drug crimes while they are enrolled in college.
Andrews expects it to fail.

Under current law, students can lose eligibility for financial aid
for at least a year, and perhaps forever, depending on the severity
and number of drug crimes. Selling is treated more harshly than
possession, and most juvenile drug crimes are excluded.

Financial-aid eligibility can often be restored if students attend a
rehabilitation program.

If any good can come out of Snipes' conviction, she says, it's that
she won't be selling drugs again.

"I'm not going to say it hindered me from going to school because it
could have saved my life,"she said. "Therefore, I'm not going to
stress because if it's meant for me, it will happen."

* Journal reporter Mary Shaffrey and Media General News Service
contributed to this report.