FINANCIAL AID HINDERED BY DRUGS

Beginning with the 2000-01 school year, students who have been convicted of
selling or possessing drugs will be denied federal financial aid. This new
law is a provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1998. Students will
be seeing the provision in the form of a question.

Question 28 on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
addresses the issue of drug convictions. Although in effect this year, many
students did not answer question 28. This year, more than 750,000 students
left question 28 on the FAFSA blank. With financial aid offices facing such
large numbers of students to contact about the question, the Education
Department stepped in. The Education Department took a survey of a number of
students who left the question blank. What they found was that instead of
many students who would have been ineligible for aid due to drug
convictions, most students left the question blank because they either didn'
t understand it or they simply forgot to answer it. Because of the confusion
and the large numbers of students who had already filed a FAFSA, it was
decided that students who left the question blank would receive aid for the
2000-01 school year. However, starting with the 2001-02 school year,
students who leave the question blank will not receive aid.

For students who do not have any drug convictions, reinstating aid will be a
fairly simple process of filling out necessary forms. On the other hand, if
a student has been convicted of selling or possessing drugs, the process is
a bit more complicated. Students who have completed a qualified
rehabilitation program will be eligible for federal aid. Once the school
year starts, a student who has not gone through a qualified rehabilitation
program can become eligible for aid by completing a program and by
participating in two unannounced drug tests.

For *Dennis (name withheld for personal reasons), a student at Stout, the
process of reinstating his aid has not been easy. Dennis has had two
convictions for possession of THC and drug paraphernalia, which are related
to marijuana. These two convictions have made Dennis ineligible for
financial aid for this school year, according to the guidelines of the new
provision (see chart left). Although Dennis initially left question 28
blank, he was sent a letter and had to call a phone number where his status
in regards to question 28 was clarified.

This new provision has made a big impact on students like Dennis. "If I wasn
't financially stable, like I am, there's no way I could have stayed in
school," he said. For many students like Dennis, the reality of not being
able to pay for school is a very distinct possibility. With his aid being
denied, Dennis has had to rely on his credit and financial standing as well
as that of his co-signers to receive outside loans in order to pay for the
cost of school. In addition, with rehabilitation programs costing at least
$200 a month, in addition to the cost of the unannounced drug tests, Dennis
has found it difficult to take the necessary steps to reinstate his aid.

For many students who rely on financial aid to pay for their college
education, these costs and lack of other options will make it difficult for
them to continue with their education. The main opposition to this law is
the Coalition for HEA Reform, a group that is being organized at
RaiseYourVoice.com. RaiseYourVoice.com has had its resolution adopted by
many student organizations across the nation, including the United Council
of University of Wisconsin Students.

Many of the students and groups who oppose this law and have been working to
voice their opinions on the issue are focusing on five main ideas, which are
stated on the RaiseYourVoice.com website.

These five ideas are:

1. It hurts working families whose children cannot afford college
opportunities without aid. These families cannot afford a good lawyer and
defense and are also not capable of affording their child's college
education without the assistance of federal aid.

2. It is discriminatory because of the high numbers of minorities that are
convicted of drug use, despite the fact that the majority of drug users are
white.

3. The provision will not increase funding for drug abuse treatment
programs. Because treatment accounts for less than 15 percent of the budget
for drug control, most people who need treatment will probably not receive
it. In addition, although the provision allows students to reinstate their
aid with the completion of a treatment program, no money is allocated to
assist these students with treatment, and if they cannot afford college
without aid, they probably can't afford treatment either.

4. It will not solve our nation's drug problem. America should be working to
make it easier for all people to receive a good education. Denying education
to people will not solve the drug problem; it will instead increase the
destructive power that our nation's War on Drugs is having.

5. It ignores campuses' major drug problems. The major drug problem in this
country, whether on college campuses or anywhere else, is alcohol abuse.
However, the idea of denying financial aid to those abusing alcohol wouldn't
even be considered, even though the majority of college students are
underage and drinking is an illegal activity for them.

In addition, the provision fails to distinguish between casual use and
serious abuse. A student who gets caught smoking a joint is no more an
indication of a drug addiction than an underage student caught drinking is
an indicator of alcoholism.

For some, the provision is seen as a detrimental act, which will most likely
have a widespread effect on students who have been convicted of drug related
crimes. Dennis stated, "If kids are going to do drugs, kicking them out on
the streets isn't going to help them." The idea of denying further education
to students who have made the mistake of selling or possessing drugs is seen
by many as a way of keeping those students down when they could be turning
their lives around.

In response, the supporters of this bill see it as another way to keep
students from using and selling drugs. Beth Resech, the director of
financial aid at UW-Stout, said, "Financial aid is one of the government's
tools in their fight against drugs." Many of these supporters have applauded
the bill, saying that it will keep criminals from receiving financial aid
funds that could otherwise be used by students who don't have the ability to
pay for college, but are trying to better their circumstances through
education. Supporters of the bill also feel that one of the reasons that the
bill is fair is that it does not deny students' aid forever, that it gives
them an opportunity to regain their aid by completing a rehabilitation
program.