Pubdate: Thu, 29 Jul 2004
Source: Alibi (NM)
Copyright: 2004 Weekly Alibi
Contact:  http://alibi.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2313
Author: Ben Carlson
Cited: Students for Sensible Drug Policy http://www.ssdp.org
Cited: UNM chapter of SSDP http://www.unm.edu/~ssdp/
Cited: Educators for Sensible Drug Policy http://efsdp.org/
Cited: Raise Your Voice  http://RaiseYourVoice.com
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

DRUG WAR POLITICS

MURDERERS AND RAPISTS CAN GET FINANCIAL AID, BUT DRUG OFFENDERS-FORGET IT

On Friday, July 22, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) rescinded his support of "The 
Second Chance Act" (on the last working day, before the 108th Congress 
adjourned for August recess), and now the bill must be put on hold until at 
least September.

The delay, according to Ross Wilson of Students for Sensible Drug Policy 
(SSDP), will keep thousands of college students at risk of losing federal 
financial aid because of a "counterproductive and unfair" drug provision in 
the federal Higher Education Act.

The "Second Chance Act" mainly concerns itself with facilitating the 
re-entry of ex-drug offenders into communities and "recidivism prevention" 
through treatment programs. Its provisions also include an amendment to the 
HEA to prevent students with prior drug convictions from being ineligible 
for federal assistance.

While an improvement over the existing law, the step is insufficient 
because it will leave in place a fundamentally flawed policy, Wilson said, 
and instead his organization would like to see [members of the Senate] 
introduce a full repeal of the law.

Earlier this year, New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a Democrat, expressed his 
willingness to co-sponsor a different version of the bill to members of the 
UNM chapter of SSDP. Bingaman's bill, H.R. 685, would have fully repealed 
the HEA provision if passed.

Gabrielle Guzzardo, a spokesperson for UNM's SSDP chapter, hopes Bingaman 
will pick up the effort when the Senate reconvenes in September, saying the 
senator has been very supportive of her organization's cause in the past.

The Higher Education Act (HEA), passed in 1965, enabled thousands of low 
and middle income students to attend college by providing them with federal 
grants, loans and other forms of financial assistance. Every five years or 
so, Congress reconsiders, amends and reauthorizes the bill, adding 
provisions as it sees fit. The most recent reauthorization took place in 
1998 when Congress approved the addition of a provision which denied aid to 
students who reported a prior drug conviction on their application for 
federal money.

Initially, enforcement of the Drug Free Student Aid Provision was 
deliberately lax. Students who opted not to answer the drug conviction 
question during the Clinton administration still received financial aid 
with no automatic penalty, according to the Educators for Sensible Drug 
Policy website, another drug policy reform group. (The site says an 
estimated 280,000 applicants had their applications processed in the 
2000-2001 school year.)

In 2001, however, the Bush administration vowed to cease this oversight and 
enforce the law's provisions to the letter. An Associated Press article 
from April 17, 2001, spelled out their more stringent policy: "Now, failure 
to answer the question will result in rejection of the application."

As a result, the 2001-2002 school year saw a record number of college 
students denied federal financial aid; 47,730 applicants (not counting 
those who did not apply at all because they assumed they would be denied) 
were deemed ineligible for assistance. To date, more than 150,000 
applicants have been denied aid under the Drug Free provision of the HEA, 
according to the Department of Education.

A coalition of groups has formed to oppose the law because it is 
"discriminatory" and "will not solve our nation's drug problem." The HEA 
Drug Provision, their website ( http://RaiseYourVoice.com ) maintains, 
hurts low and middle income students disproportionately because they depend 
more on federal assistance than wealthy students, who can afford the legal 
defense to prevent drug convictions and pay for school without government help.

Black students are also hit harder, because they constitute more than 55 
percent of drug convictions despite representing only 13 percent of drug 
users, according to The Sentencing Project, a national advocacy 
organization focused on prison reform. Absurdly, a rape or murder 
conviction may not disqualify a student from federal aid.

The real problem with the HEA's drug provision, according to Ross Wilson, 
is that it punishes students multiple times for a single crime. Since 1988, 
judges have had the authority to revoke a student's financial aid as part 
of sentencing for a drug conviction (particularly when the student is a 
distributor), and school administrators could follow up with expulsion for 
offenders. The HEA Drug Provision, however, puts a blanket prohibition over 
these crimes-from marijuana possession to dealing heroin.

Interestingly, Sen. Mark Souder (R-IN), the principal sponsor of the 
provision in 1998, now opposes it and is working on its reform.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake