Pubdate: Mon, 24 Oct 2005
Source: Daily Universe (Brigham Young U, UT Edu)
Contact:  2005 The Daily Universe
Website: http://newsnet.byu.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3970
Author: Jessie Elder, Assistant Metro Editor
Cited: Students for Sensible Drug Policy http://www.daregeneration.com
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)

EDUCATION ACT: 'DO DRUGS, NO GRANT FOR YOU'

Title IV of the Higher Education Act is up for reform this year, a 
law that has reportedly affected more than 160,000 students across the nation.

Sec. 483 of Title IV of the Higher Education Act states "a student 
who has been convicted of any offense under any Federal or State law 
involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance shall not 
be eligible to receive any grant, loan or work assistance under this title ..."

Periods of ineligibility vary, depending on the number of offenses. 
In general, a student convicted of one offense is ineligible for a 
year, two offenses marks ineligible for two years and three offenses 
brings indefinite ineligibility.

There is a provision allowing students to get their aid re-instated 
early if they undergo a federally approved drug treatment program, 
including two un-announced drug tests.

While this may appear to balance out what may be viewed as a harsh 
law, Students for Sensible Drug Policy isn't so sure.

"Students who are able to afford college education on their own 
without public assistance are very unlikely to be able to afford 
expensive private treatment programs," Tom Angell, SSDP campaign 
director, said.

The law, originally written by Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., was designed 
to deter students from using drugs, but some argue it is an 
ineffective deterrent.

"A lot of students don't know about this law until they're filling 
out the financial aid application and come across this drug 
conviction question," Angell said. "It doesn't act as a deterring for 
a number of reasons, one of them being a lot of people don't know about it."

While this law is intended to reduce drug abuse, Angell said it 
actually causes more drug abuse.

"Students who are enrolled in college use less drugs than their same 
age peers not enrolled in college," he said. "By blocking somebody's 
access to education, you're actually increasing chances that their 
going to get involved in drug abuse.

If students are unable receive financial aid, this may close off many 
opportunities to them, Angell said.

According to Angell, college graduates make 62 percent more every 
year in taxable income than high school graduates.

"The reduced earnings not only hurt them, but the reduce payments in 
taxes hurts society as a whole," Angell said. "This provision is 
slashing revenue in a time of budget shortfalls around the country. 
It seems fiscally irresponsible."

Rep. Souder, who originally wrote the law, has reportedly 
characterized this law as "draconian" and has called for it to be reformed.

SSDP report that Rep. Souder's new proposal would allow some students 
with prior drug convictions to receive aid, but would still strip aid 
from students who get convicted while attending college.

This, according to the SSDP Web site, is "only a 10 percent solution 
to a law that is 100 percent flawed."

"This law really does nothing to help solve our nations drug abuse 
problems," Angell said. "It only makes them worse." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake