Pubdate: Wed, 06 Apr 2005
Source: Iowa State Daily (IA Edu)
Copyright: 2005 Iowa State Daily
Contact:  http://www.iowastatedaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1227
Author: Katherine Strickler
Cited: SSDP http://www.ssdp.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)

FEDERAL BILL MAY REVOKE FAFSA QUESTION ASKING ABOUT DRUG CONVICTIONS

Congress is examining whether a past drug conviction should determine
a student's financial aid status.

A national organization of college students, Students for a Sensible
Drug Policy, is the driving force behind the congressional proposal to
have the question completely removed from the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid.

Question 31 on the FAFSA asks if the applicant has ever been convicted
of possessing or selling illegal substances. If the applicant has been
convicted, aid can be cut.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., introduced a bill in March to remove the
question from the FAFSA. It was added in 1998 by Rep. Mark Souder,
R-Ind., as a part of the Higher Education Act.

The act is winding its way through Congress for reapproval.

Other congressmen have proposed similar ideas, including reforming the
act to only include people with more than one drug conviction.

Full aid, including federal grants, work-study money and subsidized
government loans are still available to those convicted of possessing
or selling illegal drugs, but they have to complete an "acceptable"
drug rehab program.

Whether aid is completely denied is determined by an eligibility date
that determines when a previously convicted student is allowed to
receive financial aid. Convicted students have to wait two years from
their conviction date, according to the application.

For the 2005-06 school year, if this date is before July 1, 2004, the
student receives full eligibility. Those with conviction dates between
July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005 receive partial eligibility, and those
convicted after June 30, 2005 are ineligible for funding.

There's a catch, though: No system is in place to check whether
applicants who answer "no" are telling the truth.

"No one is going to tell the truth when you know you'll be punished,
especially if there is no way for anyone to tell if you lied," said
Miranda Myhre, freshman in art and design.

Roberta Johnson, director of Student Financial Aid, said that,
generally, when people answer the question "yes," it is a mistake.

Johnson said she has received no specific complaints from ISU students
about the question.

"It really affects only a small portion of the students," she said.

As of December 2001, 28,230 students have been denied financial aid
because they admitted to a drug conviction on the FAFSA form; 11,417
were denied because they left the question blank, and 42,570 were
convicted more than a year ago for possession or two years ago for
sale and thus were eligible, according to Students for a Sensible Drug
Policy's Web site.

"I think most financial aid administrators would say they think the
question should be removed; any disqualifications for financial aid
should be done through the court system," Johnson said.

Myhre agreed the question is too personal for the application.

"It's kind of like asking a person if they're a child molester to see
if they're eligible to have kids," Myhre said.

"If you're going to ask one personal question, why not ask them
all?"

"Education is a way to deter drug use, so this is counterproductive,"
said George Pappas, president and co-founder of the University of
Iowa's chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy.

Iowa State does not have a chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug
Policy.

Ben Stone, executive director of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union, said
there are many problems with the question.

"Unfortunately, politicians used financial aid to make a social
statement against drugs. This isn't a deterrent," Stone said. "Think
of a 16-year-old kid sitting in his backyard about to take a toke.
That kid isn't going to think 'I shouldn't do this, it might reduce my
chances for financial aid in the future.'" 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake