Pubdate: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 Source: Daily Aztec, The (San Diego State, CA Edu) Contact: 2006 The Daily Aztec Website: http://www.thedailyaztec.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1420 Author: Stephanie Nehmens, Senior Staff Writer Alert: United States Students Score http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0323.html Cited: Students for Sensible Drug Policy http://www.DAREgeneration.com 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) CONGRESS PUSHES FINANCIAL AID REFORM Bad grades and plagiarism may get students kicked out of college, but past drug convictions may not hinder their eligibility for enrollment or financial aid. As of Wednesday, Congress proposed to revise the Higher Education Act Drug Provision. The HEA was instituted in 1965 under President Lyndon Johnson and was modified in 1998 to include a drug provision. The provision stipulates that if a student has a previous or current drug conviction on his or her record, he or she cannot receive financial aid or the aid will be suspended or revoked depending on the situation. If a student is convicted of possession of a controlled substance once, his or her aid is suspended for one year; two convictions means a suspension of two years and three results in indefinite suspension. If the student is convicted of selling a controlled substance once, his or her aid is suspended for two years, and on the second offense, the aid is indefinitely suspended. On Feb. 1, Congress rewrote the provision. If President Bush signs it, it will allow students with previous drug offenses to receive aid. However, those students who are convicted while enrolled in college and are consequently receiving aid will still lose their eligibility. Chris Collins, associate director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships said that it is unclear when the revision would be implemented. According to the Students for Sensible Drug Policy press release, the HEA Drug Provision has affected about 175,000 students to date. "In the 04-05 academic year, four SDSU aid applicants were determined to be ineligible due to drug convictions," Collins said. Since 1998, SSDP and the 250 organizations, including schools and addiction recovery centers that support them, have been working hard to convince Congress to revoke the drug provision all together. Kris Krane, executive director of SSDP, said that, after years, Congress is finally helping some students who have been harmed by the policy. Not all students feel the same compassion for colleagues with drug convictions as the SSDP. "I think if you are willing to act that illegally, you sort of waive the right to any government benefits," political science and linguistics junior Garrett Heckman said. "Including financial aid. "Any drug you take is killing brain cells; it may not make you dumber per se, but I think drug use definitely makes you less qualified for government support." The government now has to consider its budget. The provision is included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Congress approved the Reduction Act last year, which created legislation that would help reduce government spending by $35 billion from 2006 to 2010. "There are no savings that would be achieved through the modification of the drug conviction provision," Collins said. "The higher education provisions of the HEA create savings primarily from the federal student loan programs." Still, the SSDP believes students should take more action and go to court. "This minor change is just a ploy to sweep the penalty's problems under the rug," said Krane, whose goal is see the HEA Drug Provision fully repealed. For now, students await Bush's acceptance or rejection of the provision revision. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake