Pubdate: Mon, 24 Apr 2006
Source: Portland Press Herald (ME)
060424collegeaid.shtml
Copyright: 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Contact:  http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/744
Author: Bart Jansen, Washington Correspondent
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)

DRUG OFFENSES BLOCK HUNDREDS FROM COLLEGE AID

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Hundreds of Maine college students have lost  
access to federal financial aid in the past six years because of drug  
offenses or refusal to answer questions about possible convictions.  
Critics of the federal policy barring aid to such applicants are  
trying to overturn it.

In Maine, the policy has blocked aid to 669 of 356,394 applicants,  
according to U.S. Department of Education figures. A state-by-state  
tally was assembled for the first time this month by the advocacy  
group Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

Maine's rate of rejection - about one in 532 applicants - is below  
the national average, but the policy remains a concern among those  
who advocate for students and drug users.

"In addition to being morally wrong, I think the law is irrational,"  
said Zachary Heiden, staff attorney for the Maine Civil Liberties  
Union. "Education is crucial to achieving employment, and that's the  
best way to keep people away from crime and out of prison."

Heiden argued that the law discriminates against the poor because the  
policy may not affect students with affluent parents who can pay for  
college without financial aid. And he argued the law is unfair  
because students convicted of other crimes, including murder, remain  
eligible for aid.

"You can literally get away with murder," Heiden said.

Ruth Blauer, executive director of the Maine Association of Substance  
Abuse Programs, is quoted in the group's report. She warns that  
stumbling blocks to education could prevent people struggling with  
addictions from becoming productive.

The law "is not a deterrent to drug use; it's a deterrent to  
recovery," she said.

Congress adopted the stricter rules in 1998 as part of changes to the  
Higher Education Act. A question on the Free Application for Federal  
Student Aid asks whether the student has "ever been convicted of  
possessing or selling illegal drugs." The system has rejected 189,065  
applicants since the question was added for the 2000-2001 school year.

Students are denied aid for one year for the first possession  
offense, two years for the second offense and indefinitely for more  
offenses. A first offense for selling an illegal drug renders the  
applicant ineligible for two years and indefinitely for any  
subsequent offense.

The highest rates of student rejection were in Oregon and California.  
Rhode Island and Connecticut were among the top states for rejections  
in New England. Vermont had the lowest rate of applicants penalized.

Congress loosened the restriction on Feb. 8. Starting next fall, only  
convictions while the student is in college will result in lost  
financial aid. But critics still are trying to overturn the policy  
entirely.

"After years of political posturing and empty promises, Congress has  
finally helped some students harmed by this misguided policy," said  
Kris Krane, executive director of Students for Sensible Drug Policy.  
"But this minor change is just a ploy to sweep the penalty's problems  
under the rug."

The group joined the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a  
lawsuit challenging the policy March 22 in U.S. District Court in  
South Dakota. The lawsuit says the penalty violates the  
Constitution's Fifth Amendment restriction against punishing someone  
twice for the same offense. The government's reply is expected within  
days.
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MAP posted-by: Jackl