Pubdate: Mon, 08 May 2006 Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR) Copyright: 2006 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Contact: http://www.arkansasonline.com/Info/voices.asp Website: http://www.ardemgaz.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/25 Note: Accepts LTEs from state residents only. Author: Van Jensen Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) DRUG BUSTS COST STUDENTS MONEY Groups Out To Change Federal Law In the past five years, almost 1,900 students or prospective students at Arkansas colleges and universities have been denied federal student aid because they admitted to a drug conviction, according to recently released data from the U.S. Department of Education. Arkansas had the eighthhighest rate -- 0.27 percent -- of post-secondary students denied aid among all states, the data show. Nationally, nearly 190,000 students, or about 1 per 400, lost out on funding because of a provision to the Higher Education Act signed into law by President Clinton. Most federal student aid is awarded through Pell Grants, which contribute up to $3,125 per year to an undergraduate, according to the Education Department. The release of a state-bystate breakdown in late April has added steam to the effort of student groups, educators and legislators -- including U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder, D-Ark. -- to repeal the law. On March 22, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, a Washington, D.C.-based group that "educates on the harm caused by the war on drugs," filed a class-action lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union against the Education Department, calling for aid to be given to students who were denied it because of drug convictions. There are three plaintiffs so far, none from Arkansas. Snyder is co-sponsoring a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives to repeal the provision. "Here's the problem: These are people who are being candid about their past," Snyder said of denied students. "They've been accepted into school. Isn't that what we want for people who've made mistakes? To turn over a new leaf?" Since the law went into effect in 2000, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid has included the question, "Have you ever been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs?" The form twice warns applicants not to leave the question blank. If students respond "yes," or leave it blank, they are sent a more extensive questionnaire. Depending on the severity and number of offenses, students can be ruled ineligible for aid from one year to indefinitely. The policy's intent is to discourage youths from drug use, Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said when he wrote the provision in 1998. Souder's home state has the highest percentage of students denied aid because of drug convictions, at 1 of every 200. Snyder and Tom Angell, campaigns director for Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, which has no chapters in Arkansas, said the policy is unfair and causes more drug problems than it cures. "It causes more drug abuse by blocking access to education," Angell said. "People with a college degree are much less likely to abuse drugs. "It's unfair," he continued. "Murderers and rapists are eligible. A student caught with a single marijuana cigarette will be denied." The basis of the group's lawsuit is that the law violates the Fifth Amendment, which states a person shall not be punished twice for the same crime. Valerie Smith, a U.S. Education Department spokesman, said she was unsure when and how the government would respond to the lawsuit. She said few students are affected by the law. "Drug convictions do not necessarily mean students don't have access to student aid," Smith said. "The vast majority of students with drug convictions do maintain [or regain] eligibility." If a student completes an approved rehabilitation program, he regains eligibility, she said. And, in most cases, if he was convicted as a juvenile, he would retain eligibility. "In the big picture, federal student aid has increased access to education for millions of students nationwide," Smith said. "Last year, we distributed more than $73 billion dollars... to more than 10 million students." Smith also said the February passage in Congress of an amendment to the policy, attached to the deficit reduction bill, will decrease its scope. The updated version, which will take effect in July, denies aid only to students convicted of a drug offense while they are receiving federal financial aid. But that's not enough, Snyder and Angell said. "Even when this does go into effect, still tens of thousands of students are getting busted every year," Angell said. Snyder said of the changed law: "It really doesn't address the terrible unfairness." Though Arkansas has a high percent of students affected by the law, it is one of the better states for students with a drug conviction, according to a report by the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform, which partners with Students for a Sensible Drug Policy. Seventeen states give aid only to students deemed eligible for federal aid, so students who are denied federal aid because of drug convictions would also lose state aid, according to the report. Arkansas is among the few states that don't tie state scholarships to federal aid eligibility. "None of our state scholarships, we don't ask them about their drug history," said Robin Henson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. Only one state scholarship, the Academic Challenge, has a drug provision, she said. The state's largest scholarship, which is given based on academics and need, requires recipients to pledge to remain drug-free. But it's an honor system, Henson said. The department doesn't follow up. At the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, student aid worker Kattie Wing said the office receives occasional calls from students with concerns about their drug histories, trying to find out if they're eligible for aid. Wing said the number of students missing out on aid could be greater than the numbers show because some students could see the drug question on the aid application and not complete the form. "It's hard to say how many students that actually affects," she said. "Hopefully Congress will look at it, make it easier for students to understand." Cheryl Lyons, director of financial aid at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, said few students there answer "yes" to the drug conviction question. The federal government has no way of checking whether students really have convictions, Smith and others said. If students complete rehabilitation -- or if they just claim to -- they regain eligibility. "Whether those answers are correct or not, we have no way of knowing," Lyons said. "The federal government has no way of knowing." When students call in who were denied federal aid for any reason, Lyons, Wing and other financial aid workers refer them to other sources such as state scholarships and nonfederal loans. Despite that and the few calls on the matter, Wing doesn't disregard the issue. "It is a big thing, especially for students that lose their eligibility," she said. "I'm certain, if you were denied aid because of that... it would be a personal issue then. It could cost them." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman