Pubdate: Wed, 26 Apr 2006
Source: Arkansas Times (Little Rock, AR)
Copyright: 2006 Arkansas Times Inc.
Contact:  http://www.arktimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/583
Author: Doug Smith
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)

ARKANSAS RANKS HIGH IN PENALIZING DRUG-OFFENDER STUDENTS

Arkansas Ranks High In Penalizing Drug-Offender Students

But Snyder Wants To End The Penalty

Arkansas ranks eighth among the states in the percentage of college 
applicants who are denied federal financial aid because they've been 
convicted of drug offenses. Congressman Vic Snyder, a Democrat, is a 
co-sponsor of legislation to end the aid penalty.

A group called Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), 
headquartered in Washington, said last week that 1,858 Arkansans had 
been denied federal college aid because of drug convictions since the 
penalty was enacted as part of the Higher Education Act of 2000. 
That's .27 percent of federal-aid applicants. Nationwide, nearly 
200,000 would-be      students have been denied, a percentage of .25. 
Indiana had the highest percentage of denials among the states, .50.

Legislation to end the penalty was introduced in previous sessions of 
Congress, and Snyder was a co-sponsor then too.

"The law doesn't apply to rapists and murderers," Snyder said in a 
telephone interview. "They're not penalized. The law only applies to 
drug convictions, of any severity. It could be a misdemeanor 
possession charge. And there's no time limit. The offense could have 
occurred when the person was very young." The law holds back would-be 
students from becoming productive citizens, Snyder said, adding 
"Arkansas doesn't do this with state money."

A spokesperson for the state Department of Higher Education confirmed 
that no state-funded programs deny aid to potential college students 
because of drug convictions. One program, the Arkansas Academic 
Challenge Scholarship Program, does require applicants to sign a 
statement that "I am drug-free and will refrain from the unlawful 
possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs (and of alcohol if 
I am under 21 years of age)." State law does not specifically require 
that applicants in this program remain drug- and alcohol-free, but 
the law does let the DHE set the rules for awarding state-funded scholarships.

SSDP lists a number of reasons why the federal law should be 
repealed, including:

"The law punishes individuals twice for the same infraction. Affected 
students have already been dealt with by the criminal justice system. 
.. This violates the 'double jeopardy' clause of the Fifth Amendment."

"Forcing students convicted of drug charges to drop out of school 
makes them more likely to fall into drug abuse or commit crimes ... 
and less likely to become productive tax-paying citizens. ... 
Congress has no rational basis to attach student aid eligibility to 
drug convictions, especially since murderers, rapists, burglars and 
arsonists can still receive financial aid. This violates the equal 
protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment's 'due process' clause."

"The law hurts only students from low- and middle-income families -- 
the very same people federal financial aid programs are intended to 
assist. Students from wealthier families can afford to pay for 
tuition without public assistance and can frequently afford the cost 
of a lawyer to avoid a drug conviction in the first place."

"Because of racial profiling and the discriminatory enforcement of 
drug laws, the aid ban is keeping minorities out of school at a much 
higher rate than the general population."

"The law only affects hardworking and determined students who are 
doing well in school, since there are already minimum [grade] 
requirements for receiving financial aid."

The SSDP and the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit in March challenging 
the constitutionality of the drug penalty.

Ending the drug penalty sounds like it would be controversial to some 
Arkansans -- especially since Snyder is considered the most liberal 
member of the Arkansas congressional delegation -- but Snyder said, 
"I don't remember anyone being critical. ... It's not something you 
hear about every day."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom