Pubdate: Wed, 03 May 2006
Source: Oregon Daily Emerald (U of Oregon, OR Edu)
Copyright: 2006 Oregon Daily Emerald
Contact:  http://www.dailyemerald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1518
Author: Ed Oser
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hea.htm (Higher Education Act)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?219 (Students for Sensible Drug Policy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

DRUG USE LIMITS FEDERAL STUDENT AID

Oregon Has Denied Thousands Of Students' FAFSAs Because Of 
Drug-Related Convictions, Report Says

The police caught him once with a bag of marijuana. They caught him 
again with a pipe.

The University student, who asked to remain anonymous, said his drug 
convictions have forced him to lie on his Free Application for 
Federal Student Aid form for each of the past four years because 
otherwise he would lose the financial aid that he depends on to pay 
his entire tuition.

Students who check yes to the FAFSA's question 31, which asks "Have 
you ever been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs?" are 
denied financial aid.

"If I was gonna answer 'yes' to that question, I wouldn't even be 
filling out the FAFSA," he said. "If it wasn't for financial aid, I 
wouldn't be a student."

Had the Oregon student told the truth on his FAFSA, he would have 
become one of thousands of students who have been denied financial 
aid in Oregon, according to a recent report.

Only one other state turns away more students from financial aid 
because of drug convictions than Oregon, which has rejected 3,637, 
the report stated.

Released by Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, a national lobbying 
group, the report shows that the government rejects slightly more 
than 1 of every 300 students in Oregon for answering yes to question 31.

SSDP spokesman Tom Angell said the numbers show the harshness of each 
state's drug laws, the state's level of drug use and the level of 
honesty among students.

"If a student wants to stay in school, honesty may not be the best 
policy," Angell said.

The U.S. Congress changed the penalty in February 2006 to affect only 
those students who are convicted while receiving financial aid, U.S. 
Department of Education spokeswoman Valerie Smith said. Students with 
one possession conviction are ineligible for one year; at two 
convictions they are ineligible for two years. At three, they are 
ineligible indefinitely. Smith said students convicted of dealing are 
ineligible for two years after their first offense and indefinitely 
after their second.

If students complete court-approved rehabilitation programs, they 
regain their eligibility for aid at any time, Smith said.

Smith said lying on the FAFSA is "punishable by a significant fine."

"It is to a student's benefit to provide adequate information," Smith said.

"We perform spot checks on different questions in the FAFSA," Smith 
said, but it "would be logistically prohibitive to investigate every 
student who applies to FAFSA."

Marilyn Nelson, administrator for the Eugene Municipal Court, said 
the court offers a diversion program for students convicted of 
possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, consisting of one 
eight-hour class. The court developed the program in conjunction with 
the University's Substance Abuse Prevention Program after the 
Halloween riots on 1998 and 1999, Nelson said, specifically to help 
students retain their financial aid. After completing the program, 
the court expunges charges from students' records, making them 
eligible again for financial aid.

Figures from the Department of Public Safety show that students 
received 104 marijuana citations in 2005, and, Nelson said, 70 people 
completed the diversion program for marijuana during the last school 
year. The less-than-an-ounce ticket comes with a charge of $250, 
Nelson said, but a student who takes diversion pays only $110.

The issue is also the subject of national and congressional debate.

The report includes a list of more than 50 student governments that 
have called for the repeal of the provision, including Georgetown 
University, Yale University, American University and Dartmouth College.

The SSDP report shows Indiana as the state with the largest 
percentage of students rejected. One of every 200 students was denied 
aid. Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana authored the Higher Education Act 
Aid Elimination Provision in 1998, the law that originally stripped 
eligibility from all students who had ever been convicted of drug 
possession or distribution.

"He threw a grenade up a hill and it came rolling right back down to 
his feet," Angell said.

Martin Green, spokesman for Souder, said "there has to be 
accountability. Those students who commit drug crimes should not be 
receiving funds from the American taxpayer until they can prove they're clean."

Green said the numbers showing Indiana's high rate of rejection were 
irrelevant.

"The principle is what's important here," Green said. "It really 
doesn't matter who's ranked first or last."

Green also said that Souder originally intended for the bill to apply 
only to students convicted while receiving aid, but the Clinton 
administration misinterpreted the bill's intent.

A bill currently in consideration in the House of Representatives, HR 
1184, aims to repeal the provision, but Congress sent it to a 
subcommittee, from which few bills return.

"I would bet you that it dies," Green said.

Barney Frank, D-Mass., sponsored the bill, and Oregon congressmen 
Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer were among the 69 co-sponsors.

Tom Kiley, spokesman for one of the bill's co-sponsors, George 
Miller, D-Calif., said that "When you break a law, we already have a 
system of justice intended to deal with you."

The provision "violates the idea of double jeopardy," Kiley said.

Kiley said that when "some kid who dealt pot" tries to turn his or 
her life around and go to college, the government should do all it 
can to help that process. Kiley said that the provision pushes 
students back toward delinquent behavior and not toward becoming 
taxpaying members of society.

David Wu, D-Ore., supported changing the provision so it only applies 
to students who committed their crimes while receiving aid, but he 
did not approve getting rid of the punishment altogether.

In a statement, Wu said "we should not deny vital financial aid 
dollars to students who have made a mistake in the past and are 
attempting to improve their lives. But given the limited amount of 
federal financial aid, it is reasonable and responsible to provide 
those dollars to students who don't gamble with their higher education."

DeFazio's office would not comment on the legislation, and Blumenauer 
could not be reached for comment before press time Tuesday.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman