Financial Aid Restriction Not A Problem Here, Says Enrollment Crime may not pay, but it seems that lying does. If a college student has been convicted of a drug offense but says otherwise on his or her financial aid application, he or she may reap the benefits of more than $14,000 in federal loans for education. This year, 30,000 students nationwide were denied federal grants, loans, and work-study under the anti-drug provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA), a result of a 1998 amendment of the HEA, according to a report published by the Department of Education. A conviction for the distribution or use of illegal drugs is currently the only crime that will prevent a student from receiving federal aid. [continues 707 words]
A federal financial-aid provision aimed at denying government money to students with drug convictions hasn't proven to be much of a hurdle at the UI. This fall, 10 UI financial-aid applicants were initially turned down for assistance under the Higher Education Act measure that denies or limits federal aid for students who have been convicted of drug- related crimes. All the applicants either admitted to a drug conviction or left the question blank on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms. They later changed their answers when notified by the university. [continues 546 words]
The federal government says there is only one crime for which it will deny a student financial assistance for higher education. If applicants answer yes to question 35 on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - - confirming that they have had drug convictions on their records - they may lose nearly $15,000 in financial assistance. The drug-free provision of the Higher Education Act, passed in 1998, will deny aid to 30,000 students this year, according to statistics released by the Department of Education. The intrusion by the government into personal choices is only part of the law's problem. The provision is also a barrier to social mobility; it severely restricts the poor and lower classes' access to education. [continues 190 words]
Yale University has recently changed its policy to allow students with drug-related offenses to receive financial aid -- if they agree to undergo drug rehabilitation at the same time. Number Four Yale is the fourth school to enact such a policy along with Swarthmore College, Hampshire College and Western Washington University. These decisions were made in response to the Higher Education Act of 1998, which stipulates that any student with drug offense charges will be denied federal financial aid until the student completes drug rehabilitation. There is a question on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application asking students if they have prior drug offenses or convictions. Students who have previous offenses or convictions are either immediately denied or given the chance to complete rehabilitation and be reconsidered. [continues 395 words]
GW students are joining others around the nation in fighting a law that strips them of financial aid for past or current drug offenses. Question 35 on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form asks students if they have been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs while over the age of 18 (tobacco and alcohol are excluded). If they leave it blank, aid is delayed. If they have been convicted, aid can be permanently restricted. On Tuesday the Student Association joined more than 100 student governments around the nation in signing a petition encouraging Congress to remove the question because it unfairly denies students needed funds. [continues 311 words]
February is fill-out-the-forms month if you're the parent of a college-bound child. Along with page after page of high school graduation stuff -- orders for caps and gowns, announcements, senior pictures, yearbooks -- there is also a stack of college applications and scholarship appeals to wade through. The most fun is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. It is about 1,000 pages long and asks a whole lot of probing questions about the student, the student's nonexistent spouse and the finances of the student's parents. You'd think FAFSA is really a front for the Internal Revenue Service. My father, who had the distrust of government that comes with being a moonshiner's grandson, spent all of two minutes with a similar form of mine before crumpling it because, "they ask too many personal questions." [continues 414 words]
Regulation Blocks Funds To Students Who Admit Guilt, But Not Those Who Lie Thousands of aspiring college students in the country have been denied financial aid because of a 1998 federal law that refuses funds to students with drug convictions. Yet there's no ban on enrolling students who've committed other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery or arson. "That's the main issue (they're trying to argue)," said Ken Sears, associate director of financial aid at West Virginia University. [continues 404 words]
The list of those negatively affected by what some UNLV students call the "insane" drug war is growing, as large numbers of young people are missing out on the opportunity for a higher education. According to Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, a national organization trying to educate the public on the problems with the drug war, nearly 40,000 people will be denied the chance at a college education due to a 1998 law that excludes those with prior drug convictions from getting federal financial aid. [continues 608 words]
Get Busted And You Could Lose Your School Loans Faster Than You Can Say 'Woody Harrelson' Pop quiz time: Say it's a week into the fall semester, you're driving some friends around one night and you've had a few beers -- OK, quite a few -- and, oh yeah, say your dad isn't director of the CIA. Drunk driving is not cool, of course, and you end up getting busted and plead nolo contendre (that means, like, guilty) to DUI, attempting to elude police, several moving violations, reckless endangerment, drunk and disorderly and possession of a few pot seeds the cops found under the driver's seat of your Duster. [continues 2283 words]
Millions of students each year apply for federal financial aid to help pay rising college costs, but most have no idea a drug conviction can get their application tossed in the trash. Any drug conviction from age 18 on is grounds for rejecting a federal financial aid application. Marisa Garcia, 20, of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., knows first-hand how costly a minor drug conviction can be. Garcia was convicted of misdemeanor possession of marijuana in March 2000, fined $415 and then subsequently was denied federal aid for one full school year. [continues 1131 words]
A ban on giving federal aid to college students with drug convictions could mean more than 34,000 people will be denied loans and grants in the coming school year -- more than triple those turned away in 2000-01. The increase reflects a clarification in the U.S. Education Department's aid application, which screens for people with drug records. But the change has brought louder protests against the law: Even the measure's author says enforcement has been taken too far. [continues 525 words]
A ban on giving federal aid to college students with drug convictions could mean more than 34,000 people will be denied loans and grants in the coming school year -- more than triple those turned away in 2000-01. The increase reflects a clarification in the U.S. Education Department's aid application, which screens for people with drug records. But the change has brought louder protests against the law. Even the measure's author says enforcement has been taken too far. [continues 659 words]
A ban on giving federal aid to college students with drug convictions could mean more than 34,000 people will be denied loans and grants in the coming school year - more than triple those turned away in 2000-01. The increase reflects a clarification in the U.S. Education Department's aid application, which screens for people with drug records. But the change has brought louder protests against the law: Even the measure's author says enforcement has been taken too far. [continues 730 words]
Education Department Could Screen Out Three Times As Many As Last Year A ban on giving federal aid to college, graduate and professional-school students with drug convictions could mean more than 34,000 people will be denied loans and grants in the coming school year -- more than triple those turned away in 2000-01. The increase reflects a clarification in the U.S. Education Department's aid application, which screens for people with drug records. The change has brought louder protests against the ban. Even the measure's author says enforcement has been taken too far. [continues 719 words]
Souder Bill Denies Aid To More Students Than Intended A ban on giving federal aid to college students with drug convictions could mean more than 34,000 people will be denied loans and grants in the coming school year - more than triple those turned away in 2000-01. The increase reflects a clarification in the U.S. Education Department's aid application, which screens for people with drug records. But the change has brought louder protests against the law: Even the measure's author says enforcement has been taken too far. [continues 736 words]
A ban on giving federal aid to college students with drug convictions could mean more than 34,000 people will be denied loans and grants in the coming school year -- more than triple those turned away in 2000-01. The increase reflects a clarification in the U.S. Education Department's aid application, which screens for people with drug records. But the change has brought louder protests against the law: Even the measure's author says enforcement has been taken too far. [continues 761 words]
Drug Convictions Can Mean No Student Aid Murder someone. Rape someone. Do your prison time, and when you get out you can still get federal grants and loans to go to college. But get caught smoking a joint, and you're sunk. A handful of young West Virginians found that out this spring, when the federal government decided to start enforcing a 1998 law barring anyone convicted of a drug offense since age 18 from getting federal student aid. "We do have students who had [been convicted]," said Mary Blizzard, financial aid director at West Virginia State College. "In most cases, it disqualifies them for federal aid. [continues 830 words]
The number of students in danger of losing financial aid because of past misdemeanor or felony drug convictions could exceed 60,000 this year, as opposed to last year's 9,114, Drug Reform Coordination Network representatives said. Section 484(r) of the Higher Education Act, the "Suspension of Eligibility Drug-Related Offenses," requires students report any convictions of possessing or selling illegal drugs on their financial aid applications. Steven Silverman, campus coordinator of the DRCN, is working with the organization to repeal the amendment. He said failure to comply with the requirement increases a student's risk of not receiving aid. [continues 542 words]
The fight against the war on drugs took center stage last weekend as the UW-Madison Students for a Sensible Drug Policy held its first drug policy reform conference on campus. The conference brought together speakers from around the country to address social and political issues relating to the government's attempted crackdown on drug trafficking and usage. The prevalent theme of the conference was that the U.S. government's current war on drugs is ineffective. David Borden, executive director of the Drug Reform Coordination Network, cited the immense number of prisoners incarcerated on drug convictions as one of the main problems of the drug war, as well as mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders. [continues 430 words]
Some Virginia Tech students may find it more difficult to receive financial aid as a result of drug use. A previous law denying aid to students with drug convictions who have not completed rehabilitation is being enforced under the Bush Administration. Barry Simmons, director of scholarships and financial aid at Tech, said the Bush Administration is re-emphasizing the law after evaluating programs of the Clinton Administration. "Bush is sort of turning up the heat," he said. Simmons said the law was passed in 1998 as part of the popular movement against drug abuse. "The Department of Education has been trying to devise the least painless way to implement (the law)," he said. Simmons said students are asked about their prior drug convictions on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the form required of all students who wish to receive federal aid college for education. [continues 532 words]
Washington --- The Bush administration says it will enforce a 1998 law requiring college students to disclose drug convictions on the main application for federal financial aid. The law prohibits federal grants, loans or work assistance for at least one year after a student has been convicted of possessing or selling an illegal drug. But the Education Department under President Clinton allowed applicants to skip the question on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. "Congress passed a law. We're enforcing it accordingly," department spokeswoman Lindsey Kozberg said Wednesday. [continues 403 words]
To the dismay of many student governments, civil liberties and minority organizations, the "War on Drugs" now more directly affects thousands of college applicants. In order to prevent financial aid applicants from purposely avoiding a question about prior drug convictions, the U.S. Department of Education decided earlier this month to make it mandatory that applicants indicate any past drug crimes. Under the Drug-Free Student Loans Act, a provision of the 1998 Higher Education Act, an applicant that admits to a past conviction of a drug law on question 35 of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid may lose eligibility for financial assistance. [continues 698 words]
Speculation is rife over possible replacements for Vice President Dick Cheney should he be forced to retire because of persistent heart problems. The leading candidate in GOP circles is the man who reportedly was President Bush's first choice for the job - Secretary of State Colin Powell, who bowed to his wife's wishes and demurred. But there's a difference, some note, between campaigning for the job and having it handed to you. Also mentioned is Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, originally passed over because of his position in favor of abortion rights, and former Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash. [continues 959 words]
Ohio State joined the list of schools across the country fighting the government's war on drugs when USG passed a resolution at its Wednesday meeting to support the repeal of the drug provision attached to the Higher Education Act, which denies students federal aid if they have been convicte d of a drug-related offense. The vote, passed unanimously, was in stark contrast to the decision made last spring to support the drug provision by a vote of 15 to 1. [continues 460 words]
(U-WIRE) COLUMBUS, Ohio -- When students hear the phrase "war on drugs," they may think of large-scale narcotic sting operations or government deterrence programs. What students may not realize is how the war on drugs can single out first-time drug offenders and deny them the opportunity to receive federal student aid for college. This is exactly what the newest amendment to the more than 30-year-old Higher Education Act does. The provision, which went into effect July 1 and is sponsored by Congressman Mark Souder, R-Ind., prohibits the financial aid applicant from being eligible for aid for one year from the date of a drug conviction. A second conviction results in no aid for two years and a third eliminates all chances for future aid. "Taxpayers have a right to know that students who have a drug-abuse problem aren't using tax dollars to go through school," Souder said in an October Rolling Stone interview. [continues 643 words]
A law that denies federal college financial aid to applicants convicted of drug crimes is igniting a nationwide campus movement urging reforms in the nation's drug policy. Meanwhile, as college-bound students gear up this month to apply for financial aid for the fall, U.S. Education Department officials hope to avoid repeating last year's applications mess, in which 810,000 of the more than 9 million aid applicants left the controversial drug question unanswered. Most applicants either forgot to fill it in or didn't understand it, Education Department officials say. But they also suspect that a small percentage of applications were incomplete as part of an organized protest against the law. They also worry that some students may have lied. [continues 667 words]
On Campuses Across The Country, Opposition To Government Drug Policy Heats Up Say you're a student who needs help paying for college. You order the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) from the Department of Education and start answering the 104 questions. On Question 28, a curveball: "If you have never been convicted of any illegal-drug offense, enter 'I' in the box and go to Question 29:" No convictions, you mark the box and move on. But anyone who has been convicted in an adult court of possessing or selling drugs, misdemeanor or felony, might need to find another way to pay for school. [continues 1849 words]
Query Seeks To Make Those Convicted Of Drug Offenses Ineligible For Aid To judge by the numbers, Question 28 on the federal financial aid application has had little impact on the millions of students seeking money for college - 1,140 of nearly 8 million applicants were denied aid because of it this year. But that question - which asks whether a student has been convicted of any drug-related offense - is drawing an indignant response from some campus administrators and student groups who view the provision as punitive. [continues 623 words]
It's not all quiet on the newest front in the war against drugs, but most of the noise so far is political pyrotechnics. U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., who wants to use the federal college financial aid system as a radar net against the narcotics movement, is irked by the early results. He wants more bang from the U.S. Department of Education, which concedes it produced a confusing form for students to use to list their drug convictions and open themselves to loss of eligibility for federal assistance for varying periods. [continues 643 words]
Beginning July 1, changes to the Federal Higher Education Act will take effect, altering the process by which students apply for financial aid. Initially passed in 1998, the act contains a provision that makes a clean drug record a condition for granting financial aid. Previously, the question about drug convictions on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form was optional. Now, under the new law, a response is mandatory. Students with a single conviction for a drug related offense are subject to having their aid suspended for one year. The second offense results in a two-year suspension of aid, and the third conviction causes aid to be suspended indefinitely. [continues 607 words]
When faced with question 28, "Have you been convicted of a drug offense?" on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), many students skipped it in confusion. What many college students do not know is that the answer to this question can determine wherther they will attend college or not. In an effort to curb drug use, Congress passed the Higher Education Act of 1998, which in part states any student convicted of a drug offense will not receive federal aid for college. [continues 460 words]
WASHINGTON - More than 100,000 applicants for federal college aid in the coming school year didn't answer a question about whether they recently have been convicted of drug crimes. Few of the students were tying to hide a conviction, federal and college officials said Wednesday. Instead, most of the one-fifth of the first 500,000 applicants who left the answer blank on their aid applications were confused, they said. So many skipped the new question that the Education Department has decided to let colleges promise federal grants or loans to students who didn't answer it. [continues 331 words]
WASHINGTON - More than 100,000 applicants for federal college aid in the coming school year didn't answer a question about whether they had been convicted recently of drug crimes. Few of the students were trying to hide a conviction, federal and college officials said Wednesday. Instead, most applicants who left the answer blank on their aid applications were confused, they said. So many skipped the new question that the Education Department has decided to let colleges promise federal grants or loans to students who didn't answer it. [continues 230 words]
An Open Letter To President Al Bloom Dear President Bloom, Earlier in this week, you announced that Swarthmore College, through its athletic teams, would "...support the NAACP boycott of South Carolina over the issue of the continued display of the Confederate flag." We believe that this is a valuable statement of intolerance for an antiquated inflammatory symbol, and with the help of similar actions by other institutions it can bring about a sensible action by the people and government of South Carolina. [continues 498 words]
College students filling out their federal financial aid forms this month must disclose for the first time whether or not they've been convicted of drug possession or sale, crimes that could bar them from receiving money. The measure designed to withhold federal grants, loans and other money from college students with drug convictions takes effect for the 2000-2001 school year, beginning July 1. The new regulation was contained in a 1998 bill that reauthorized higher education spending. Most students are just finding out about question 28 on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and its costly consequences for convicted drug offenders. Claretta Webb, president of the student senate at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, said students already penalized in the court system face an unfair second round of sanctions by education officials. ``These people are trying to go to school now to do something productive,'' said Webb. ``You're taking away an honest way for them to better themselves. You might end up backing them into the same corner they were in before.'' Holly Bradford, a graduate student at Lesley College, said she's a prime example of what the chance to attend college can do for a convicted drug felon and former addict. [continues 290 words]
I received my renewal FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) in the mail this week. I only had to update last year's information and answer a couple of new questions. It seemed simple enough. I flew through the first 27 questions like it was one of my Spanish textbooks: half skimming, half daydreaming, but I was certain that I was doing it correctly. I jumped to Question 28: "Drug Conviction Eligibility?" Ehhh? Drug conviction eligibility? It seems that our federal student aid programs have decided to make our student loans contingent on our lack of convictions. [continues 156 words]
The federal government has created a financial and educational pit-fall for some students. A new federal rule will withhold financial aid from students who have prior drug convictions. The enforcement of this rule, however, relies on students voluntarily admitting prior convictions on the federal application, and thus putting their higher education at risk. "If students lie on their application, and I find out, we will refer them to the inspector general for fraud and abuse," said CU's Associate Director of Financial Aid Bob Collins. "That leads to fines and jail time." [continues 633 words]
Editorial Board Collegiate Times Campuses across the nation are joining the efforts of a non-profit organization in hopes of repealing a federal law which mandates a person convicted of any drug offense loses his eligibility to receive federal financial aid for school. Students at more than 100 universities have joined forces with the Drug Reform Coordination Network to repeal this law, which was adopted in October 1998. This law has the potential to cause many problems down the road if it is allowed to stay in the legal system. [continues 420 words]
