Bush's Education Secretary Is Aiming To Take The High Out Of Higher Education -- By Cutting Off Financial Aid To Convicted Drug Users.

Tens of thousands of American students may be denied federal financial assistance this year, as the Bush administration steps up enforcement of a 1998 law barring aid to applicants with past drug convictions (see our story Smoke a Joint, Lose Your Loan).

Last year only 8,620 students were denied assistance after admitting to a drug conviction on their aid applications. Another 300,000 left the "drug question" unanswered, but had their forms processed anyway. This year, however, the Education Department has announced that failing to answer the question will result in a rejected application. So far, with nearly 4 million applications processed out of an expected total of 10 million, almost 15,000 students have left the question unanswered, and some 27,000 have admitted to a drug offense.

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