• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Photo

Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., has introduced legislation that would repeal a law barring convicted drug offenders from receiving financial aid.

“I don’t condone illegal drug use,” Frank said in a press release, “but in my opinion it is a mistake to use the student financial aid system as a blanket method of punishing people who are convicted of minor drug violations.”

Under the current law, mandated by the Higher Education Act’s drug provision, convicted students over age 18 are ineligible for aid for one year from the time of conviction for their first offense. The penalty escalates with the number of convictions, but can be reduced if the student completes an approved drug rehabilitation program.

According to Department of Education figures, more than 29,000 students were prevented from getting financial aid in 2002.

“Several dozen students have come to our office because of this problem,” said Liz Kemper, director of Student Legal Services.

The UCLA financial aid office has alternate ways of financing students affected.

“UCLA has taken the position that if students demonstrating financial need are barred from federal financial aid because of a controlled substance conviction, UCLA will work to provide non-federal funding for them,” said Ronald Johnson, director of the UCLA Financial Aid Office.

“We do not feel that it is appropriate to tie financial aid to drug convictions,” Johnson said.

Student Legal Services also offers legal consulting for students facing drug charges and a drug rehabilitation program, offering convicted students the potential of regaining financial aid eligibility earlier than mandated.

Opponents of the HEA Drug Provision claim that it is discriminatory against the people that need financial aid the most.

“I think it sends the wrong signal when we make it harder for lower income students who have been convicted of minor drug possession crimes,” Frank said.

In addition to Frank, 39 representatives co-sponsored the bill, including Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), UCLA’s voice in Congress.

Some supporters of Congressman Frank’s bill argue that the HEA Drug Provision unproportionately hurts minorities.

“There is clear evidence to suggest that because of racial profiling and other forms of discrimination in the criminal justice system, blacks and hispanics are disproportionately targeted, arrested, and convicted of drug offenses,” said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

Organizations including the ACLU, NAACP, National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and over 100 student governments including UC San Diego and UC Berkeley support repealing the HEA Drug Provision.

UCLA’s student government has not yet passed a resolution taking a position on the HEA Drug Provision, but USAC President David Dahle says that the issue will be put on the agenda for discussion in the near future.

Members of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, including representatives from UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, are planning a nationwide event April 10 to educate students about the HEA.

Not everyone is in favor of repealing the HEA Drug Provision, however.

Opponents of Frank’s bill include Congressman Mark Souder (R-Ind.), who sponsored the HEA Drug Provision in 1998.

According to Souder’s press secretary, Seth Becker, Souder feels the drug provision is important, and is opposed to a repeal of it.

“The federal government has every right to set conditions on aid; an obligation of you receiving financial aid is that you follow the law,” Becker said.

Ben Gaines of the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform said, “While the mainstream of the Democratic party is behind the Rep. Frank’s bill, it’s going to be an uphill battle to get this passed; it will require Republican support.”