They canÂ’t get federal financial aid because of their crimes.

One in every 400 students applying for federal financial aid for college is rejected because of a drug conviction, an analysis of Department of Education numbers by a drug policy overhaul group found.

A study to be released today by Students for Sensible Drug Policy says 189,065 people have been turned down for financial aid since the federal government added a drug conviction question to the financial aid form in the 2000-01 school year.

A September report from the Government Accountability Office shows that in the 2003-04 academic year, about 41,000 applicants for federal student aid were disqualified because of drug convictions.

A student can regain eligibility, however, by completing a rehabilitation program that includes random drug tests.

“In the majority of cases, students retain their eligibility,” Education Department spokeswoman Valerie Smith says.

The aid analysis, compiled by the student group from data released last week by the Department of Education, notes that Indiana has the highest percentage of rejections, with one in 200 students denied financial aid because of drug convictions.

Indiana Rep. Mark Souder, a Republican and the author of the legislation, says it makes no difference how the states rank.

“The principle remains the same: the American taxpayer should not be subsidizing the educations of those students who are convicted of dealing or using illegal drugs,” Souder said in a statement provided Sunday.

The ACLU, of course, has filed suit to overturn the law on the basis that it is the only offense for which such a restriction exists (not true – failure to register for the draft is also a disqualifier). If this challenge succeeds, I hope Congress does the right thing and expands the law to deny government aid to ALL convicted felons.

Posted by: Greg at 11:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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