Despite Setback, Coalition Fights Law Barring Aid to Students with Drug Convictions
 

A coalition of 240 health, education, criminal-justice and student groups is working to repeal a federal law that bars students with drug convictions on their records from receiving federal education aid.

On July 21, a U.S. House of Representatives committee rebuffed an attempt to repeal the drug provision in the Higher Education Act (HEA). But the House version of the HEA reauthorization bill does include a measure sponsored by Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) that applies the drug penalty only to drug offenders who are currently in school, rather than retroactively to students with any lifetime drug conviction on their record.

Advocacy groups like Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) view the Souder measure as a step in the right direction, but plan to continue to push for full repeal of the HEA drug provision. "We certainly welcome the change that will reinstate money to some students, but tens of thousands will be left behind," said Tom Angell, communications director for SSDP. "It still doesn't make sense to yank students out of school in an attempt to reduce drug abuse."

Repeal Resoundingly Rejected

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce voted 29-18 against an amendment to the HEA proposed by Reps. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), and Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) that would have deleted language in the law -- written by Souder back in 1998 and in effect since 2000 -- that calls for "a student who is convicted of any offense under any Federal or State law involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance for conduct that occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving any grant, loan, or work assistance under this title shall, upon the order of the court imposing such conviction, not be eligible to receive any grant, loan, or work assistance" from the federal government.

The House vote was the first in either chamber of Congress on a proposal for full repeal of the drug provision; Souder's amending language was attached to multiple pieces of legislation last year, but failed to pass.

Souder has said that the U.S. Department of Education has misinterpreted the 1998 legislation, stating that the "provision was clearly meant to apply only to students convicted of drug crimes while receiving financial aid, not to applicants who may have had drug convictions in years past." The House has adopted language proposed by the Indiana Republican to clarify the intent of the law. But Souder actively worked against the repeal initiative, and ultimately all 26 of his GOP committee colleagues (and two committee Democrats) chose Souder's revision over that proposed by Davis, Andrews, and Kucinich.

Seeking Support in Senate

But the fight over the student-aid provision is far from over, said Angell. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has yet to mark up its version of the HEA reauthorization bill, and although no sponsors have yet been lined up to introduce or support a repeal amendment, Angell said advocates "think we have a much better chance" of getting the Senate to delete the drug-penalty language from the HEA. If that happened, the Senate and House would then have to work out the differences in their bills during conference committee meetings.

Souder and other repeal opponents argue that the HEA drug provisions provide a deterrent to student drug use, denies federal aid to those who spend money on drugs while in school, and provides student drug users an incentive to get treatment in order to have their federal aid restored.

But Angell counters that the bottom line for aid should remain whether students maintain the grade-point average required to qualify for federal assistance. "Drug use should be irrelevant to whether they get financial aid," he said.

The coalition supporting repeal also includes Join Together, Faces and Voices for Recovery (FAVOR), and the Legal Action Center. FAVOR campaign coordinator Patricia Taylor, whose group sent out an action alert urging members to contact their Representatives in support of repealing the HEA drug provision, said FAVOR views the financial-aid issue as part of a broader campaign to fight policies that discriminate against people with addictions.

"This is a perfect example of the kinds of barriers that people in recovery face in getting on with their lives," she said.

Taylor added that even having the drug question on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form "presents a real barrier" to people in recovery, who may be reluctant to apply for aid because of their past drug history, regardless of the intent of the Souder law.

Congress' own Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance also recommended earlier this year that the question about past drug convictions (along with another on draft registration) be deleted from the FAFSA. "These questions add complexity to the form and can deter some students from applying for financial aid," wrote the committee, terming the questions "irrelevant." (for a PDF of the committee report, click here.)