The HEA Cheers Up

BY ARIANNA CASSIDY

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ON MARCH 9, 2005, Congressman Frank Barney (D-Massachusetts) introduced a bill to repeal the Drug Provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The bill, known as the Removing Impediments to Student's Education (RISE) Act, aims to lift a law that revokes federal financial aid from students who have been convicted of drug offenses.

Not That Kind Of High

The Higher Education Act, passed November 8, 1965, aimed to strengthen the educational resources of our colleges and universities and provide financial assistance for students in higher education. Amendments to this act created such well-known sources of student aid as the Federal Pell Grants, academic achievement incentive scholarships and work-study programs. The HEA also served as the basis for policies designed to assess student need and eligibility for financial aid.

In 1998, Congressman Mark Souder (R-Indiana) added a provision barring any student convicted of any drug-related crime from receiving federal aid. Souder's amendment states: "A student who has been convicted of any offense under any Federal or State law involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance shall not be eligible to receive any grant, loan, or work assistance under this title during the period beginning on the date of such conviction and ending after the interval specified." Since the provision took effect in July 2000, the period of ineligibility has measured one year for first-time offenders, two years for second-time offenders, and an indefinite time period for third-time offenders. According to the provision, the only means-conviction reversals aside-to shorten the requisite sentence is to pass a rehabilitation program, which includes two unannounced drug tests.

The provision, however, bore unexpected consequences. Since its passage, a new question has appeared on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) asking applicants if they have been convicted of a drug offense. According to a January 24, 2005 press release from the Coalition for Higher Education Reform (CHEAR), "Since this question was added to the FAFSA.it has led to over 157,000 students being denied financial aid." CHEAR claims that those students who have been denied aid have gone on to drop out of school or reduce course loads to lower tuition.

Call To Arms

Congressman Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) has led efforts to repeal the Drug Provision since its passage. In a press release dated February 28, 2001, Frank declared, "Someone who commits murder or armed robbery is not automatically barred from financial aid eligibility but if you have even one non-violent drug conviction you can't get any aid for a year, with longer bans for people with additional convictions." While Frank agrees that a "major dealer" or a person involved in "multiple violent drug offenses" should certainly be ineligible for federal aid, the government should be able to differentiate among cases according to the severity of the crimes and the offender's intent to reform. The government, Frank argues, should exercise discretion.

According to CHEAR the fight to repeal the provision has gained support from almost two hundred organizations nationwide, including the National Education Association, the United States Student Association, the NAACP and the American Council on Education. These groups argue that the provision unfairly targets students belonging to lower socio-economic brackets-the very students for whom the HEA was first created, and among whom drug offenses are more common-and, in effect, punishes these students twice. Studies in fact suggest drastically lowered rates of repeated criminal offenses among those with higher levels of education.

The RISE Act has gained notable support in the House-as of last session there were 70 co-sponsors to the act. A corresponding bill has yet to materialize in the Senate.

Arianna Cassidy B'05 aces all her drug tests.

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