Drug Law Turns Students Down For Financial Aid

Alicia Sage

Staff Writer

Many students won’t be joining their peers on campus this year as they had originally planned. A law which prohibits some students from receiving financial aid they’ve earned is generating lawsuits, protests, and student support groups all over the country.

Part of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the law was previously ignored during the Clinton presidency, and began being enforced in 2000 under the Bush administration.

Organizations like the Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) say the law is unfair and punishes young people. Kris Krane, the SSDP’s executive director, claims it was created to protect people, but all it can do is harm.

The law is used in a question which is part of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. It states that students are suspended for eligibility for student aid if they are caught in possession or in sale of illegal drugs. The law excludes alcohol and tobacco.

For a first offense for possession, the student loses their financial aid and the possibility for eligibility for a year. For the second possession offense, the punishment is two years, and the third offense is indefinite suspension.

If a student is caught selling a controlled substance, the first offense is two years probation, with the second offense being indefinite suspension. With both situations, a suitable drug rehabilitation program can be used to shorten the overall time and prime the student for re-eligibility.

The law makes it hard for students to get back into school after losing their money and help, but keeps the playing field even. It removes the students who the sponsors don’t wish to give money to and support. Just as athletes lose their sponsors if they are caught fighting or doing illegal drugs, these students lose their money temporarily for doing activities to which the corporations don’t wish to give aid.