cannabisnews.com: Students With Drug Convictions Will Soon Be Denied





Students With Drug Convictions Will Soon Be Denied
Posted by FoM on November 02, 1999 at 07:13:45 PT
By Karla Y. Pleitez, Daily Bruin
Source: U-Wire
A new rule from the U.S. Department of Education will require students applying for federal financial aid to disclose any prior drug convictions. 
Scheduled to go into effect July 2001, the policy will deny federal financial aid - including the Pell grant, the Stafford and Perkins loans and work study - to students who admit prior drug convictions. The restriction will have dramatic effects for students, according to education experts and financial aid administrators. "UCLA students will definitely be affected because not everybody comes here as a full-fledged saint," said James Trent, associate professor of education. The rule has undergone many modifications since its first proposal in July. It was met with controversy from financial aid administrators who do not want to be considered responsible for policing the process. The aid restriction was part of the Higher Education Act, which Congress reauthorized last year. The new version of the rule states that institutions will not be required to question students regarding any drug-related matters. Students will have the responsibility of self-identification, which means the student is supposed to indicate any convictions of drug-related activity on the application for financial aid. Some financial aid administrators say the rule isn't well planned and won't succeed in making a significant difference in cutting student financial aid. "In a way the bill is ridiculous, because I do not understand why a student would self-identify himself, knowing the consequences," said Ronald Johnson, director of UCLA's financial aid office. The U.S. Education Department, however, is confident that students applying for aid will identify themselves because they may be randomly chosen to undergo a verification process when applying. If caught lying on the application, students will lose financial aid privileges. Financial aid administrators are making it clear that determining who should be disqualified from receiving federal financial assistance will not be their responsibility. "The concern of the financial aid office was that we would have to police this process, but the bill is less intrusive than the original plan," Johnson said. Under the rule, students convicted with a first offense for drug use will lose financial aid privileges for a year. Those caught a second time will lose privileges for two years. If the student is again convicted of drug possession, all financial aid privileges will be lost. The rule also states that students who are convicted for dealing drugs more than once will indefinitely lose the right to receive financial aid. The new regulation has also received criticism for unfairly targeting a very specific community. "This is not the way to fight the war on drugs," Johnson said. "These students are here because they want to do something with their lives." Conversely, proponents of the rule say students who receive federal assistance to go to college should not be using it to purchase drugs. Some economists argue that in a world of scarcity, financial aid is also a limited resource. "Resources are scarce and we have to choose who to give this scarce aid to," said William Allen, UCLA professor of economics . "The government gives aid to people who will generate and be productive; we don't want to subsidize people that are slobs," he added. While some economists support the rule because it will more efficiently appropriate financial aid, educators have a different perspective.They argue that the restriction will have a negative effect on the poor and minorities. "Some minorities tend to come from a lower socio-economic level and have been forced into lifestyles that they want to escape," Trent said. "Furthermore, these students want to make something of themselves after having been in an awful environment. It would be unjust to push them down when they are ready to be productive members of society," Trent added. November 1, 1999 (C) 1999 Daily Bruin via U-WIRE Related Articles & Web Site:Students For Sensible Drug Policyhttp://www.ssdp.org/No Loans for Student Drug Offenders - 10/25/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3419.shtmlColumn: New Financial Aid Policy an Injustice - 10/24/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3399.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by Artemus Brown on June 07, 2001 at 01:22:23 PT:
Whats going on here!
Please tell me what I need to do, to voice my opinion about this subject. This is not right at all, are we really getting to the point of no return.
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Comment #5 posted by JOHNBAR1 on April 24, 2001 at 15:12:07 PT:
BUSTED
Hey everyonyone my name is john and i have just been severly done for using cannabis wont go in to it but i am being prosecuted for AN ALLEGATION INTO CONSPIRACEY TO SUPPLY WHICH I DONT DO!!! But this is my first offence. now that is a bit harsh so what i want to know is why the law, goverment and the politicians are cracking down on the users of cannabis.hey i am not a bad person AND I DONT SELL DRUGS. THANX!  JOHNBAR1 ANOTHER.COM
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Comment #4 posted by J Bills on November 02, 1999 at 14:24:11 PT:
George Soros help us!
I see dangerous times ahead when the government starts acting like Hitler did toward the Jewish people. First, slowly deny him the benefits required to become a force in government, then...?
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 02, 1999 at 12:52:22 PT
Working Link
The link didn't work in the article so I'm posting it here.Opps Sorry.http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/q28/
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 02, 1999 at 12:46:16 PT:
Drug Convictions To Result In Withholding Financia
Drug Convictions To Result In Withholding Financial AidBy AMANDA HILLColorado Daily Staff WriterTuesday, November 2, 1999http://www.codaily.com/  The federal government has created a financial and educational pit-fall for some students. A new federal rule will withhold financial aid from students who have prior drug convictions. The enforcement of this rule, however, relies on students voluntarily admitting prior convictions on the federal application, and thus putting their higher education at risk."If students lie on their application, and I find out, we will refer them to the inspector general for fraud and abuse," said CU's Associate Director of Financial Aid Bob Collins. "That leads to fines and jail time."The rule, which was originally amended to the Higher Education Act in 1998, but recently clarified by the Department of Education, adds to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid a question regarding the number of drug-related convictions a student has had.Question 28 reads: "If you have never been convicted of any illegal drug offense, enter '1' in the box and go to question 29. A drug-related conviction does not necessarily make you ineligible for aid; call 1-800-433-3243 or go to http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/q28/to find out how to fill out this question.""It's a very reactive approach," said UCSU Tri-Exec Dan Pabon. "Our system is known for being reactive ... A lot of times, this doesn't work. It's double jeopardy -- punished once, then twice."Technically, the federal government is responsible for checking a students criminal history, not the college. The government, however, does not do official background checks on applicants. Collins tries to deters students from lying on their application with the firm contention that the financial aid office does random checks on the applications."We're a part of the quality assurance program," said Collins. "We do a thorough analysis of about 300 FAFSA applications a year. If we find an error, we correct it. If it was blatant disregard, we refer them to the inspector general for fraud and abuse. We have to check to be a part of the federal financial aid program."Students who have been already convicted, and thus punished for a drug-related crime, will have their chance for a college education taken away, or at least delayed for a year, despite the fact that they have already been held accountable by the government for their prior actions.Although the language of the rule mentions specific time frames on convictions, if a student has been convicted at any point in their life on drug-related charges, they must face the music yet again.The FAFSA Web site specifically mentions time periods for which aid will be withheld based on the severity of the conviction. If a student has a single conviction of drug possession, the aid will not be available for one year from the date of the conviction. At two convictions of possession, the aid will be withheld for two years. On a third conviction, the aid will be unavailable "indefinitely."If a student was convicted of selling drugs, the aid will be withheld for two years from the date of the conviction. On the second conviction, it will be withheld, again, "indefinitely."In the Department of Educations recent clarification, the term "indefinite" is specified as "permanent" unless a student completes an approved drug-rehabilitation program.According to the new rule, the federal government will give students the option of regaining eligibility by completing an approved drug-rehabilitation program. This, however, comes at a huge financial burden for students already in need of financial aid.The Harmony House, a rehabilitation program in Estes Park, has a 28-day residential program that costs $8890.Compare that figure to the $1,222 it costs for a semester at CU in the college of Arts and Sciences (not including student fees). A student already in need of financial aid is in a monetary bind.According to a staff member at Parker Valley Hope, another rehabilitation center in Colorado, their $8,000 fee is a relatively low figure for rehab centers."Say someone has turned their life around, this is double jeopardy," said Pabon. "I'm not sure if this is the right way to go."The new rule will not be in effect until July 1, 2000. Applications for financial aid in the next school year will not contain Question 28. 
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Comment #1 posted by Doug A on November 02, 1999 at 07:34:27 PT:
Shame on Big Government
>"The government gives aid to people who will generate and be productive; we don't want to subsidize people that are slobs," he added.The real slobs are politicians who create a societal problem with unjustified prohibition laws, then kick sand in the faces of those who are trying their best to make a move to productive society.Yet another attempt by big government to brand drug users for life and keep them in the gutters so they can justify continuing the prohibition status-quo.
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