DRUG CONVICTION STATISTICS FOR FINANCIAL AID
ELIGIBILITY A new question on the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid asks students if they’ve ever been convicted of
drug possession or trafficking. An affirmative response could make
the student ineligible for federal financial aid.
8,664,035 Total number of FAFSA applications
processed nationwide. 7,863,081 (91%) Total number
of students who qualified for financial aid under the new drug
conviction provision. 5,675 (0.07%) Total number
of partially eligible students. 1,327 (0.02%)
Total number of students ineligible for financial aid under the new
law. 793,952 (9%) Students who left the drug
history question blank. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
Original by VICTOR CHEN Web Adaptation by MIKE OUYANG
By Scott B. Wong
Daily Bruin Contributor
A federal drug conviction provision has left more than 7,000
students with either partial or no government assistance this
academic year.
The provision, which denies federal financial aid to students
recently convicted of possessing or selling drugs, is under heavy
attack by students, school administrators and other advocacy
groups.
“We loathe it. We opposed it from the beginning,”
said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
“It’s a terrific example of skewing mainstream
American values to meet the twisted ends of a misguided war on
drugs,” he continued.
Under the drug provision, which Congress included in amendments
to the Higher Education Act of 1998, applicants may be ineligible
for financial aid if they have more than two convictions for
possession or more than one conviction for selling drugs.
Students may regain their eligibility by entering and completing
a drug rehabilitation program that includes two unannounced drug
tests, or by having the conviction reversed.
For some students, losing financial aid due to a drug violation
could mean the end of their education.
“I would have to drop out of school because I am dependent
on financial aid,” said Bernardo Castro, a first-year
chemical-engineering student. “I would have to depend on my
parents and get a full-time job.”
As of Oct. 22, the U.S. Department of Education reported that
more than 8.6 million students had applied for financial aid,
according to Joe Aiello, media relations director for Student
Financial Assistance at the department.
He said 91 percent of those applicants were fully eligible for
federal aid under the new drug provision, while only .07 percent,
or 5,675 applicants, were partially eligible. Those eligible for
partial aid may gain full eligibility one to two years after their
last conviction or if they complete a drug program.
Less than 1 percent, or 1,327 students, were ineligible because
of recent drug convictions.
Despite relatively low ineligibility figures reported by the
Department, St. Pierre believes the provision unfairly targets only
those with a drug conviction.
“Most undergraduates are under 21,” he said.
“It is illegal for them to drink alcohol, but under the law
they can drink from a funnel and still receive financial aid.
“You can be a murderer, rapist, arsonist and commit
violent acts and still qualify for financial aid,” he
said.
A UCLA student receiving financial aid said the provision is
biased toward a select group of students.
“If you pick out one group, then you should pick out the
whole range of offenders,” said Mike Pacheco, a third-year
political science student.
“They should change this question on the application to
“˜Have you ever been convicted of a felony or
misdemeanor?'”
According to Nick Valdivia, assistant director at the Financial
Aid Office, UCLA provides 20,000 students with financial aid. He
added that few at the university are affected by this law.
“The department is very lax in enforcing the law and, in
my personal opinion, it shows that they’re not in support of
it,” Valdivia said.
Because this is the first year of the new provision, the
Department of Education is allowing students to rescind their
answer to the drug-conviction question, he said.
Thirty-three UCLA students who admitted to a recent drug
conviction on the application have now changed their answers, and
currently no UCLA students have been denied financial assistance
due to drug charges, Valdivia said.
“The law is based on self-reporting and there is no way to
check if the student has truthfully reported the
drug-conviction,” he said. “Schools are not required by
law to follow up with each of those students.”
But the U.S. Department of Justice is currently working with the
Department of Education and randomly conducts checks on some
applicants, Aiello said.
Of the original 8.6 million applicants, 9 percent left the drug
history section blank on the Free Application for Federal Student
Aid, Aiello said. The law does not state that aid will be revoked
if the applicant fails to answer the drug history question.
As a result, the department is attempting to contact all
students who did not respond and inquiring about their drug
history.
Also, the 2001 FAFSA drug history question has been restated to
avoid further confusion, Aiello said.
“It has been changed to a simple yes or no question and in
bold letters states, “˜Do not leave this question
blank,'” he said.
One student receiving federal aid said she understands the
reasoning behind the law, but feels federal assistance should be an
equal opportunity for all students.
“I understand why they’re doing it ““
they’re narrowing down the applicants,” said Monica
Valdivia, a fourth-year psychology student. “But financial
aid should be available to everyone.”
Another student on financial aid said the law was imposing too
strong of a sentence on those who had already suffered the
consequences of their actions.
“They paid for it already by either serving time, paying a
fine or doing community service,” said Eugene Acosta, a
fifth-year psychology student. “Why pay for it again in
college?”