Convictions for drugs cost financial aid

Donna Leinwand USA Today Apr. 17, 2006 12:00 AM

WASHINGTON - One in every 400 students applying for federal financial aid for college is rejected because of a drug conviction, an analysis of Department of Education numbers by a drug-policy overhaul group found.

A study to be released today by Students for Sensible Drug Policy says 189,065 people have been turned down for financial aid since the federal government added a drug conviction question to the financial-aid form in the 2000-01 school year.

A September report from the Government Accountability Office shows that in the 2003-04 academic year, 41,000 applicants for student aid were disqualified because of drug convictions.

A student can regain eligibility by completing a rehabilitation program that includes random drug tests.

"In the majority of cases, students retain their eligibility," a Education Department spokeswoman said.

The aid analysis, compiled by the student group from data released last week by the Department of Education, notes that Indiana has the highest percentage of rejections, with one in 200 students denied financial aid because of drug convictions.

Indiana Rep. Mark Souder, a Republican and author of the bull, says it makes no difference how the states rank.

"The principle remains the same: the American taxpayer should not be subsidizing the educations of those students who are convicted of dealing or using illegal drugs," Souder said in a statement provided Sunday.

Others above the average are Oregon, California, Washington, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Connecticut, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Iowa and Alaska.