Higher
Education
Act
Reform
Campaign
Update
2/25/00
The Higher Education Act Reform Campaign kicks back into high gear this month, as students nationwide have begun filling out financial aid forms. For the first time ever, this year's forms ask applicants if they have ever been convicted of a drug offense. This question (#28 on the form) represents the practical application of the drug provision of the Higher Education Act of 1998 (HEA). The provision denies or delays all federal financial aid eligibility to any student, for any drug conviction. A bill, H.R. 1053, sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), would overturn the drug provision and return discretion to judges in individual cases. To contact your legislators, visit http://www.raiseyourvoice.com and urge them to cosponsor the bill. In March, MTV will be doing a feature on the HEA drug provision and the reform campaign, and this week, a piece on the HEA campaign went up on their campaign coverage web site at http://www.chooseorlose.com. DRCNet, as the coordinating organization of the Coalition for HEA Reform, is circulating a sign-on letter for educators and administrators. Educators around the country are asked to consider adding their name to this important petition. The coalition hopes to present the letter to Congress before the law officially takes effect on July 1, 2000. To download a copy of the letter, visit http://www.u-net.org. Taking the lead for HEA reform on campuses is Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). This week, SSDP Swarthmore published an open letter in their student newspaper, The Phoenix, urging their college president to sign-on to the educators' letter. Students on other campuses are gathering signatures, calling on their student governments to oppose the new law, and approaching faculty and administrators for their support. To find out more about SSDP, or to learn how to start a chapter on your campus, visit http://www.ssdp.org. This week, the Department of Education has indicated that nearly 20% of completed financial aid forms are being returned with Question 28 (have you ever been convicted of a drug offense?) blank. (A copy of the page is online at http://www.drcnet.org/fafsa28.pdf.) Beginning in March, students who failed to answer the question will receive the following written instructions: "You left Item 28 blank. IF YOU HAVE A DRUG CONVICTION, you MUST answer Item 28. Your failure to accurately answer this question could result in legal action against you by the US Government. Use the enclosed worksheet to determine your answer to this question. Then correct Part 2 of your Student Aid Report, sign it, and submit it." By targeting financial aid, the new law imposes a secondary penalty on poor or working-class drug offenders who are trying to improve their lives through education. Wealthier students who do not depend upon student aid for their education will be unaffected. Finally, selective enforcement of the drug laws insures that the provision will have a disproportionate impact on people of color. African-Americans, for example, comprise 13% of the population and 13% of all drug users, but comprise 34% of those arrested and 55% of those convicted of drug offenses. PLEASE VISIT http://www.raiseyourvoice.com AND URGE YOUR LEGISLATORS TO REPEAL THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT DRUG PROVISION.
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