As college students around the country prepare for this semester's midterms, thousands of their would-be classmates don't have anything to study for because of a federal law that strips financial aid from people with drug convictions.
The policy is currently being reconsidered as Congress renews the Higher Education Act for the first time in seven years. While the HEA was originally enacted in 1965 to make higher education more accessible and affordable for all Americans, the Drug Provision - added during the 1998 HEA reauthorization - is an unjustifiable roadblock in the path to college. Over the past seven years, more than 175,000 students have lost their financial aid because of the HEA drug provision.
Every student affected by this law has already gone through the courts. Taking away their financial aid punishes them twice for the same crime. Drug crimes are the only infractions that students lose aid for - murderers and rapists are still eligible. And because of racial profiling and the discriminatory enforcement of drug laws, the policy disproportionately keeps people of color out of college.
Last month, Congress's own researchers at the Government Accountability Office were unable to find any evidence the provision actually reduces drug abuse. In fact, other federal studies show that high school graduates not attending college are far more likely to use drugs than those in college.
Besides worsening our nation's drug problems and victimizing students who are trying to turn their lives around with a college education, this law hurts America's economic productivity and makes our streets more dangerous.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
