Representative Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, and 38 co-sponsors reintroduced a bill last week to revoke the Higher Education Drug Provision, which denies federal financial aid to students who have been convicted of drug offenses.
Government technicalities are responsible for about 100,000 college students being denied access to aid because of prior drug offenses, Frank said.
‘This problem is much more serious than we anticipated, and something must be done,’ he said.
According to the law, effective in 2000, students can only restore eligibility for aid by completing a drug rehabilitation program.
The law is discriminatory, Frank said, essentially punishing students for the same offense twice, in that they are punished by serving jail time and are robbed of a proper education after serving their time.
Frank said he is confident the repeal will be successful.
‘We have many groups behind us that support us in our cause,’ he said. ‘We don’t have much standing in our way.’
A main ally with Frank’s proposal is the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform (CHEAR). Ben Gaines, coordinator for CHEAR, said he is grateful for congressional support for his organization’s cause.
‘We have been working toward the goal of repealing this act for years, and now we have a representative, a man of power, who shares in our views,’ he said. ‘It seems like now our voices can finally be heard.’
Another one of the groups allied with Frank and his cause is Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a national organization dedicated to finding alternatives to drug problems.
Shawn Heller, national director of SSDP, said in a press release that the group plans to hold congressional visits and rallies at colleges to educate the public on the ‘harmful impacts of this drug provision.’
‘This is a game of persuasion,’ Frank said. ‘If we can convince Congress that repealing this act will better the situation of students, which statistics show it will, then we should be okay. It all depends on how they see things.’
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights also is playing an active role in the termination of this law, according to a statement released by Wade Henderson, its executive director.
‘There is clear evidence to suggest that because of racial profiling and other forms of discrimination in the criminal justice system, blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately targeted, arrested, and convicted of drug offenses,’ he said in the statement. ‘Therefore, a policy that denies financial aid to people with drug convictions has a racially discriminatory impact, and the discriminatory denial of equal educational opportunities to minority students is preposterous.’
Gaines said he admired Frank’s stance on the issue.
‘Frank is taking a chance in pursuing this goal, but it is a risk worth taking,’ he said. ‘He knows how devastating it has been for college students who have abided by the law and served their time … to have every other opportunity taken from them as well, simply isn’t justice.’