Federal Report Shows Effects of Drug Law.

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Author: Field, Kelly

Thousands of drug offenders were denied federal student aid each year from 2001 to 2004, according to estimates in a report published last week by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

The report examined the effects of a federal law that bars convicted drug offenders from receiving federal student aid. It found that 17,000 to 23,000 students were disqualified from receiving Pell Grants in each of the four academic years, and that 29,000 to 41,000 were denied federal student loans.

That amounts to $41-million to $54-million in Pell Grants each year and $100-million to $164-million in student loans.

What is less clear, the report says, is whether the law has actually discouraged drug use. The accountability office was unable to locate studies of whether the law has had a deterrent effect, or whether it has led students to delay or to forgo a post-secondary education.

Similarly, the office was unable to determine whether the law has disproportionately affected minority students, because the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which the government uses to collect information about drug convictions, does not ask about applicants' race.

The report (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05238.pdf) was requested by Reps. Robert C. Scott of Virginia and Bobby L. Rush of Illinois, both Democrats.

Critics of the drug law have said it punishes individuals who are trying to move on with their lives by obtaining a college education.

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By Kelly Field