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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AID ELIMINATION PENALTY

Since 2000, students with drug convictions have been blocked access to federal financial aid as a result of a little known provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA). Added by Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) as a committee amendment in 1998, the Aid Elimination Penalty slipped into the 257-page HEA reauthorization bill without debate or a recorded vote.

Unfortunately, many members of Congress and financial aid administrators were unaware of this change in the law until long after its passage. To date, nearly 200,000 students have been ineligible for federal loans, grants, and work-study because of the HEA Aid Elimination Penalty.

In early 2006, SSDP and our allies forced Congress to scale back the law, so that only people who are convicted while in college and receiving financial aid will have their eligibility taken away. Now, people who got convicted before they decided to go to college will be able to move on with their lives and earn an education.

CURRENT STATUS

Unfortunately, college students who get convicted will still lose their aid, and many of them will have to drop out. Statistics and common sense tell us that it simply doesn't make sense to pull students out of school if we want to reduce drug abuse and encourage young people to become successful citizens.

In February 2008, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the Removing Impediments to Students' Education (RISE) Act into the 110th Congress. The bill, which has substantial support, would simply repeal the aid elimination penalty.

In March 2008, U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced the first ever Senate bill to prevent college students from automatically losing financial aid as a punishment for drug offenses. S.2767 would get rid of the mandatory minimum penalty and allow students with drug convictions to keep aid and stay in school unless a judge specifically ruled they should lose education in addition to other punishments imposed like fines, jail time, or community service.

Click below for more information on the HEA Aid Elimination Penalty and to find out what you can do to repeal this unjust law once and for all.

• Talking Points on the Aid Elimination Penalty (Online) (PDF)
• Legislative Guide on the Aid Elimination Penalty (Online)
  • For Democrats (PDF)
  • For Republicans (PDF)
• Letter from 170 organizations to U.S. House members (Online) (PDF)
• Letter from more than 100 organizations to Senate HELP Committee (Online) (PDF)
• State-By-State Impact of the Aid Elimination Penalty (Online)
• Organizations Opposed to the Aid Elimination Penalty (Online) (PDF)
• Why Full Repeal of The Aid Elimination Penalty Is Necessary (Online) (PDF)
• Some states also deny state aid to students with drug convictions (PDF)
• What YOU Can Do: A Grassroots Guide for Activists (Online) (PDF)
• More on SSDP's position on the HEA and zero tolerance policies (Online) (PDF)
• Guide to working with the media: (Online) (PDF)
• Stop the Drug War Draft Video (Online)