| We the undersigned call
for the repeal of Section 484, subsection r of the Higher Education Act
of 1965, as amended in the Higher Education Act of 1998 (HEA), that delays
or denies federal financial aid to any student with any drug conviction.
Prior to the HEA's passage, the US Department of Education advised Congress
against including this provision. Now that it has passed, we are
asking that the provision be overturned. H.R. 1053, introduced by
Barney Frank (D-MA), will do that.
We have numerous concerns
regarding the HEA provision. First, access to education is essential
for young people if they are to enter the mainstream of society and the
economy. Blocking access for those at risk of marginalization is
counterproductive for both the individual and for society. The vast
majority of young people convicted of a drug offense are convicted of simple,
nonviolent possession(e.g. approximately 87% of the 695,200 marijuana arrests
made by state and local law enforcement in 1997 were for possession).
Judges already have the power to strip an individual of eligibility for
federal benefits as individual cases warrant (21 USC 862). The current
law eliminates that discretion.
The HEA provision is an extra-judicial
penalty which will negatively impact only poor and middle class students
and prospective students. Citizens of modest means are more likely
to be arrested for minor drug offenses, less likely to be effectively represented
by counsel and more likely to have educational opportunities foreclosed
by a loss of financial aid eligibility than students from wealthier families.
The HEA provision will also
have a racially discriminatory impact. According to the US Department
of Justice, African Americans, who comprise approximately 13% of the population,
and 13% of all drug users, account for more than 55% of those convicted
of drug offenses. In California, there were12,494 misdemeanor drug
arrests of Latinos aged 10 through 19 in 1997. Latinos comprise 29%
of California's population, but account for more than 40% of misdemeanor
drug arrests in that age category. The current law will disproportionately
deny educational opportunities to people of color.
Women are the fastest growing
segment of those convicted of drug offenses. Here again, the majority
of those convicted are nonviolent possessors of illicit substances.
Drug arrests for teenage girls increased from 6,708 in 1991 to 19,940 in
1996; two thirds of these arrests were for marijuana possession.
Poor women, including women with children facing welfare time limits, need
the skills and opportunities for employment that a college education can
provide. Without some postsecondary education, most women who leave
welfare for work will earn wages far below the federal poverty line, even
after five years of employment.
The law does potentially
allow for reinstatement of eligibility after drug treatment, but this does
not take into account the profound scarcity of affordable drug treatment
slots. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), 48% of current treatment needs (excluding alcohol
treatment) are unmet. While drug treatment is far more cost-effective
than incarceration, and ought to be made more available, the HEA provision
disregards the fact that such treatment is not appropriate for every person
convicted of a drug offense, any more than alcohol treatment is appropriate
for every young person cited for underage drinking. Inappropriately
forcing people into an already overburdened treatment system will inevitably
mean less access for people who truly need treatment.
No other class of offense,
including violence offenses, predatory offenses or alcohol-related offenses,
carries automatic denial of federal financial aid eligibility. The majority
of young people who will be denied eligibility under the new law are nonviolent
offenders who are trying to turn their lives around through education.
Substance abuse among our
young people is a serious national problem, but blocking the path to an
education is an inappropriate response. Closing the doors of our
colleges and universities, making it more difficult for at-risk young people
to succeed, is not a policy fit for an advanced society such as ours.
We call upon members of Congress
to stand up for access to education for all Americans by repealing Section
483 subsection r of the Higher Education Act that delays of denies access
to federal financial aid on the basis of any drug offense. |
