Indiana Congressman Mark Souder is at the forefront of controversy over legislation he authored that denies federal financial aid eligibility to students who receive drug convictions.
Souder, R-Fort Wayne, authored a drug provision that passed as part of an amendment to the Higher Education Act in July 1998. He intended for the provision to deny aid to students who acquire drug convictions while receiving federal financial aid.
That was how the law was applied under the Clinton administration, said Seth Becker, Souder's spokesman. The Bush administration, too, was initially supportive of the provision's interpretation, Becker said.
Since then, according to Becker, the Bush administration has backed away from its initially helpful stance.
The U.S. Department of Education now interprets the law to encompass students who received drug convictions any time after 1998, even if they were not receiving aid at the time of the conviction.
"The enforcement has gone rather awry," Becker said. "Congressman Souder intended for this to apply only to convictions that occur when a person is receiving financial aid as a student.
"If it seems vague, the Department of Education should have made sure they understood it, " Becker said. "There's no excuse for it."
Congressman Souder was en route to Washington from his Fort Wayne office at presstime.
Department of Education statistics indicate a record number of students - estimated at more than 40,000 - were likely to lose their federal financial aid eligibility by the end of the 2001-2002 academic year.
According to a Nov. 10 article in the Washington Post, the department denied financial aid to more than 21,000 students in the two years after the provision was enforced.
Robert Zellers, the director of the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, estimates that very few Ball State students have been affected.
The scholarships and financial aid office currently has no efficient way of tracking how many Ball State students have been affected by the drug provision, Zellers said.
"This was poor legislation to begin with, and very difficult to administer," Zellers said. "It's all a self-reporting process, as there is no national database. I still don't think (the drug provision) is necessary."
Question No. 35 on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is the centerpiece of the debate. It asks for students to disclose if they have "ever been convicted of possessing or selling illegal drugs." The question is now marked on the application in bold lettering, "Do not leave blank."
It has been left blank by a sizable percentage of applicants the last two years.
If the student answers "yes" to the question and submits the application, the government sends a worksheet to determine if the conviction affects the student's aid eligibility.
Any student who is convicted of three possession charges or two sales charges cannot receive federal financial aid.
"Frankly, if you don't like the government's drug laws, don't take the government's money," Becker said. "It's like an academic or athletic scholarship. There are conditions attached."
Souder is chairman of the Government Reform subcommittee in Congress and may call members of the Department of Education into hearings to see why the enforcement cannot be changed, Becker said.
Becker said that Souder would prefer not to wait. Many applicants are being denied financial aid wrongly, he said.
"This will have to be dealt with in Congress by Congress," Zellers said. "The Department of Education cannot change this."
Opponents of the provision point out that other convicted offenders - murderers, rapists, and other violent criminals - can still receive federal aid.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is among groups calling for modifications in the law. According to Congressman Major Owens, D-N.Y., the drug provision disproportionately affects black students because it targets only convicted drug offenders.
"Even though African-Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population and an estimated 13 percent of drug users, we represent 55 percent of drug convictions," Owens said in May 2000.
"It affects people who break the law," Becker said, regarding the law's potential bias toward minorities.
Becker also said he didn't know if Souder would consider expanding the law to include alcohol.
"There is a certain social acceptance of the use of alcohol on campus that is not there for drugs," he said.
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