Question Regarding Student Drug Use Returns in FAFSA Debate
Opponents say the provision disproportionately affects low-income, minority students.
By Charles Dervarics
Shortening the seven-page student financial aid form is on everyone’s wish list for higher education. Despite this, before any students can reap benefits, federal leaders first may have to revisit an often thorny issue: whether to ask students about recent drug arrests.
Added to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) during the last reauthorization in 1998, the controversial question has harsh critics who argue that it prevents low-income youth from righting themselves and attending college. But many lawmakers are wary of repealing the provision for fear of appearing soft on drugs.
The conflict spilled out in the U.S. Senate debate this summer on the Higher Education Access Act, a proposal that would cut $18 billion in student loan subsidies and redirect much of the funding to need-based aid. In approving the measure, the Senate’s education committee included language to repeal the question.
More conservative voices prevailed by the time the bill reached the floor, as the Senate approved an amendment supporting the provision.
“That was definitely a setback,” said Tom Angell, government relations director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), referring to the decision on the Senate floor.
