The U.S. Department of Education published final rulings last Thursday on a law prohibiting students convicted of drug-related crimes from receiving federal financial aid. The regulation makes students who have been convicted of drug charges ineligible to receive Pell Grants, student loans and other common types of federal aid. With one conviction of drug possession, a student is barred from financial aid for one year. A second conviction bars a student for two years, and a third conviction will make the student indefinitely disqualified. A student's eligibility for aid would be reinstated if the student completes a rehabilitation program.
Some people criticize the new law on a number of grounds.
Critics say the law might hurt people already in socially and economically disadvantaged positions. Additionally, students are the ones responsible for self-reporting convictions on their aid applications. Currently, no database of criminal records can be cross-referenced by the department, so in order for a school to fully know about students' criminal histories, they must check their students' backgrounds. However, department officials say that students who are caught misrepresenting information on federal financial aid forms would face felony charges.