Nearly 200,000 would-be college students have been stripped of their financial aid just because they have drug convictions. Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have filed a federal lawsuit claiming that this penalty is unconstitutional. Click here to download a PDF of the 15-page complaint.
What's Wrong with the Law?
* The law punishes individuals twice for the same infraction. Affected students have already been dealt with by the criminal justice system. Taking away their access to education after they've already paid their debt to society is unnecessary. This violates the "double jeopardy" clause of the Fifth Amendment.
* Putting up roadblocks on the path to education does nothing to solve our nation's drug and crime problems; it only makes them worse. Forcing students convicted of drug charges to drop out of school makes them more likely to fall into drug abuse or commit crimes (thus becoming costly burdens on the criminal justice system) and less likely to become productive taxpaying citizens (thus reducing the nation's economic productivity). Congress has no rational basis to attach student aid eligibility to drug convictions, especially since murderers, rapists, burglars, and arsonists can still receive financial aid. This violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment's "due process" clause.
* The law hurts only students from low- and middle-income families – the very same people federal financial aid programs are intended to assist. Students from wealthier families can afford to pay for tuition without public assistance and can frequently afford the cost of a lawyer to avoid a drug conviction in the first place.
* The law disproportionately affects people of color. Because of racial profiling and the discriminatory enforcement of drug laws, the aid ban is keeping minorities out of school at a much higher rate than the general population.
* The law only affects hardworking and determined students who are doing well in school, since there are already minimum GPA requirements for receiving financial aid.
School Financial+Aid Drug+Policy
What's Wrong with the Law?
* The law punishes individuals twice for the same infraction. Affected students have already been dealt with by the criminal justice system. Taking away their access to education after they've already paid their debt to society is unnecessary. This violates the "double jeopardy" clause of the Fifth Amendment.
* Putting up roadblocks on the path to education does nothing to solve our nation's drug and crime problems; it only makes them worse. Forcing students convicted of drug charges to drop out of school makes them more likely to fall into drug abuse or commit crimes (thus becoming costly burdens on the criminal justice system) and less likely to become productive taxpaying citizens (thus reducing the nation's economic productivity). Congress has no rational basis to attach student aid eligibility to drug convictions, especially since murderers, rapists, burglars, and arsonists can still receive financial aid. This violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment's "due process" clause.
* The law hurts only students from low- and middle-income families – the very same people federal financial aid programs are intended to assist. Students from wealthier families can afford to pay for tuition without public assistance and can frequently afford the cost of a lawyer to avoid a drug conviction in the first place.
* The law disproportionately affects people of color. Because of racial profiling and the discriminatory enforcement of drug laws, the aid ban is keeping minorities out of school at a much higher rate than the general population.
* The law only affects hardworking and determined students who are doing well in school, since there are already minimum GPA requirements for receiving financial aid.
School Financial+Aid Drug+Policy
