Legal Commentary

Chris Dodd Introduces Bill to Stem College Aid Loss for Drug Offenders

By Jeralyn

Cheers to Sen. Chris Dodd for introducing S. 2627 this week. The bill would amend the Higher Education Act to end mandatory elimination of financial aid to students with drug convictions. Loss of financial aid would only occur if the state or federal judge sentencing the student orders aid suspension.

The bill adds a new paragraph to the aid loss section of the statute that reads:

This subsection shall only apply to a student if the Federal or State court that convicted the student of an offense described in paragraph (1) has ordered that the student's eligibility for assistance under this title be suspended in accordance with this subsection.'.

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy says:

Although the penalty should be repealed outright, the judicial
discretion bill would tremendously reduce its impact by turning it into an opt-in punishment instead of an automatic one. Take action now by spending one minute to edit and send a pre-written letter to your senators!

The bill has been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. So far there are no co-sponsors.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 18, 2008 (boomark / email).