ACLU TO CHALLENGE FINANCIAL AID DRUG PENALTY

A prominent national registered student organization is seeking
student-plaintiffs for a class action lawsuit filed by the American
Civil Liberties Union last week.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), in partnership with the
ACLU, is challenging a federal law that takes away financial aid from
college students with drug convictions.

CMU has yet to be affected by the federal law, said Mike Owens,
associate dean of students and interim director of Scholarships and
Financial Aid.

He said the university has not had a single case in which a student
lost eligibility with the consequence of the drug penalty law.

"The impact of this law is on a small number of people," Owens said.
"They see financial aid as a privilege."

The class action suit claims the ban unconstitutionally punishes
students twice for the same offense, violating the Double Jeopardy
Clause of the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment, according to the
ACLU. It also dubs a class of people, those with drug convictions, as
unworthy of educational aid, which violates the equal protection
guarantee of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause.

The ACLU and SSDP are calling the law unfair and unconstitutional.
Members are asking the court to strike down a provision of the Higher
Education Act, which has blocked financial aid to about 200,000
would-be students since 2000.

Margaret Spellings, U.S. Department of Education secretary, is the
named defendant in the lawsuit. The case, SSDP v. Spellings, is filed
in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota.

Convicted drug felons risk losing their rights and privileges, Owens
said, which consequently stands as a barrier to accessing college
financial aid. Whether the law is right or not is moot, he said,
because all colleges and universities that disperse federal aid must
play by federal rules.

The suit also claims the ban disproportionately affects working class
students who rely on financial aid to complete their education,
according to the ACLU.

Diane Fleming, associate director of client services of Scholarships
and Financial Aid, said students can regain aid eligibility because
there are avenues around it.

"We've had no students affected by it," she said.

Fleming said the current law has been in effect since 1998, the year
the financial aid act was re-authorized.

"In a society with limited resources, Congress certainly has the
right to impose legislation they feel is important," she said. "I'm
not sure if I agree with it per say, but there are actions students
take that limit their options."

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MORE INFORMATION

* Students can visit www.ssdp.org/lawsuit to get more information.

* Anyone affected by the aid elimination penalty should e-mail
ssdp@ssdp.org or call (202) 293-4414 to obtain further information
about the class action lawsuit.