Students convicted of drug-related crimes may not be able to receive financial aid under a proposed bill that went before the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities Tuesday.
Under current federal law, a post-secondary student convicted of selling drugs is not able to receive a federal grant, loan or federal work assistance for two years following the conviction. However, if the convicted student completes a drug rehabilitation program or the conviction is reversed, the student would be eligible for aid once again.
The authors of Assembly Bill 1035, state Rep. Eugene Hahn, R-Columbia, and state Rep. Joe Leibham, R-Sheboygan, said the bill was designed to mirror the federal law.
The federal government wisely set the standard to stop funding individuals who have decided to participate in these illegal activities,\ Hahn said. ""It is about time Wisconsin follow suit and starts holding drug dealers accountable for using our state tax dollars.""
However, the Wisconsin Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said the bill would deny students a second chance after having made a mistake and said students should not have to be punished again after being punished by the law.
Susan Fischer, director of student financial aid at UW-Madison, said the University currently follows federal policy for determining financial aid by examining when the conviction took place and the type of conviction made. She said if there has been one conviction for using illegal drugs over the past year or two convictions over the past two years, the student will still be eligible to receive aid. However, three convictions for drug use or a conviction for the possession with the intent to sell requires the student complete the drug rehabilitation program in order to receive financial assistance.
If passed, AB 1035 would only temporarily align Wisconsin with federal regulations. According to both WASFAA and Fischer, Congress is working on changing federal regulations that award financial aid to students convicted of a drug offense. Lawmakers are trying to change the ineligibility for only those students who are convicted of selling or using drugs while receiving aid.
""If you are going to have something it should at least match the federal bill so we don't have two different sets of rules,"" Fischer said.
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