Groups Fight Rule on Aid to Students

A drug conviction is the only crime that triggers a denial in student aid.

"Murderers and rapists are eligible to receive aid, but a student caught with a single marijuana cigarette is automatically denied," Angell said.

Since 2000, when the law took effect, more than 189,000 students have been deemed ineligible because they admitted to a conviction or refused to provide information on aid applications, according to U.S. Department of Education data obtained by Angell's organization.

An unknown number, including Garcia, did not file an application, knowing their convictions would make them ineligible. Garcia, as a first-time offender, was denied aid for a year.

California, the most populous state, has had the highest number of drug-conviction denials -- 31,830 out of 8.8 million applicants.

California also has a disproportionately high rate -- one in every 278 applicants, 44% higher than the national average.

The drug-conviction provision was created by Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.), who saw it as a deterrent to drug use.

"Drug use and drug dealing are a pervasive and real problem on our college campuses," said Martin Green, Souder's spokesman. "American taxpayers should not be subsidizing the educations of convicted drug dealers or drug users."

But Souder's intent was not to punish students for acts occurring before they started receiving aid, which is why he backed an effort to limit the law's scope to drug convictions after a student begins receiving aid, Green said. The amendment, approved earlier this year, takes effect in July.

Opponents say that's not good enough and are challenging the law.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced legislation that would eliminate the drug-conviction provision.

Frank said he learned of the issue through meetings with several student-aid officials and was disturbed by its implications, particularly for needy students.

"It's kind of symptomatic of people treating drugs in an excessive, almost histrionic fashion, where drugs are treated worse than murder and rape," Frank said. "Why single drugs out as worse? Why penalize poor people as opposed to rich people?"

Frank's legislation is stalled in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union in March filed a class-action lawsuit against the Department of Education, arguing that the law violated the double-jeopardy and equal-protection provisions of the Constitution and disproportionately affected poor and minority students.