Rule Barring Financial Aid for Drug Convictions May Harm At-Risk Students, Study Finds
February 07, 2013
According to a study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a federal rule that bars students with drug convictions from receiving federal financial aid may inadvertently harm at-risk students without actually reducing crime.
The rule, enacted through the 1998 amendments the Higher Education Act, can withhold aid eligibility for one or two years, depending on a student’s criminal record. The study examined how college enrollment changed, among drug offenders compared with non-offenders, when the rule went into effect, more than a decade ago.
Researchers found that the ban negatively impacted the college-going rates of affected students, in many cases delaying their enrollment in college after high school and in other cases appearing to prevent enrollment altogether. The study also showed no evidence that the rule had deterred drug offenses, meaning that it “lowered the lifetime earnings of these at-risk students without generating benefits to society through reduced crime,” according to a paper describing its findings.
The paper’s authors use evidence from the temporary ban on aid for those with drug offenses to make the case that “eligibility for federal financial aid strongly impacts college investment decisions.”
Related Links:
National Bureau of Economic Research Study
https://papers.nber.org/papers/w18749?utm_campaign=ntw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ntw
Michelle Cormier Mott
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