As an attorney practicing criminal defense in Albuquerque, a common question I hear from UNM students is “How do drug charges and/or convictions affect my ability to receive financial aid (FAFSA)?”
For more than a decade, I’ve heard this question whispered from the SUB Ballroom at UNM to the halls of the Metropolitan Courthouse. This is one of those questions that has almost achieved the status of an urban legend in Albuquerque.
Unfortunately, most of the answers that I’ve heard circulating throughout the city are about as fuzzy as the pictures of Bigfoot that seem to pop up every few years.
Much of the confusion on this issue stems from the changes in legislation that have occurred over the years. In 1998 the Higher Education Act was amended to delay or deny federal aid to applicants with any misdemeanor or felony drug convictions – past or present. It didn’t matter if you were in school when you received the charge; you would still lose out on funding.
According to the 1998 Act, applicants with a single conviction for possessing an illegal drug lost eligibility for one year from the date of conviction. Applicants with two possession convictions or one sales conviction lost eligibility for two years. Three possession convictions or two sales convictions meant an
indefinite loss of eligibility.
In 2006 the relatively broad and harsh restrictions of the 1998 Act were modified and limited to drug convictions that a student received while enrolled in college and actively receiving federal aid.
Fast-forward a little over a decade, and today, one’s eligibility for federal student loans is suspended only if one is convicted for the possession or sale of illegal drugs and if the drug offense occurred during a period of enrollment when one was receiving federal student aid. This means, roughly, that loans will be suspended if a student is caught dealing drugs while in school.
If the conviction for possessing or selling illegal drugs occurred during a period when one was receiving federal student aid – grants, loans and/or work-study – one will become eligible to receive federal aid once one completes an acceptable drug rehabilitation program, or after the period of ineligibility ends – one year for each conviction.
If the drug conviction occurred two or more years ago, while one was receiving federal aid, then the drug rehabilitation program is not required, and one is still eligible to receive federal aid.
That means that if the student wasn’t in school when it happened, then his or her aid isn’t at risk.
Assuming that one has two or more drug convictions in the past two years, each drug conviction results in one year of ineligibility.
With three or more drug convictions, you are out of the game and any federal aid is suspended indefinitely.
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Lastly, according to federal law, convictions that were reversed, set aside, or removed from your record do not count for the purposes of ineligibility. Also, convictions that occurred before you were 18 are excluded unless you were prosecuted as an adult.
Hopefully that answers your questions. I wish everyone at UNM a great, APD-free semester!
Matthew Legan Sanchez is an UNM alumnus and a lawyer with the Family Law Firm.
