GW students who decline to answer a controversial drug offense question on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid will still be eligible to receive financial assistance because of a recent U.S. Department of Education decision.

Previously, applications of students who neglected to answer question 28 – a question asking whether students have been convicted of a state or federal drug offense – were not filed until the question was answered.

After federal officials discovered a backlog of applications, they changed the policy so forms could still be filed, provided students indicated their drug offense status before financial assistance was dispersed.

A lot of students were leaving it blank because they didn’t realize they had to answer it, said Lisa Cain, a spokeswoman with the Department of Education. This will allow students to still be eligible for state and college aid, and alleviates the burden on schools.

GW officials said the change in policy will allow them to distribute financial aid packages more rapidly.

In a sense it hasn’t affected us yet only because we’re just starting to receive the (FASFA) information, said Daniel Small, director of student financial aid. Beforehand we were thinking `oh geez, this is going to be a problem.’ This is going to make it a lot easier for us. Where the burden will come now, is for those who have left it blank, we’ll have to go back and remind them.

The question was added to this year’s FASFA form as part of the Higher Education Reauthorization Act passed by Congress in October 1998. Under federal law, students are ineligible for any federal financial assistance for a specified amount of time if convicted of a drug offense. In order to regain eligibility, students must enroll in a drug treatment program.

The provision sparked controversy from advocacy groups nationwide, including the NAACP, ACLU and Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, said GW SSDP member Brian Gralnick.

Gralnick said a resolution will be brought before the Student Association Senate to condemn the question. A similar resolution was recently passed at American University. According to SSDP records, more than 200 campuses nationwide have publicly come out against the issue.

(The question) is really bad and counterproductive to education, Gralnick said. When you take someone out of the university setting, you’re going to encourage repeat offenses. I don’t think this is going to solve the nation’s drug problems. All it’s going to do is cause more trouble for the Department of Education.

The most recent change in question 28 policy has affected mostly incoming students, Small said. Many current students have yet to reapply for federal assistance.

Legislation sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is pending in the House of Representatives to repeal the provision. The legislation was referred to a House subcommittee in March 1999 and is still awaiting congressional action.