Policy for Federal Student Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations

Federal law provides that a student who has been convicted of an offense under any federal or state law involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving financial aid shall not be eligible to receive any federal or institutional grant, loan, or work assistance during the period beginning on the date of such conviction and ending after the interval specified in the following table.

A student regains eligibility the day after the period of ineligibility ends for a 1st or 2nd offense,  or when student successfully completes a qualified drug rehabilitation program that includes passing two unannounced drug tests given by such a program. Further drug convictions will make him ineligible again.

Students denied eligibility for an indefinite period can regain eligibility after completing any of the following options:

• Successfully completing a rehabilitation program, as described below, which includes passing two unannounced drug tests from such a program);
• Having the conviction reversed, set aside, or removed from the student’s record so that fewer than two convictions for sale or three convictions for possession remain on the record; or
• Successfully completing two unannounced drug tests which are part of a rehab program (the student does not need to complete the rest of the program).