ACLU Urges Members of Congress to Co-Sponsor and Support the RISE Act
Dear Representative:
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Re: ACLU Urges Members of Congress to Co-Sponsor and Support the RISE Act
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, a non-partisan organization with hundreds of thousands of activists and members and 53 affiliates nationwide, we urge you to co-sponsor the Removing Impediments to Students’ Education (RISE) Act. Representative Barney Frank (D-MA) is going to introduce the RISE Act on Monday, January 28th and we encourage you to sign on to the bill as an original co-sponsor.
The RISE Act would repeal the provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA) that strips financial aid from college students with drug convictions (20 U.S.C. 1091 (r)), often minor, first time and misdemeanor offenses. Since the drug question was first added to FAFSA in 2000, the aid elimination penalty in HEA has disqualified more than 200,000 students from receiving college aid, preventing many from pursuing their dream of a college education.
While the penalty was intended to reduce drug abuse, it actually fosters the opposite effect by blocking access to education to those Americans who have shown a commitment to getting their lives back on track. Revoking access to educational opportunities simply makes people more susceptible to drug abuse and addiction. Indeed, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has found that high school graduates not enrolled in college are three times more likely to have used methamphetamine or heroin in the past year compared to those attending college.
The Government Accountability Office also found no evidence that the penalty “actually helped to deter drug use.” It would seem that a far more effective means of combating drug abuse among young people would be ensuring that they are enrolled in school and on a path to a successful future.
This penalty has also had a disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color due to longstanding disparities in drug law enforcement. For example, African Americans comprise 12% of the population, and proportionately account for 13% of drug users, but they account for 53% of those convicted of drug offenses. By putting an increased burden on those in the lower end of the economic spectrum whose only means of attending college is through financial aid, as well as
communities of color, the penalty only serves to perpetuate economic and racial inequalities that so many have fought for so long to overcome.
The congressionally-created Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance recommended the removal of the drug question from FAFSA, calling it “irrelevant.” Additionally, the ACLU is one of more than 500 education, addiction recovery, civil rights, and religious organizations calling for the full repeal of the aid elimination penalty. Congress now has an opportunity to reopen the doors of opportunity to tens of thousands of bright and eager would-be students. Please sign on as an original co-sponsor to this important, pro-education legislation. To co-sponsor the RISE Act, please contact Joe Racalto in Representative Frank’s office at joe.racalto@mail.house.gov or (202)225-5931.
Sincerely,
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Caroline Fredrickson
Director
Jesselyn McCurdy
Legislative Counsel