• Sunday, February 19, 2012
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Aid Form Doesn't Keep Pace With Law

A key provision of a bill President Bush signed into law last month relaxed a ban on federal student aid for students who had been convicted of a drug-related crime. The law will limit that ban to students who incur drug convictions while they are in college. But the Free Application for Federal Student Aid—the form that millions of students use to apply for grants and loans—has not been updated to reflect that change in the law, The Columbus Dispatch reported this week. Part of the problem is that the law takes effect on July 1, but many students who intend to enroll this coming fall have already filled out and filed the form. The Education Department says it’s working on a solution.