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Drug Convictions & Financial Aid |
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The State of Georgia
imposes very specific restrictions on high
school and college students who are charged with
drug related crimes and their eligibility to
receive financial aid (e.g., HOPE Scholarship,
HOPE Grants, the HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan,
and the PROMISE Teacher Scholarship Loan).
How drug convictions affect State Financial Aid
While Georgia law specifically prohibits anyone
from possessing, selling or distributing
marijuana or other illegal drugs, there is a
special consequence to students convicted of
these crimes. If convicted of a felony drug
offense, students at public universities and
colleges face suspension and may lose their
state loans, grants, and scholarships. Students
who attend private universities and colleges
will also lose their state financial aid after
conviction for a felony drug offense. Lastly,
high school students convicted of a felony drug
offense will lose their eligibility for
receiving the HOPE Scholarship and other
financial tools mentioned above.
The loss of state financial aid is effective on
the first day of the term, quarter, or semester
which the student was enrolled immediately
following the date of conviction. For purposes
of this law, it generally doesn’t matter whether
the student pleads guilty, pleads nolo
contendere or is sentenced as a first offender
(i.e., given deferred adjudication).
How drug convictions affect Federal Financial
Aid
If a student is convicted of a felony or
misdemeanor that involves possessing or selling
illegal drugs, the student may lose or become
ineligible to receive Title IV federal financial
aid, which includes federal grants, loans, and
work study.
A student convicted of possessing drugs is
ineligible for federal aid for one year from the
date of conviction for a first offense, two
years for a second offense, and indefinitely for
three or more offenses. A student convicted of
‘selling drugs’ is ineligible for two years from
the date of conviction for a first offense and
indefinitely for two or more offenses.
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