When you have a child in Indiana and that child uses federal financial aid to pay for school, it becomes especially important that your son or daughter avoid making moves that could jeopardize financial aid eligibility. If authorities catch your college student with drugs and charge him or her with a drug-related violation, it may make him or her ineligible to use financial aid to pay for school for a year or longer, depending on circumstances.
Per Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, you must reapply for financial aid each year you plan to use it. When doing so, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. The answers you provide when doing so help determine whether you may continue to use financial aid.
Understanding the role the FAFSA plays
The FAFSA form asks your college student if he or she received any drug convictions while using financial aid in the past. If so, your child must answer additional queries to figure out whether it makes him or her ineligible for aid. Any drug conviction might impact aid eligibility, including convictions for drug sales, drug possession and so on.
Regaining eligibility after a loss
If your child becomes ineligible for financial aid following a drug conviction, he or she may be able to get it back early by either passing two unannounced drug tests or completing a rehabilitation program.
Please note that to regain eligibility for aid early, your child must take the two drug tests or complete a rehabilitation through an approved provider.