In 1968, Congress passed the Higher Education Act (HEA) with the purpose of expanding educational opportunities through the creation of federal grant and loan programs. Federal financial aid programs are the single largest source of student aid in the U.S., which provide an estimated $40 billion to 7 million students each year. In 1998, Congress passed an amendment authored by Rep. Mark Souder that denies federal financial aid to any student with a drug conviction. Given the racially disproportionate enforcement of drug laws, the Souder-amendment has a greater impact on people of color than whites. Also, the Souder-amendment only punishes working class and middle class students since wealthy students do not rely on financial aid to attend college.

The Souder-amendment is a discriminatory and counterproductive law. It punishes individuals twice for the same conduct and it cannot be enforced equally. There are no similar laws denying aid to violent or other criminal offenders. The Souder-amendment does nothing to help those who have drug abuse problems and it ignores the most widely abused drug on college campuses - alcohol. Instead the Souder-amendment erects a bar to education to those that would benefit the most from educational opportunities.

During the 2001-2002 academic year 43,000 students have lost their federal financial aid due to the Souder-amendment according to the Department of Education. It has drawn criticism from diverse groups such as the Drug Policy Alliance, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Students for Sensible Drug Policy, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Public Health Association, General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church, National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation, National Association for Women in Education, and National Council of Negro Women, among others. Also dozens of university student governments have called on Congress to repeal the law.