[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3561 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3561

  To amend the section 484(r) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to 
   exclude certain marijuana-related offenses from the drug-related 
 offenses that result in students being barred from receiving Federal 
educational loans, grants, and work assistance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2015

Mr. Blumenauer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

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                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the section 484(r) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to 
   exclude certain marijuana-related offenses from the drug-related 
 offenses that result in students being barred from receiving Federal 
educational loans, grants, and work assistance, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Access to Education Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF MISDEMEANOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION OFFENSES FROM 
              DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES RESULTING IN SUSPENSION OF 
              ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HIGHER 
              EDUCATION.

    Paragraph (1) of section 484(r) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1091(r)(1)) is amended by inserting after ``controlled 
substance'' the following: ``, but not including any misdemeanor 
offense for possession of marihuana (as such term is defined in section 
102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)),''.

SEC. 3. APPLICABILITY; RESUMPTION OF ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) Applicability.--The amendment made by section 2 shall apply to 
convictions for offenses described in the matter inserted by such 
amendment occurring before, on, and after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (b) Resumption of Eligibility.--Any student whose eligibility for 
grants, loans, and work assistance under title IV of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) was suspended under 
paragraph (1) of section 484(r) of such Act by reason of a conviction, 
before the enactment of this Act, for an offense described in the 
matter inserted by the amendment made by section 2 of this Act shall, 
unless otherwise ineligible for such assistance, resume eligibility 
upon such date of enactment.
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