Students are potentially denied aid under a 1998 provision written by Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind. Passed with scant discussion, the provision denied federal loans to any student who had been convicted of selling or possessing drugs.

"We have a major crisis in this country," Souder said on the House floor at the time, "and the question is, are we serious about it or not."

Under the original provision, students lost out on federal aid for one year if they have one conviction for drug possession. They lost out for two years if they have one conviction for drug selling. Drug convictions are the only kind that hurt a student. A student could be convicted, for instance, of vehicular manslaughter while driving intoxicated and not lose a loan.

Nationwide, 189,065 students have been denied aid for drug violations since 2000. The state-by-state numbers were hidden away until Angell's organization filed a freedom-of-information request, and then sued the Education Department after officials demanded $4,000 in fees. The department subsequently relented.