POSTED AT 12:00 AM ON Dec. 3, 2004 | PRINT | Email | SHARE | COMMENTS (0)

The U.S. Department of Education is in the throes of a bad idea, and it's going to hit students right where it hurts.

Congress will allow the education department to make changes in the formula that determines student financial aid. The reformulation likely will disqualify tens of thousands of students from receiving federal financial aid, including the Pell Grant.

"They are throwing students out of the opportunity to seek a college education," said Sen. Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat from New Jersey and author of last year's provision in a Dec. 3 article by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The change is aimed at the calculation of expected family contribution, or how much income families have left, after taxes, to contribute to their children's education. In May 2003, the education department announced it would lower the amount families were "forgiven" in tax payments. This change made families appear to have more money available than they actually did, which increased the amount they would be expected to give toward higher education. The Pell Grant program, which is currently nearly $4 million in the red, is being partially blamed for what Corzine is calling a "backdoor attempt to cut funds."

This decision, combined with flawed legislation and outdated tax information used by the government, could spell serious disaster for many students.

As a student newspaper, we're understandably upset. Many students rely on federal funding to stay afloat during the school year, and without that money, it might mean the end of some students' education.

While we understand that sometimes the money just isn't there, in this case, education must be more of a priority for the feds.