DeVos proposes overhaul to campus sexual misconduct rules

[Swordsmyth]

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday proposed a major overhaul to the way colleges and universities handle sexual misconduct complaints, adding protections for students accused of assault and harassment and narrowing which cases schools would be required to investigate.
Her plan would scale back important Obama administration rules while adding mandates that could reshape the school disciplinary systems that schools have developed over the past decade.
Under the new plan, colleges would have to investigate complaints only if the alleged incident occurred on campus or in other areas overseen by the school, and only if it was reported to certain officials. By contrast, current rules require colleges to review all student complaints, regardless of their location or how they came to the school's attention.
It adds several provisions supported by groups that represent students accused of sexual misconduct. Chief among them, it says accused students must be able to cross-examine their accusers, although it would be done through a representative to avoid personal confrontations.
The proposal effectively tells schools how to apply the 1972 law known as Title IX, which bars discrimination based on sex in schools that receive federal money. It applies not only to colleges and universities, but also to elementary and secondary schools.
The Education Department says the proposal ensures fairness for students on both sides of accusations, while giving schools flexibility to support victims even if they don't file a formal complaint or request an investigation.
"We can, and must, condemn sexual violence and punish those who perpetrate it, while ensuring a fair grievance process," DeVos said in a statement. "Those are not mutually exclusive ideas. They are the very essence of how Americans understand justice to function."


DeVos echoed the rules' critics when she rescinded two guidance letters in September 2017, declaring that "the era of 'rule by letter'" was over. In its place, she issued the 150-page proposal on Friday, which will go through a 60-day public comment process before it can be finalized.
Legal experts say it could dramatically reduce the number of complaints that get investigated by schools. Saunie Schuster, a lawyer who advises a range of colleges, says the vast majority of complaints arise off-campus and would no longer need to be addressed by schools, although colleges could still go beyond minimum requirements.
DeVos' plan is also likely to cut down on actions taken by the Education Department, which can penalize schools for failing to uphold Title IX. The proposal raises the bar for proving that failure, saying schools must be "deliberately indifferent" to be held legally liable.

More at: https://www.yahoo.com/news/devos-pro...144151350.html

[Swordsmyth]

Among other changes, the proposal narrows what constitutes sexual harassment. While earlier guidance defined it as "unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature," the new proposal defines it as unwelcome sexual conduct that's so severe it effectively denies the victim access to the school or its programs.

It allows schools to use a higher standard of proof when weighing cases. The Obama guidance told schools to use a "preponderance of the evidence" standard, meaning the allegation is "more likely than not" true. The new proposal would allow a "clear and convincing" standard, meaning the claim is highly probable.

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