EDUCATION Dept. Proposes Enhanced Protection For Students Accused Of Sexual Assault
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced sweeping rules on how colleges handle cases of sexual assault and harassment that she says will fix a “failed” and “shameful” system that has been unfair to accused students. In what the administration is calling a “historic process,” the proposed rules aim to significantly enhance legal protections for the accused. Under the new regulations, colleges would only have to investigate the most egregious cases of sexual harassment. Colleges would only have to investigate accusations that are reported directly to designated administrators. A school would only have to investigate if the alleged victim wants it to. Students also would be guaranteed the right to cross-examine each other. The regulations would bar student-to-student confrontations, requiring instead that questions be asked by a third party, such as the accused student’s attorney. “We expect that the proposed regulations will be a dramatic improvement,” says Samantha Harris, director of policy research at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. She applauds the administration for “recognizing that schools must provide meaningful procedural protections to accused students when adjudicating such serious offenses.” Many colleges welcome the new clarity — so they know their obligations and can limit their risk of ending up under government investigation. The rules do not go into effect until they go through a public comment period, which could be a long process and could result in more changes. Unlike the Obama-era guidelines, when DeVos’ new rules are implemented, they will have the force of law without having been approved by Congress.
npr.org By Tovia Smith
