ENTITLED to Title IX Fairness: Balancing the Rights of Accuser and Accused
In September 2017 Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced that guidelines for how universities should handle reports of sexual assault would change. One of DeVos’ main concerns when announcing the new changes was that previous guidance under the Obama administration denied proper due process to those accused of sexual assault on campuses. Under DeVos, DoED’s new interim guidance allows universities to modify the standard of evidence in campus sexual assault cases. Schools can now go from using preponderance of evidence (the lowest threshold) to a clear and convincing standard (the mid-level threshold) if they so choose. “Washington’s push to require schools to establish these quasi-legal structures to address sexual misconduct comes up short for far too many students…everyone loses.”
