Betsy DeVos Wants New Regulations That Protect Students Accused Of Sexual Assault And Their Schools
The proposals, which would affect the way schools must interpret the federal Title IX gender equity law, were months in the making and contained some major surprises, including a new requirement that colleges conduct live hearings for sexual assault cases.
Under the US Department of Education’s proposed regulations, schools must let an accused person cross-examine their accuser through a third party, will be able to use a higher standard of evidence to decide an accused student’s guilt, and will not have to investigate reports of off-campus sexual assaults involving students.
The regulations detail several new steps K-12 schools will have to take investigating sexual misconduct cases. And the proposed guidelines narrow the definition of sexual harassment that schools are on the hook for addressing.
The regulations would apply to any school receiving federal funding, meaning all public school districts, virtually all colleges and universities, and some private K-12 schools taking government dollars. Certain provisions would only apply to higher education institutions, but not K-12 schools, and vice-versa.
