Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday scrubbed Obama-era guidance for how universities investigate sexual assaults on campus in an expected but highly scrutinized decision.
Advocacy groups representing assault victims quickly condemned the Trump administration for pulling the rules, which DeVos has said were unfair against those accused in assault cases.
“Schools must continue to confront these horrific crimes and behaviors head-on,” she said in a statement Friday. “But the process also must be fair and impartial, giving everyone more confidence in its outcomes.”
The Education Department released a Q&A with temporary guidance for schools investigating assaults under the Title IX law, which prevents sexual-based discrimination in higher education.
The Q&A will replace a 2011 directive, which became known as the “Dear Colleague Letter,” on standards for enforcing the 45-year-old law.
Michael Dolce, a Florida-based attorney with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, said it was troubling that “dozens” of pages of detailed instructions that gave schools clarity was replaced by a seven-page temporary directive.
