Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced that the federal government will be stepping back from Obama-era regulations on how colleges and universities should handle sexual assault.
Under the Obama Administration, the federal Office of Civil Rights urged schools to "investigate complaints [of sexual misconduct] more aggressively," according to NPR. They interpreted anti-discrimination legislation known as Title IX to include protecting female students from sexual harassment and assault, and threatened to withhold federal funding from universities that did not comply.
But, according to DeVos, these investigations have run roughshod over the rights of the accused.
“Washington dictated that schools must use the lowest standard of proof ... It’s no wonder so many call these proceedings ‘kangaroo courts,'" DeVos said.
Paul Reville, professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and head of their Education Redesign Lab, acknowledged some criticism of university-led investigations. But he worries the administration will go too far when it rewrites the guidelines, allowing colleges to sweep sexual assault allegations under the rug.
"There are a great many advocates out there who complain that the standard for proof and nature of deliberations the Obama-era directive forced on campuses has been unfair to those who are accused," Reville said.
"I think it probably needs to be adjusted a little bit to take into account some of those concerns," he continued. "But I absolutely believe colleges and universities ought to be under pressure and scrutiny with dealing with these situations as they arise."
To hear more from Paul Reville, tune in to Boston Public Radio above.
