蜜桃影视

The Education Department will change Obama-era guidance on how schools must protect victims of sexual violence, Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a speech Thursday 鈥� though she did not make clear how, or when, that would happen.

鈥淭he truth is that the system established by the prior administration has failed too many students. Survivors, victims of a lack of due process, and campus administrators have all told me that the current approach does a disservice to everyone involved,鈥� DeVos said in a speech at George Mason University in suburban Washington.

The current guidance for handling campus sexual assaults under Title IX, the 45-year-old federal law banning discrimination in education based on sex, has allowed unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats to make policy and 鈥渨eaponized the Office [for] Civil Rights to work against schools and against students,鈥� she said.

The Obama administration in 2011 issued a 鈥淒ear Colleague鈥� letter urging schools to better investigate reports of sexual violence on campus. It requires educators to use a 鈥減reponderance of the evidence鈥� standard in investigations, rather than a tougher 鈥渃lear and convincing鈥� standard.

While sexual assault survivors and women鈥檚 rights groups have praised the standards, Republicans and advocates for the accused said they scaled back due process rights and overstepped executive branch authority.

鈥淭he era of 鈥榬ule by letter鈥� is over,鈥� DeVos said Thursday. 鈥淭his unraveling of justice is shameful, it is wholly un-American, and it is anathema to the system of self-governance to which our Founders pledged their lives over 240 years ago.鈥�

Those comments set off a fierce pushback from women鈥檚 rights advocates, former Obama administration officials, and other opponents, with the hashtag #StopBetsy quickly trending on Twitter.

The Education Department will launch a 鈥渢ransparent鈥� notice-and-comment period to solicit opinions from 鈥渁ll parties鈥� to develop a 鈥渂etter way,鈥� DeVos said.

The department did not respond to 蜜桃影视’s questions about the timeline of such rulemaking or whether existing standards would remain in place while new ones are being crafted. Reporters for other outlets said on Twitter that the existing guidance is under review and not rescinded, and that the department would issue temporary interim guidance while working on a permanent fix.

Though most attention on the issue has focused on colleges, a change in the standard would also have ramifications at the K-12 level, where, advocates say, schools have struggled to protect students.

(蜜桃影视: Overshadowed by the College Sexual Assault Debate, 154 Open Title IX Investigations at K-12 Schools)

Catherine Lhamon, Obama鈥檚 assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department, told 蜜桃影视 that DeVos鈥檚 speech was 鈥渁n incredibly damaging message to anyone affected by the issue of sexual assault on campus.鈥�

鈥淚 think the full school community needs to respond with an aggressive, continued commitment to equality and to making sure that all students can be safe in schools,鈥� said Lhamon, now chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The commission to investigate the Trump administration鈥檚 enforcement of federal civil rights laws. 鈥淚 very much look forward to watching and overseeing the efficacy of the Office for Civil Rights鈥檚 work in this area,鈥� she said.

Arne Duncan, who served as Obama鈥檚 education secretary from 2009 through 2015, said in a statement that the Trump administration wants to return to the days when schools 鈥渟wept sexual assault under the rug.鈥�

鈥�Instead of building on important work to pursue justice, they are once again choosing politics over students, and students will pay the price,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淲e need the Education Department to enforce the law, not roll back protections at a time when the country is finally paying attention to sexual assault.”

Women鈥檚 rights groups responded to the speech in a similar tone.

In a release, Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women鈥檚 Law Center, called the speech 鈥渁 blunt attack on survivors of sexual assault鈥� that will discourage schools from working to enforce Title IX.

鈥淚t sends a frightening message to all students: Your government does not have your back if your rights are violated. 鈥� We refuse to return to the days when schools could mistreat survivors with impunity,鈥� she added.

Adele Kimmel, a senior attorney at Public Justice who represents sexual assault victims 鈥� including those in K-12 schools 鈥� said in a statement that DeVos is 鈥渕erely paying lip service鈥� to sexual assault survivors, noting that no survivor groups were invited to attend Thursday鈥檚 announcement. Trump鈥檚 Education Department, she said, needs an education on Title IX.

鈥淭he Trump administration says it wants fair procedures, but there鈥檚 nothing fair about refusing to enforce the rights of sexual assault survivors, which is the direction the Department of Education seems to be headed in,鈥� she said. 鈥淧ublic Justice will continue to fight for the rights of sexual assault survivors, even if the government won鈥檛.鈥�

Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate education committee, said DeVos is undermining survivors鈥� rights and that her speech was an 鈥渙pen invitation to colleges to once again sweep this national epidemic under the rug.鈥�

She urged DeVos to reconsider the decision. On Wednesday, Murray released a of recommendations for DeVos to undertake instead, including continuing to publish lists of colleges under Title IX investigations and nominating a 鈥渜ualified individual鈥� to the role of assistant secretary for civil rights.

Candice Jackson, currently filling the role in an acting capacity, came under fire earlier this year for saying 90 percent of rape allegations fall into the category of 鈥渨e were both drunk.鈥� She later apologized for her 鈥渇lippant鈥� remarks.

(蜜桃影视: DeVos Hears of Sex Attacks at Colleges & K-12 Schools as Feds Weigh Changes to Title IX Evidence Rules)

DeVos鈥檚 speech, while repeatedly emphasizing the horrors of rape and other sexual misconduct, focused equally on those who were denied due process protections.

鈥淭here is no way of to avoid the devastating reality of campus sexual misconduct: Lives have been lost. Lives of victims. And lives of the accused,鈥� she said.

A released this week by free speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights in Education 鈥斅爓hich is over the Obama-era guidance 鈥� gave 85 percent of the country鈥檚 top universities grades of D or F for 鈥渘ot ensuring basic due process rights鈥� like guaranteeing that accused students will be presumed innocent until proven guilty or that adjudicators will be impartial.

鈥沦ix and a half years of this failed policy have left us with a system that victims still don鈥檛 trust and that the accused have every reason to believe is stacked against them,鈥� Robert Shibley, the group鈥檚 executive director, said in a . 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to rescind the 鈥楧ear Colleague鈥� letter and replace it through the lawful regulatory process so that everyone can have a say.鈥�

Women鈥檚 rights advocates criticized DeVos鈥檚 apparent equalizing of rapes and concerns about due process rights for the accused.

鈥淲ith sexual assaults routinely going unreported, uninvestigated and unpunished, the scales are already heavily tipped in the favor of rapists. The idea that we need to focus more on the rights of the accused would be laughable if it weren鈥檛 so terrifying and outright dangerous,鈥� Nita Chaudhary, co-founder of the feminist group UltraViolet, said in a statement.

One in five women will be raped at some point in her life, and between 2 percent and 10 percent of rape reports are false, according to .

Lhamon refuted claims by DeVos that education officials under Obama overstepped their authority. For decades, she said, Education Department officials have issued guidance letters to help school officials understand their obligations under federal law. While the notice-and-comment process is necessary when creating new rules, she said, it is inappropriate when providing guidance on existing laws.

鈥淟eaving open the question about how to enforce the law and what students鈥� rights are is dangerous for students who are in school every day, and who need answers about what their rights are,鈥� she told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淭he law is unchanged and has been unchanged since 1972, when Congress wrote it, and the obligations for schools and the intense need for sex equality in schools persist.鈥�

Boston College public policy professor R. Shep Melnick, who has on the need to reform the way schools are held accountable for sexual violence on campus, said he was pleased with the DeVos speech, though he 鈥渟tarted off with low expectations鈥� because Trump, he said, has bragged about committing sexual violence and repeatedly demeaned women. Because the Office for Civil Rights has gone 鈥渨ay beyond the Supreme Court鈥檚 interpretation of Title IX,鈥� he said, the notice-and-comment process will allow people to flag any potential problems. He anticipates the process could take a year or longer.

鈥淚 think they鈥檝e committed themselves, at least the speech indicates, of trying to come up with a better balance between the rights of the accused and the rights of the survivors,鈥� said Melnick, who is the author of the forthcoming book The Transformation of Title IX: Regulating Gender Equality in Education. 鈥�I think if they don鈥檛 do that, they are in for a lot of trouble.鈥�

Sen. James Lankford, long a critic of the Obama-era guidance, applauded DeVos鈥檚 speech, saying that while he condemns 鈥渁ll types of sexual violence and harassment,鈥� the letter circumvented congressional authority and violated due process rights for many students.

鈥�The Department of Education is taking a positive first step in soliciting comments from stakeholders to get a better understanding of ways to better address the problem. However, this is an issue where Congress must give the Department of Education clear statutory authority to properly regulate,鈥� Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, added in a statement.

DeVos said schools are doing a 鈥済ood job鈥� of making accommodations for assault survivors, like adjusting class schedules, changing dorms, or postponing exams. There is a 鈥渇undamental difference,鈥� she said, between making those modifications and 鈥減unish[ing] the accused before a fair decision has been rendered.鈥� 聽

She highlighted several groups that have 鈥渕ade progress鈥� on the issue, including a , a , and a 鈥�鈥� investigatory model proposed by two former prosecutors.

Former vice president Joe Biden, who was the face of the Obama administration鈥檚 efforts to combat campus violence, urged students, parents, faculty, and alumni in a to speak up and make their views known.

鈥淚 know that we can continue to change the culture. … Students have taken on this fight. Keep fighting. Tell this administration that we refuse to go backwards,鈥� Biden concluded. 聽

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