Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday rescinded the Obama administration’s Title IX letter on campus sexual assault, sparking outrage from her foes but relief from those who have lambasted the policy for eroding due process by favoring the accuser over the accused.
Ms. DeVos also issued an interim guidance for schools on “how to investigate and adjudicate allegations of campus sexual misconduct under federal law” while the department proceeds with its rulemaking to replace the 2011 policy.
“This interim guidance will help schools as they work to combat sexual misconduct and will treat all students fairly,” said Ms. DeVos in a statement. “Schools must continue to confront these horrific crimes and behaviors head-on. There will be no more sweeping them under the rug. But the process also must be fair and impartial, giving everyone more confidence in its outcomes.”
She announced earlier this month that the rulemaking process had begun to replace the policy, saying that the “era of rule by letter is over.”
Her decision drew strong support from civil-liberties organizations that had fought the 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter from the department’s Office for Civil Rights, which put pressure on universities to crack down on sexual assault by, for example, using a lower standard of proof for findings of guilt.
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