NBC: Betsy DeVos releases final changes to campus sexual assault policies

On May 6th, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Education revised Title IX, releasing new guidelines for universities and K-12 schools to follow for handling cases of sexual assault and misconduct. The new guidelines focus predominantly on giving alleged perpetrators more protections; cases must proceed under the assumption that the alleged perpetrator is innocent, they have a right to be provided all evidence against them, and they will be able to cross-examine accusers in live hearings. The agency’s assistant secretary of civil rights remarked that these guidelines are in response to too many students with “tarnished careers by administrators” resulting from a lack of due process. In contrast, advocates for sexual assault victims predict that these changes will prevent students from coming forward and produce a biased reporting process favoring assailants. 

Continue reading here.