Biden Administration Guts Due Process Protections for Students Accused of Sexual MisconductUnder the new regulations, Title IX investigators can deny students access to the evidence against them.
EMMA CAMP
FROM THE OCTOBER 2022 ISSUE of Reason Magazine
College students investigated for sexual harassment or assault will once again be stripped of due process, thanks to new regulations released by the U.S. Department of Education in June.
The new rules, which apply to investigations under Title IX, part of a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education, rescind rules crafted and implemented by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during the Trump administration. They mark the return of the "single investigator model," which empowers a single college administrator to investigate, judge, and sanction alleged misconduct.
The Biden administration regulations also require schools to apply a "preponderance of the evidence" standard when investigating complaints. Under that standard, investigators must find an accused student guilty if they conclude it is more than 50 percent likely that the allegations are true. Under the DeVos regulations, by contrast, universities needed "clear and convincing evidence" to punish an accused student.
Under the new regulations, Title IX investigators can deny students access to the evidence against them. They are required only to give accused students a "description of the relevant evidence." That description can be given "orally," meaning accused students are not entitled to review testimony, transcripts, or other records used to determine their guilt. The new rules also allow schools to deny accused students a live hearing and the opportunity to question their accusers.
* * *
Source:
https://reason.com/2022/09/15/biden-guts-title-ix-due-process/
