The Trump administration is rescinding an Obama-era rule that lowered the standard used by colleges to punish students and faculty members accused of sexual misconduct on campus, which critics say has led to many innocent people being fired or expelled and a wave of lawsuits.
The Obama administration’s guidelines on implementing the federal Title IX policy mandated that schools use the “preponderance of the evidence” standard rather than “beyond a reasonable doubt,” as practiced in criminal courts.
But the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said Friday that Obama’s April 4, 2011, “Dear Colleague” letter and an accompanying 2014 guidance document have been rescinded.
Along with lowering the standard to “preponderance of evidence,” meaning it’s more likely than not that an assault occurred, the Obama guidelines also recommended the removal of the right to cross-examination and prohibitions on double jeopardy, being tried for the same accusation twice.
WND reported colleges and universities have paid out $36 million in lawsuits in more than 180 lawsuits for improperly handling sexual-assault accusations since the 2011 change in the Department of Education’s sexual assault policy.
The controversial federal mandate also required all allegations of sexual assault to be heard by a campus disciplinary panel.
“The campus justice system was and is broken,” said FIRE Executive Director Robert Shibley and author of “Twisting Title IX.” “Fair outcomes are impossible without fair procedures.”
Shibley said that when the government “sprang its 2011 letter on colleges and students without warning, it made it impossible for campuses to serve the needs of victims while also respecting the rights of the accused.”
“With the end of this destructive policy, we finally have the opportunity to get it right,” he said.
The Education Department said it will develop a new approach to addressing sexual misconduct on campus that takes seriously the rights of victims and the accused.
New policy will be implemented through a “notice and comment” process that responds to the input of all stakeholders, according to the department. The department did not solicit feedback for its 2011 letter, prompting a FIRE-sponsored lawsuit last year.
A study released by FIRE earlier this month found that college students are routinely denied even the most basic elements of a fair hearing.
The homosexual-rights group Human Rights Campaign charged the policy change will make it “more difficult for survivors to receive justice.’
Jennifer Pike Bailey, HRC senior public policy advocate, said in a fundraising email that “LGBTQ Americans face disproportionately high levels of sexual assault and violence.”
She said a 2015 study found that 60 percent of gay and lesbian students and nearly 70 percent of bisexual students reported being sexually harassed on campus. Studies also suggest that half of transgender people will experience sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.
