'See you in court': ACLU sues Betsy DeVos over new campus sexual assault rules
Source: nbc news
The suit says Title IX changes will make it "more difficult for victims of sexual harassment or sexual assault to continue their educations."
May 14, 2020, 2:49 PM CDT By Erik Ortiz
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' revised federal guidelines on how sexual assault allegations should be handled on college and K-12 campuses is the target of a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, claiming the changes would "inflict significant harm" on victims and "dramatically undermine" their civil rights.
The suit, filed on behalf of four advocacy groups for sexual assault survivors, including Know Your IX and Girls for Gender Equity, is the first that attempts to block the Department of Education's new provisions before they go into effect on Aug. 14.
The rules championed by DeVos effectively bolster the rights of due process for those accused of sexual assault and harassment, allowing for live hearings and cross examinations. It's what agency officials say was lacking under the Obama administration to protect all students under Title IX, a 1972 law that prohibits gender discrimination, including sexual assault, at schools.
"This new federal effort to weaken Title IX makes it more difficult for victims of sexual harassment or sexual assault to continue their educations and needlessly comes amid a global pandemic," according to the suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York-based law firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.
The suit names DeVos, the Education Department and Kenneth Marcus, the agency's assistant secretary of civil rights. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the complaint.
DeVos proposes changes to the way colleges handle complaints of sexual misconduct
Nov. 16, 201801:32
DeVos last week denied that the final rule would discourage victims from coming forward to report abuse and instead, allows for schools to be more balanced in how they review claims, rather than through what she called a "kangaroo court" approach.
But Tabacco Mar argues that it creates a "double standard" for how schools must treat sexual discrimination complaints compared to how they handle allegations of race, national origin and disability discrimination.......................................................
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/see-you-court-aclu-sues-betsy-devos-over-new-campus-n1206981
Image: Meghan Downey protests as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announces changes in federal policy for investigating reports of sexual assault on college campuses in Arlington, Va., on Sept. 7, 2017.
Protesters opposing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' changes to federal policy for investigating reports of sexual assault on college campuses gather in Arlington, Va., on Sept. 7, 2017.J. Lawler Duggan / The Washington Post via Getty Images file
bucolic_frolic
(42,676 posts)to about 1925-1950.
abqtommy
(14,118 posts)sakabatou
(42,083 posts)riversedge
(69,727 posts)TheNewNumberTwo
(70 posts)F that racist [bleep]. I guess she wants MORE sex offenders in her Amway downline?
melm00se
(4,974 posts)the proposed rules require "live hearings and cross examinations".
- These are 6th Amendment protections extended in a criminal case.
- It could be argued that a college or university disciplinary hearing is not criminal in nature as the accused's personal freedom is not at risk.
- It could also be argued that a college or university disciplinary hearing is criminal in nature as the accused can suffer a penalty namely expulsion and a permanent record of why (this would be especially true if the school in question can be categorized as a "state actor" .
I have struggled with this question as the victim is carrying a huge burden and fear but the accused has rights as well and trampling one person's rights in favor of another is not a good thing.
killaphill
(212 posts)There is no need to make them relive the trauma.
After all, this isn't a criminal procedure. No one is going to jail.
melm00se
(4,974 posts)witnesses of fact are subject to cross examination (https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/cross-examination).