DeVos Erases Obama-Era ‘Dear Colleague’ Campus Sexual Assault Policy

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos withdrew the Obama-era “Dear Colleague” policy which minimized the burden of proof required when adjudicating sexual assault cases on college campuses.

The controversial “Dear Colleague” policy established by the Obama administration in 2011 lowered the burden of proof required in campus sexual assault cases to the “preponderance of the evidence” standard, the lowest possible standard. According to legal authorities, under this standard, administrators would only have to be 51 percent convinced that an accused student was guilty of the charges to discipline them.

“These documents have led to the deprivation of rights for many students—both accused students denied fair process and victims denied an adequate resolution of their complaints,” the new “Dear Colleague” letter reads. The letter goes on to criticize the Obama-era policy for being adopted without public notice, foregoing the expected period of public comment and debate.

The Obama-era policy has been temporarily replaced with an interim policy that DeVos says will help schools to better afford a fair investigation to those who are accused of sexual misconduct. She claims that through the new policy, all will have more confidence in the outcomes of such investigations.

“This interim guidance will help schools as they work to combat sexual misconduct and will treat all students fairly. Schools must continue to confront these horrific crimes and behaviors head-on. There will be no more sweeping them under the rug,” DeVos said in a statement. “But the process also must be fair and impartial, giving everyone more confidence in its outcomes.”

“Legal commentators have criticized the 2011 Letter and the 2014 Questions and Answers for placing ‘improper pressure upon universities to adopt procedures that do not afford fundamental fairness,'” the new letter continues. “As a result, many schools have established procedures for resolving allegations that “lack the most basic elements of fairness and due process, are overwhelmingly stacked against the accused, and are in no way required by Title IX law or regulation.”

Towards the end of the letter, Candice Jackson, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of Education claims that the department is committed to furthering the progress of equality on campuses that have been made by Title IX regulations.

“In the forty-five years since the passage of Title IX, we have seen remarkable progress toward an educational environment free of sex discrimination,” she finished. “That progress resulted in large part from the vigorous enforcement of Title IX by the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education. The Department remains committed to enforcing these critical protections and intends to do so consistent with its mission under Title IX to protect fair and equitable access to education.”