Leaked DeVos rules could trigger drastic changes in Columbia’s sexual assault policies
Updated September 6, 2018 at 10:34 a.m.
Newly proposed federal Title IX regulations could spark broad changes to Columbia policies governing sexual misconduct, bolstering the rights of the accused and making it difficult to bring a legal complaint against Columbia for its handling of investigations, according to legal experts.
If implemented, the policies could reduce victims’ legal ground for filing a complaint against Columbia, which currently faces the second highest number of Title IX investigations in the Ivy League. Consequently, anti-sexual assault activists worry that the new rules will make it more difficult to hold the University accountable through litigation.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ proposed policies, obtained and released in a New York Times report, delineate a higher threshold for what constitutes sexual harassment. They also hold schools accountable for formal complaints only if they are made to officials directly responsible for enforcing rules—meaning most advisers and student life employees, like residential advisers, would not be legally mandated reporters.
While the regulations do not mandate that universities change their policies, schools that do not will face more legal pushback from anyone accused of harassment, creating a deterrent for universities that don’t comply, according to Title IX expert Saundra Schuster.
In a statement to Spectator, Executive Vice President for University Life Suzanne Goldberg said that Columbia will review the proposed rules carefully when they are formally released, but encouraged all students to learn more about Columbia’s gender-based misconduct policy.
Columbia’s current sexual misconduct policies were first established during the Obama era, marking an effort to make Title IX resources more accessible. They use the “preponderance of the evidence” as a standard to find Continue reading: Leaked DeVos rules could trigger drastic changes in Columbia’s sexual assault policies - Columbia Daily Spectator