9/22/2017

BETSY DEVOS/EDUCATION: “Colleges can now apply a higher standard of proof when determining guilt in sexual misconduct cases and must offer equal opportunity for the accused and accuser to have legal advisers participate in their hearings, according to interim recommendations issued by the U.S. Department of Education on Friday [9-22-17].
The guidelines, delivered in the form of a question-and-answer sheet posted online, serve to provide advice for schools on how they adjudicate sexual assault cases, while the Education Department undertakes a more formal review to determine long-term regulations on the sensitive issue.
The Education Department on Friday formally rescinded guidelines issued by the Obama administration in 2011 and 2014, following through on a plan Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced earlier this month to overhaul the way schools are instructed to deal with sexual misconduct on their campuses…
Schools now have the discretion to apply either the ‘preponderance of the evidence’ standard, or the higher ‘clear and convincing evidence’ standard, rather than judging guilt based on just the lower standard, as was the recommendation issued by the Obama administration beginning in 2011.”

-Melissa Korn, “Interim Federal Guidance on Campus Sex Assault Stresses Equal Rights for Accused,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 22, 2017 12:53pm