On Friday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced her revision of federal rules governing campus sexual harassment and assault allegations, and the ACLU, which once believed in the necessity of guarding everyone’s civil liberties, immediately ripped DeVos, claiming, “The proposed rule would make schools less safe for survivors of sexual assault and harassment … It promotes an unfair process, inappropriately favoring the accused.”
As The Washington Post reported, “The proposed regulation replaces less formal guidelines created under President Barack Obama that tilt more toward accusers … Under the proposal, fewer allegations would be considered sexual harassment and schools would be responsible only for investigating incidents that are part of campus programs and activities and that were properly reported. Accused students would be entitled to lawyers and cross-examination.”
We advocate for fair school disciplinary processes that uphold the rights of both parties in campus sexual assault and harassment cases.
Today Secretary DeVos proposed a rule that would tip the scales against those who raise their voices.
We strongly oppose it.
— ACLU (@ACLU) November 16, 2018
The proposed rule would make schools less safe for survivors of sexual assault and harassment, when there is already alarmingly high rates of campus sexual assaults and harassment that go unreported.
— ACLU (@ACLU) November 16, 2018
It promotes an unfair process, inappropriately favoring the accused and letting schools ignore their responsibility under Title IX to respond promptly and fairly to complaints of sexual violence.
— ACLU (@ACLU) November 16, 2018
The ACLU tweeted, “We advocate for fair school disciplinary processes that uphold the rights of both parties in campus sexual assault and harassment cases. Today Secretary DeVos proposed a rule that would tip the scales against those who raise their voices. We strongly oppose it.”
The ACLU added, “The proposed rule would make schools less safe for survivors of sexual assault and harassment, when there is already alarmingly high rates of campus sexual assaults and harassment that go unreported. It promotes an unfair process, inappropriately favoring the accused and letting schools ignore their responsibility under Title IX to respond promptly and fairly to complaints of sexual violence.”- READ MORE