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| Betsy DeVos hearing prompts fears for campus sexual assault protections | Betsy DeVos hearing prompts fears for campus sexual assault protections |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Betsy DeVos, nominated by Donald Trump to serve as the next education secretary, refused on Tuesday to state whether she would uphold the Obama administration’s guidance on how to handle campus sexual assault. | |
| DeVos – a Republican megadonor, philanthropist and eager patron of charter schools – cast taking a position on the issue as “premature” during her confirmation hearing before the Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions. | |
| Under the Obama administration, the education department has interpreted Title IX – a federal law barring sex discrimination – to mean that the country’s schools must play a role in protecting trans students and combating sexual assault on campus. | Under the Obama administration, the education department has interpreted Title IX – a federal law barring sex discrimination – to mean that the country’s schools must play a role in protecting trans students and combating sexual assault on campus. |
| Her comments came as senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, twice asked DeVos if she would commit to maintaining Barack Obama’s transformational policy aimed at curtailing sexual assault in K-12 schools and on college campuses. | |
| “Assault in any form is never OK, I just want to be very clear on that,” DeVos said. | |
| “If confirmed, I look forward to understanding the past actions and current situation better, and to ensuring that the intent of the law is actually carried out in a way that recognizes both the victim ... as well as those who are accused.” | |
| Casey, who characterized campus sexual assault as “an epidemic”, said he was looking for a more firm commitment. But DeVos declined to weigh in specifically, hinting at the possibility that she might work to reverse the reforms under the Obama administration. | |
| Senator Patty Murray of Washington, another Democrat on the committee, also voiced concerns with DeVos’ approach. | |
| “I am very interested in your thoughts on Title IX and how we can do everything possible to stop the scourge of campus sexual assault,” Murray said, while adding she was disappointed with how DeVos addressed the subject when they met in Washington in advance of the hearing. | |
| “I was not happy with how you talked about this issue when we met – but I am hopeful that you’ve learned more about it since then and are prepared to address it seriously.” | |
| DeVos, who is a Republican megadonor, philanthropist, and eager patron of charter schools, has not articulated her personal stance on the outgoing administration’s policies toward sexual assault on campus or transgender students. | DeVos, who is a Republican megadonor, philanthropist, and eager patron of charter schools, has not articulated her personal stance on the outgoing administration’s policies toward sexual assault on campus or transgender students. |
| But supporters of these policies are fretting over large donations DeVos or her family have made to groups that are fighting for these rules’ reversal. The DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative, a family foundation, has donated generously to the far-right legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which is challenging the Obama administration’s protections for trans students in court. | But supporters of these policies are fretting over large donations DeVos or her family have made to groups that are fighting for these rules’ reversal. The DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative, a family foundation, has donated generously to the far-right legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which is challenging the Obama administration’s protections for trans students in court. |
| Another organization, Focus on the Family, has received several hundred thousand dollars from DeVos and her husband. The group supports the discredited programs to change sexual orientation known as “conversion therapy”. | Another organization, Focus on the Family, has received several hundred thousand dollars from DeVos and her husband. The group supports the discredited programs to change sexual orientation known as “conversion therapy”. |
| And DeVos has personally donated $10,000 to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (Fire), a group which has made the reversal of the Obama administration’s policies on campus sexual assault a central part of its mission. | And DeVos has personally donated $10,000 to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (Fire), a group which has made the reversal of the Obama administration’s policies on campus sexual assault a central part of its mission. |
| Should DeVos be confirmed, it would be well within her power to rescind or weaken the education department’s policies on campus assault and transgender students. Under Obama, the department has issued guidance calling on schools to ensure that transgender students have access to facilities matching their gender identity. | |
| Officials in the department have interpreted Title IX as protecting trans students’ right of access. The Obama administration has also urged anti-bullying action in schools to protect LGBT students. | |
| On college campuses, the administration has enforced guidelines requiring colleges to more aggressively pursue accusations of sexual assault. It has done so by calling on colleges to use a lower standard of evidence for discipling students accused of sexual assault, and also by investigating, through the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), more than 200 colleges that have ignored or mishandled rape accusations. | On college campuses, the administration has enforced guidelines requiring colleges to more aggressively pursue accusations of sexual assault. It has done so by calling on colleges to use a lower standard of evidence for discipling students accused of sexual assault, and also by investigating, through the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), more than 200 colleges that have ignored or mishandled rape accusations. |
| The Obama administration also created a new education department division dedicated solely to investigating violations of the Clery Act, a 1990 law that requires colleges to track and publicly disclose crimes that occur on campus or in the vicinity. That division recently levied a record fine against Penn State University for its mishandling of rape accusations against Jerry Sandusky. | The Obama administration also created a new education department division dedicated solely to investigating violations of the Clery Act, a 1990 law that requires colleges to track and publicly disclose crimes that occur on campus or in the vicinity. That division recently levied a record fine against Penn State University for its mishandling of rape accusations against Jerry Sandusky. |
| On issues of both sexual assault and accommodations for trans students, schools that do not adhere to the guidance can incur financial penalties. | On issues of both sexual assault and accommodations for trans students, schools that do not adhere to the guidance can incur financial penalties. |
| Republicans in Congress have expressed some degree of opposition to practically all of these measures. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who chairs the House education committee, has said the OCR “deserves some scrutiny, let me just put it that way”. Senator James Lankford, who said the lower standard of evidence “indisputably tips the playing field against the accused, making the disciplinary process anything but ‘equitable’”, has reportedly met with DeVos on that very subject. | Republicans in Congress have expressed some degree of opposition to practically all of these measures. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who chairs the House education committee, has said the OCR “deserves some scrutiny, let me just put it that way”. Senator James Lankford, who said the lower standard of evidence “indisputably tips the playing field against the accused, making the disciplinary process anything but ‘equitable’”, has reportedly met with DeVos on that very subject. |
| In recent days, advocates urged students who have been protected by the Obama administration’s enforcement to share their stories under #DearBetsy. | In recent days, advocates urged students who have been protected by the Obama administration’s enforcement to share their stories under #DearBetsy. |
| “Countless students have benefitted from Title IX,” said Sofie Karasek, director of education at End Rape on Campus, which organized the campaign. “Many survivors use it to get the accommodations needed to stay in school, while others used it to hold their institutions accountable for sweeping sexual assault under the rug.” | “Countless students have benefitted from Title IX,” said Sofie Karasek, director of education at End Rape on Campus, which organized the campaign. “Many survivors use it to get the accommodations needed to stay in school, while others used it to hold their institutions accountable for sweeping sexual assault under the rug.” |
| More than two dozen states are suing the Obama administration over its guidance on transgender students in an effort that is overwhelmingly led by Republican secretaries of state. The current administration is defending the guidance in court. If the Trump administration were to pull out of the legal defense, the matter could be decided by lower courts, some of which have temporarily blocked the guidelines from taking effect. | More than two dozen states are suing the Obama administration over its guidance on transgender students in an effort that is overwhelmingly led by Republican secretaries of state. The current administration is defending the guidance in court. If the Trump administration were to pull out of the legal defense, the matter could be decided by lower courts, some of which have temporarily blocked the guidelines from taking effect. |
| Trump, like DeVos, has not broadcast any thoughts on these two policies, although he has indicated that he is not opposed to transgender individuals using restrooms that match their gender identity. | Trump, like DeVos, has not broadcast any thoughts on these two policies, although he has indicated that he is not opposed to transgender individuals using restrooms that match their gender identity. |
| But advisers of the president elect have given signals that advocates of government intervention on these issues find worrisome. | But advisers of the president elect have given signals that advocates of government intervention on these issues find worrisome. |
| Carl Paladino, the New York co-chair of Trump’s campaign before the election, called the OCR “self-perpetuating absolute nonsense”. And in an interview with Inside Higher Ed, Sam Clovis, who served as the policy director for Trump’s campaign, suggested moving the OCR to the justice department. | Carl Paladino, the New York co-chair of Trump’s campaign before the election, called the OCR “self-perpetuating absolute nonsense”. And in an interview with Inside Higher Ed, Sam Clovis, who served as the policy director for Trump’s campaign, suggested moving the OCR to the justice department. |
| The vice-president elect, Mike Pence, in a radio interview about the transgender guidance for schools, signalled that the measures might not be enforced under Trump. “Washington has no business intruding on the operation of our local schools,” he said. Instead, the choice to admit trans students to bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity would be left up to individual schools. | The vice-president elect, Mike Pence, in a radio interview about the transgender guidance for schools, signalled that the measures might not be enforced under Trump. “Washington has no business intruding on the operation of our local schools,” he said. Instead, the choice to admit trans students to bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity would be left up to individual schools. |
| DeVos’s connections to groups opposing aggressive Title IX intervention is not the only source of concern swirling around her potential confirmation. Her hearing will also begin before the Office for Government Ethics has finished its review of her substantial fortune for possible conflicts of interest. | DeVos’s connections to groups opposing aggressive Title IX intervention is not the only source of concern swirling around her potential confirmation. Her hearing will also begin before the Office for Government Ethics has finished its review of her substantial fortune for possible conflicts of interest. |