Biden order could change how colleges handle sex misconduct
In a first step toward reversing a contentious Trump administration policy, President Joe Biden on Monday ordered his administration to review federal rules guiding colleges in their handling of campus sexual assaults.
In an executive order, Biden directed the Education Department to examine rules that the Trump administration issued around Title IX, the federal law that forbids sex discrimination in education. Biden directed the agency to “consider suspending, revising or rescinding” any policies that fail to protect students.
Biden also signed a second executive order formally establishing the White House Gender Policy Council, which his transition team had announced before he took office.
“The policy of this administration is that every individual, every student is entitled to a fair education — free of sexual violence — and that all involved have access to a fair process,” Jennifer Klein, co-chair and executive director of the Gender Policy Council, told reporters at a White House briefing.
The orders were issued on International Women’s Day, a global celebration marking the achievements of women.
Both measures had been expected from Biden, who focused on gender equity during his campaign and previously promised to put an “immediate” end to rules that were finalized last year by former Education Secre- tary Betsy DeVos.
DeVos’ policy made sweep- ing changes to the way colleges respond to sexual harassment and assault, with provisions that bolster the rights of the accused and narrow the scope of cases schools are required to address. It was seen as a swing away from Obama-era guidance that focused on protecting victims of sexual misconduct.
Among other changes, DeVos’ rules narrowed the definition of sexual harass- ment, reduced the legal liability of colleges investigating sexual misconduct claims and gave accused students the right to cross-examine their accusers through a representative at live campus hearings.
Although Biden’s order sets the stage for a major policy shift, change is unlikely to come quickly. Any effort to rewrite DeVos’ rules would have to go through a federal rulemaking process that can take years to complete. It took three years, for example, for DeVos to reverse the Obama guidance and complete her own set of rules.
Biden’s other order establishing the Gender Policy Council was issued after Trump disbanded an office specifically focused on women’s issues created during the Obama administration that was called the White House Council on Women and Girls.
The new council is tasked with helping push gender equity on the administra- tion’s domestic and foreign policy efforts.
Some of the issues the coun- cil will focus on include com- bating sexual harassment, addressing structural barriers to women’s participation in the workforce, decreasing gender wage and wealth gaps, and addressing caregiving issues that have dispropor- tionately affected women.
Biden signed the orders hours before delivering a White House address to mark International Women’s Day. He used his speech to cele- brate the recent nominations of Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost and Army Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson to serve as combatant commanders. If confirmed by the Senate, they’ll become just the second and third women to serve as combatant commanders in the military.
Biden also used the speech to make the case that more needed to be done to improve conditions for women who serve, including dealing with the scourge of sexual assault and harassment in the ranks.
Biden called the problem “nothing less than a threat to our national security.”