State backs Title IX rules

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is among 15 states to sign off on a legal brief supporting new federal regulations telling schools how to respond to student complaints of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined other Republican attorneys general in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Thursday that sides with the U.S. Department of Education against a legal challenge from attorneys general in other states.

The split is along partisan lines, with Democrat attorneys general seeking to block the requirements from taking effect next month. In June, 17 states and the District of Columbia filed their challenge in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

The new regulations require schools to investigate formal complaints using a process with due process principles, according to the U.S. Department of Education. For colleges, the process must include a live hearing allowing cross-examination by advisers.

“These regulations will impose a clear duty on schools to protect their students who survive sexual assault and those who face false sexual-assault allegations,” Amanda Priest, a spokeswoman for Rutledge, said.

The legal brief, submitted by the Texas attorney general’s office, criticizes guidance for schools issued under President Barack Obama. That guidance, rescinded under Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, an appointee of President Donald Trump, “trampled the rights of students,” the brief states.

Priest said: “In contrast with the Obama-era agency guidance documents which ignored federal procedural requirements, the new Title IX regulations make it clear that schools must never tolerate sexual assault on campus or infringe on their students’ constitutional rights.”

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, among those challenging DeVos, described the new regulations as unlawfully narrowing the reach of civil rights protections while also making it harder for schools to respond to sexual harassment.

A friend-of-the-court brief submitted in the case last month by the American Council on Education and 24 other education groups asked the court to give schools more time to get into compliance with the new requirements, citing a need to respond to the global pandemic. The implementation deadline for schools is Aug. 14.