The system isn’t failing

When it comes to the federal guidelines colleges use to handle campus rape cases, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has it backwards.

DeVos announced Thursday that following public input, she would replace the campus adjudication process for sexual assault with a system that more fairly protects both survivors and students accused of assault.

But the cases DeVos cited to argue that the system has failed are actually cases where administrators failed to abide by the system’s rules.

Those rules were outlined in a 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter from the Obama administration, which DeVos indicated she wants to repeal, and the Clery Act, a federal law that governs certain school safety policies.

None of this indicates that the system has “failed.”

DeVos claimed that universities use untrained educators and administrators to adjudicate sexual assault, leave students accused of assault in the dark about proceedings, and hold “kangaroo courts” to determine whether assault has occurred.

In fact, the “Dear Colleague” letter and the Clery Act mandate that impartial, trained investigators handle disciplinary proceedings, opportunities for both parties to call witnesses and use advisers, and timely notifications about the process for accused students.

DeVos also wants to introduce due process for students accused of sexual assault — but the level of due process required in a criminal trial isn’t necessary for a campus adjudication, which is not a criminal proceeding. Schools have every right to expel students found responsible for assault and to restrict accused students from contacting their accuser.

DeVos insisted that administrators should not serve as judges, demonstrating she conflated the campus process with the criminal justice system. Trained administrators do not serve as judges. Rather, they determine whether students have violated Title IX and campus policy.

It’s important to treat survivors and accused students fairly. That’s why the current system lays out protections for both. There’s no need to replace a system that is working.