UH, A&M face federal investigations into their handling of sexual assault allegations on campus.

Accused Aggie may have had rights violated

The University of Houston and Texas A&M University are among five Texas schools facing federal investigations into how they responded to allegations of sexual violence on campus.

As of Nov. 12, 177 sexual violence cases were under investigation at 147 postsecondary institutions, according to a list provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

It is unclear what the investigation at UH — launched late last month — involves. Regarding the A&M inquiry, the Texas Tribune reported that the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is investigating claims that A&M officials went too far when they suspended a male student accused of assaulting a female classmate. That investigation was launched in March.

UH officials said in a statement that no details were provided to the university about the ongoing investigation. The federal agency said it is “conducting a review of the university’s policies and procedures regarding Title IX complaints during the past few years,” according to the UH statement.

Last year, two former UH students sued the school after they were expelled for alleged involvement in a sexual assault on the southeast Houston campus.

The two were among a growing number of students who contend universities are running roughshod over due process to demonstrate their commitment to swift justice for sexual assault victims. In their federal lawsuit against UH and two administrators, the students claimed they were largely kept in the dark during the lengthy investigation of the complaint against them and were given little chance to defend themselves in an administrative hearing.

The lawsuit was dismissed in May by U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore, but the students appealed last week, their attorney, Joshua Engel, said in an interview.

The accuser in that case filed a complaint with the university, saying her Title IX rights were violated. Title IX is the federal law that requires universities to combat gender-based violence and protect survivors. Colleges must walk a fine line, acting quickly to ensure sexual assault survivors are safe while not rushing to judgment against the accused.

The federal government recently has lowered the standard of evidence required to find students guilty in such cases, sharpening the tension over how the cases are handled.

A 2011 letter from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights prompted many universities to respond more aggressively. The letter urged universities to rely on a preponderance of evidence — essentially, “more likely than not” — as opposed to the more stringent “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard applied in criminal trials.

Engel, who has represented other students or former students suing universities, said schools have acted too swiftly in fear of federal investigations being launched on their campuses.

“We’ve seen schools really rush to judgment on these cases in order to make themselves look better for the Department of Education all around the country,” he said.

The three other Texas schools under investigation are Trinity University in San Antonio, the University of Texas-Pan American and Cisco Junior College in North Texas.

“UH is proud of its robust Title IX programs and will fully cooperate with the review, using this as an opportunity to provide the OCR with information about the many policies, procedures, and programs in place to maintain an environment where students, faculty, staff and visitors are free from discrimination of any kind,” the UH statement said.