Betsy DeVos updates Title IX guidelines

Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trumps pick to be the next Secretary of Education, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill January 17, 2017 in Washington, DC. 

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Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be the next Secretary of Education, testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill January 17, 2017 in Washington, DC. 

Maria Pimentel Diaz
October 1, 2017

Last Friday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued new guidelines on how colleges should handle sexual assault reversing Obama-era Title IX guidelines. Here is what is changing:

  • Colleges can abandon the need for lower standard proof and require a higher standard of “clear and convincing evidence.”

  • An investigation no longer has to be done within 60 days but “reasonably prompt.”

  • Mediation will be offered so the accuser and the accused can talk.

According to the Department of Education, Title IX:

  • Protects people from being discriminated based on their gender.

  • Applies to any institution that receives federal funds from the Department of Education.

  • Requires universities to report any kind of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking in annual reports.

  • If this happens the university is required to provide:

    • Modifications in class and work schedules and housing locations

    • Increase in security, including campus escorts

    • Leave of absences

According to RAINN, one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime and one in 33 American men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. In 2015, 41 sexual assaults were reported at Iowa State. 

In light of these new guidelines the Iowa State Daily interviewed the Executive Director of University Relations John McCarroll, who provided the following statement:

“Iowa State is carefully reviewing the new Title IX guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. We will work with other higher education leaders to provide input to the Department as it engages in a formal rule-making process to develop and clarify Title IX standards. Iowa State is committed to do all that we can to prevent sexual violence, and we will continue to provide a fair process for resolving allegations of sexual violence and providing support to survivors of sexual assault.”

Editor’s note: This story was corrected to include statistics from RAINN.