The U.S. Department of Education released a statement Friday that two Obama-era guidance documents would be withdrawn — issuing new guidelines on how schools should handle Title IX. 

The 2011 “Dear Colleague Letter on Sexual Violence” and the 2014 “Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence” — both issued by the Office for Civil Rights — were the statements of policy to be withdrawn. 

The 2011 guidance said campuses should use the preponderance of evidence standard, which is considered a lower standard of proof. The new guidance, released as a question-and-answer document, said schools should apply a preponderance of the evidence standard or a clear and convincing evidence standard.

The statement came in the form of a new “dear colleague letter” written by Candice Jackson, the Department of Education’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights. The statement said the guidance was withdrawn on the basis of criticism from “legal commentators.”

“The guidance has not succeeded in providing clarity for educational institutions or in leading institutions to guarantee educational opportunities on the equal basis that Title IX requires,” the statement said. “Instead, schools face a confusing and counterproductive set of regulatory mandates, and the objective of regulatory compliance has displaced Title IX’s goal of educational equity.”

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex for schools and programs that receive federal funding. In a Sept. 7 speech, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced she would review Obama-era guidance on campus sexual assault. 

“The truth is that the system established by the prior administration has failed too many students. Survivors, victims of a lack of due process and campus administrators have all told me that the current approach does a disservice to everyone involved,” DeVos said during the speech. 

Executive Director of University Relations John McCaroll 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 rulemaking 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.”

The Iowa State Office of Equal Opportunity was also contacted for a statement.