Education Secretary Betsy DeVos vowed Thursday to replace what she branded the “failed system” of campus sexual assault enforcement, to ensure fairness for victims and the accused.
“Instead of working with schools … ,” DeVos said, “the prior administration weaponized the Office for Civil Rights.”
“We must do better because the current approach isn’t working,” she said.
DeVos spoke to about 100 invited guests at George Mason University, where protesters had gathered outside, worried that she would announce changes to the way sexual violence cases are handled on campuses across the country.
“One rape is one too many,” DeVos said firmly, and “not one more survivor will be silenced. We will not abandon anyone.” As a mother, she said she has sympathy for parents whose children are victims of sexual misconduct. “I cannot imagine receiving that call.”
But she also repeatedly emphasized the rights of students who are accused, saying one person denied due process is one too many, and was harshly critical of the system established by the Obama administration, saying it had failed too many schools. “School administrators tell me it has run amok.”
She said the department would go through a formal process seeking public input in order to replace the current system with a more effective and just system.
“Every survivor of sexual misconduct must be taken seriously,” she said. “Every student accused of sexual misconduct must know that guilt is not predetermined.
“These are non-negotiable principles.”
DeVos criticized a key element of Obama’s policy: that schools use a standard known as “preponderance of the evidence” when weighing sexual misconduct cases.
“Washington dictated that schools must use the lowest standard of proof … it’s no wonder so many call these proceedings ‘kangaroo courts.’ ”
DeVos said those flawed approaches to sexual misconduct cases are bad for all involved, especially if they lead to litigation. “Survivors aren’t well served when they are re-traumatized by appeal after appeal.”