INDEPENDENT WOMEN’S FORUM: “IWF applauds the Title IX federal regulations released today by the Department of Education. The new regulations—for the first time—codify the obligation of schools to address claims of sexual misconduct. They also require that schools conduct all sexual misconduct investigations without bias and in a non-discriminatory manner.”
YOUNG AMERICA’S FOUNDATION: “These bold reforms – driven by unprecedented input from the American people – will restore constitutional principles and allow students to be confident in fairness and accountability from their schools.”
FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION: “Advocates for free speech and due process on campus won one of their biggest-ever victories today with the finalization of long-awaited new Department of Education Title IX regulations. The regulations guarantee critical due process protections that Americans recognize as essential to securing justice, but that have for too long been denied to students accused of sexual misconduct on college campuses.”
JEANNIE SUK GERSEN, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: “The major story here is that for the first time, the regulations are really making it clear that there are certain elements to a fair process. It’s not just telling schools to be fair, which they have been told by the Education Department multiple times. These regs are actually laying out some of the elements that the department thinks are essential to making a process fair in the college disciplinary context.”
NINA J. GINSBERG, PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS: “The restoration of due process on campus is essential…America’s colleges and universities are where millions of young adults are not just learning from textbooks and lectures — they are also becoming civically engaged members of a community, of a social order. We cannot expect young adult students to understand and defend core constitutional principles once they leave campus if some of those core principles that apply in America’s justice system are honored only in the breach by the educational institutions presiding over student misconduct proceedings.”
NADINE STROSSEN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE ACLU: “One of the best things about the DeVos guidelines is that it really goes back to square one of what the purpose of Title IX is.”
JUDGE RAYMOND KETHLEDGE, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT: “Any number of federal constitutional and statutory provisions reflect the proposition that, in this country, we determine guilt or innocence individually—rather than collectively, based on one’s identification with some demographic group. That principle has not always been perfectly realized in our Nation’s history, but as judges it is one that we take an oath to enforce.”
KIMBERLY LAU, JAMES FIGLIOZZI AND BRANDEN LYNN, ATTORNEYS AT WARSHAW BURSTEIN: “Placed in an unenviable position, DOE sought to strike a balance by integrating the bedrock principles of due process found within our legal system while also providing continuous support to complainants… As legal practitioners, we believe the final regulations, while not perfect, represent a step in the right direction for Title IX.”
MICHAEL POWELL, NEW YORK TIMES: “Ms. DeVos’ actions won praise from a surprising audience: an influential group of feminist legal scholars who applauded the administration for repairing what they viewed as unconscionable breaches in the rights of the accused.”
DOUGLAS WILDER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA: “…the Department of Education has taken a major step toward improving one area with a longtime culture of injustice. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos recently strengthened Title IX protections for the survivors of sexual misconduct on campus, while instituting due process in campus proceedings.”
JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG, U.S. SUPREME COURT: “The person who is accused has a right to defend herself or himself, and we certainly should not lose sight of that…[it’s] one of the basic tenets of our system…everyone deserves a fair hearing.”
STACI SLEIGH-LAYMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND THE TITLE IX COORDINATOR AT CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: “These new changes give a lot of credibility and due process and equal kind of attention to the person accused as well as the person coming forward… they put in place a process that seeks to provide due process for both sides.”
BUDDY ULLMAN, FORMER PROFESSOR AT THE OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY: “I am a progressive Democrat and enthusiastic supporter of the new Title IX Rule that was recently issued by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The DeVos Rule provides colleges and universities with a detailed and uniform modus operandi on how they must handle gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault disputes. The new regulations emphasize fairness, equitability, due process protections, and extensive supportive measures for all parties, all of which have been.”
R. SHEP MELNICK, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: “Not only was the Education Department’s rulemaking process extraordinarily extensive and its response to comments meticulous, but its final rules return to the legal framework established by the Supreme Court over two decades ago… the new administrative regulations are less radical—and more demanding—than the Education Department’s critics often suggest… the Department of Education deserves credit for going through a transparent, time-consuming, and rigorous rulemaking process and respecting the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Title IX.”