Contact: Christopher Perry

Telephone: 301-801-0608

Email: cperry@saveservices.org

U.S. Dept. of Education Invites Recommendations on Regulatory Reform:

SAVE Urges Persons to Comment on Unlawful Sexual Violence Directives

WASHINGTON / August 2, 2017 – The Department of Education has issued an invitation to persons to submit comments on federal regulations that are deemed to be unnecessary or ineffective, or impose costs that exceed the benefits. The solicitation was issued pursuant to Executive Order 13777, Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.

SAVE invites state lawmakers and others to submit comments urging the Department of Education to rescind its 2011 Dear Colleague Letter on Sexual Violence — https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201104.html — and its subsequent Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence — https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/qa-201404-title-ix.pdf .

Even though the Letter and Q and A policy documents were never submitted for public review and comment, this unlawful federal policy has been enforced by the federal government as binding law, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The 2011 Dear Colleague Letter has been sharply criticized by law professors, civil liberties organizations, and others for trivializing the problem of campus rape, shortchanging sexual assault victims, and curtailing due process rights of the accused: http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/ocr/

In recent months, five organizations have issued independent reports calling for an overhaul of the campus adjudication system: http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/ocr/

1. SAVE: Six-Year Experiment in Campus Jurisprudence Fails to Make the Grade
2. American College of Trial Lawyers: Position Statement Regarding Campus Sexual Assault Investigations
3. NCHERM Group: Due Process and the Sex Police
4. American Bar Association Task Force for Promoting Fairness in Campus Sexual Misconduct Cases
5. Heritage Foundation: Campus Sexual Assault: Understanding the Problem and How to Fix It

The deadline for submission of comments is August 21, 2017. To submit a comment, go to: https://www.regulations.gov/comment?D=ED-2017-OS-0074-0001  Additional information is available here: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=ED-2017-OS-0074-0001

SAVE (Stop Abusive and Violent Environments) is working to restore free speech and due process on college campuses: www.saveservices.org