Seattle
The public comment period for the measure opened on Thursday, where individuals can tell the U.S. Department of Education what they think about her desired changes to Title IX regulations.
DeVos’ proposal is a departure from Obama-era guidance for Title IX, a federal civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination in schools that receive public funding.
These changes, DeVos has said, would make the process fairer to accused students and their schools.
The proposal — leaked in September and officially released by the Education Department mostly unchanged this month — has been denounced by survivors and their advocates, who believe it will allow schools to avoid dealing with cases of sexual misconduct.
Public comment lasts for 60 days — meaning people have until about the end of January to share their thoughts.
Schools only would be required to respond if an official report was made to them or if multiple complaints about the same person were made to an official with authority to respond. Under Obama, schools could be found in violation of their Title IX obligations for not responding to sexual misconduct if they knew or reasonably should have known about it.
Schools also wouldn’t have to respond to off-campus incidents and the definition of sexual harassment would be narrower.
Other controversial changes include allowing schools to use a higher standard of evidence and mediation for sexual-misconduct cases, as well as requiring cross-examination by advisers during hearings.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., ranking member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee called on DeVos to withdraw the proposal at a Wednesday news conference in Washington, D.C.