Utah college and university students who experience rape and sexual assault may have a harder time proving their case, under new instructions issued by the U.S. Department of Education.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday revoked a series of Obama-era rules — outlined in a 2011 memo known as the “Dear Colleague Letter” — while providing new, partial directions in their stead until the Education Department can complete a formal review of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in higher education.
The new rules, while incomplete, provide greater flexibility to colleges and universities than the Dear Colleague Letter on how they handle assault cases, while also emphasizing the due-process rights of the accused.