DeVos rejects ‘dear colleague’ policy approach

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos held a series of “listening sessions” earlier this month as part of an effort to reshape her department’s focus on Title IX complaints. Under the Obama administration, the Office of Civil Rights took an activist approach to the problem of sexual assaults on college campuses and transgender accommodations, a level of federal overreach conservatives opposed.

Last week, DeVos announced the Education Department would return “to its role as a neutral, impartial, investigative agency.” Her comments came in a letter to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who had demanded a report on the status of civil rights complaints lodged during her predecessor’s tenure. DeVos declined to provide details, using the request instead to outline a different direction.

Critics say Obama-era guidance fundamentally changed the burden of proof balance and left too many students facing serious academic repercussions based on evidence that would never stand up in a court of law. After meeting last week with students who claimed they were falsely accused of sexual assault, DeVos pledged her commitment to both victims and justice.

“We can’t go back to the days when allegations were swept under the rug,” she said. “And I acknowledge there was a time when women were essentially dismissed. That is not acceptable. It’s clear that there are failings in this process. A system without due process protections ultimately serves no one in the end.”

In her letter to Murray, DeVos said the Education Department during the Obama era too often took individual complaints as signs of systemic problems, requiring far more extensive investigations than necessary and creating a backlog of cases. DeVos tried to strike a conciliatory tone, but opponents said blunt comments from her assistant secretary for civil rights revealed the Trump administration’s true attitude toward victims.

In an interview with The New York Times a few days before DeVos held her meetings, Candice Jackson characterized most sexual assault claims as consensual encounters later regretted: “Rather, the accusations—90 percent of them—fall into the category of, ‘We were both drunk, we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.’”

Jackson later apologized for her “flippant” comments and insisted she believed all complaints should be taken seriously. Democrats weren’t buying it, but DeVos stood by Jackson, refusing to heed calls for her dismissal.

The fight over sexual assault cases stems from a deeper problem DeVos is trying to fix: federal agencies using so called “Dear colleague” letters to set policy without public input or notice. The Obama administration used that approach in its effort to force all public schools to allow transgender students to use the restroom and locker room facilities of their choice. The Trump administration rescinded that guidance earlier this year, and DeVos vowed the Education Department would not take that “politically expedient” approach under her watch, issuing new regulations “only after appropriate notice and public comment.”

Take all the time you need?

Nevada has become the latest state to offer its high school students the option of taking five years to graduate. The so-called 13th year of school is gaining popularity as a way to boost graduation rates and help better prepare students for college.

Among Nevada’s class of 2016, 70.8 percent graduated within four years. Given an extra year, the graduation rate increased to 73.5 percent. Those extra 630 graduates didn’t earn enough credits in four years to get a diploma and would have had to pay extra to stay on another year under the old system, a step few likely would take.

While Nevada is using the 13th year to give students extra time to meet the minimum graduation requirements, Oregon offers the extra year as a college prep program that amounts to one free year of community college. Students entering the voluntary 13th year have completed their high school credits and are ready to begin taking college-level courses. The state continues to pay the local district to monitor and support the students, offering them an extra layer of accountability they wouldn’t normally get in college. If they complete the 13th year of “high school,” students are considered college sophomores.

Oregon’s program is getting mixed reviews. Critics say it takes money away from public schools to create a free college tuition plan. They also note the extra year of high school wouldn’t be necessary in Oregon or Nevada if the public schools were doing their jobs in the first place. If 13 years is good, wouldn’t 14 be better? Where do we draw the line? —L.J.

Neutralizing gender-based clubs at Harvard

A faculty committee at Harvard University has recommended a ban on single-gender social clubs starting next school year. Harvard does not officially recognize sororities and fraternities on campus, but several local chapters in the area are open to Harvard students. Those found violating the ban would face disciplinary action.

Although the recommended ban fits with the pervasive push for gender neutrality, it’s driven by claims of sexual assault and underage drinking. Harvard has several secretive all-male groups, known as “final clubs,” some of which date back to the 18th century. A separate Harvard committee recently found the clubs have “deeply misogynistic attitudes” and a “sense of sexual entitlement.” Nearly half of female seniors who interacted socially with final club members reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact during college.

Several high-profile cases of hazing at other universities contributed to the committee’s recommendation. A Pennsylvania State University fraternity made headlines earlier this year after a 19-year-old student died following a night of binge drinking during a pledge ritual.

“The committee’s deliberations were carried out under the shadow of tragic events relating to hazing and excessive drinking at other campuses across America,” the group wrote. “The committee's recommendation is in part intended as a preventative step.”

Harvard President Drew Faust will make the final decision. Harvard wouldn’t be the first elite college to ban single-gender clubs, and it’s not hard to see other top-tier universities following suit. —L.J.

A tricky question

The Education Department just can’t win when it comes to pleasing transgender advocates. The agency announced last week it would change the tense of a gender-related question on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) after someone complained the present-tense wording might confuse transgender students. Instead of asking, “Are you male or female?” the department plans to ask, “Were you born male or female?” Gender is important because all FAFSAs filed by male applicants must be checked against Selective Service registration, a requirement for getting any federal aid. But transgender advocates say asking about an applicant’s birth gender could “out” some transgender students while also suggesting transgenderism isn’t a real thing. They offered to meet with Education Department representatives to help them get the question “right.” But a simple tense change probably won’t fix the problem. Nothing short of a total rejection of biological reality seems likely to suffice. —L.J.