Dive Brief:
- A four-year Title IX investigation into Harvard Law School has ended with an agreement between the school and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
- In addition to Harvard’s change in sexual assault policy in July, the university’s police will share information with the school and Harvard will provide staff training, student information sessions, annual surveys, and a review of sexual assault complaints since 2012, Inside Higher Ed reported.
- Another Title IX investigation into Harvard College, Harvard’s undergraduate school, is continuing.
Dive Insight:
The Harvard Law School situation illustrates a wider tug of war between advocates for accusers and the accused in sexual assault cases. Harvard Law was providing more rights to those accused of sexual assault than their accusers, according to the education department. The school’s hearing process required sexual assault cases to be judged on a “clear and convincing” standard rather than the “preponderance of evidence” standard recommended by the department, and Harvard adopted the preponderance standard in July.
Other changes in July included expanding the school’s sexual assault and harassment definitions and creating a Title IX coordinator’s position. But after the July changes, almost 30 faculty members signed a letter calling the new policy overwhelmingly biased against the rights of the accused, and they demanded that it be withdrawn. Meanwhile, victim advocates were complaining the new policy didn’t go far enough in protecting accusers.
