{"id":47815,"date":"2017-10-17T06:20:20","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T06:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=47815"},"modified":"2017-10-17T06:20:20","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T06:20:20","slug":"california-governor-sides-devos-due-process-vetoing-campus-sexual-assault-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/california-governor-sides-devos-due-process-vetoing-campus-sexual-assault-bill.html","title":{"rendered":"California governor sides with DeVos on due process in vetoing campus sexual-assault bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

California governor sides with DeVos on due process in vetoing campus sexual-assault bill<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill Monday to codify into state law the aggressive Obama-era campus federal sexual assault guidance, echoing concerns about the rights of the accused raised by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Brown said it was \u201ctime to pause and survey the land\u201d before moving forward with more regulations \u201cwhen we haven\u2019t yet ascertained the full impact of what we recently enacted\u201d with California\u2019s 2014 affirmative consent law.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince this law was enacted, however, thoughtful legal minds have increasingly questioned whether federal and state actions to prevent and redress sexual harassment and assault \u2014 well-intentioned as they are \u2014 have also unintentionally resulted in some colleges\u2019 failure to uphold due process for accused students,\u201d Mr. Brown said in his veto message.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. DeVos cited the same concerns when she rescinded last month the department\u2019s 2014 Title IX guidance, which lowered the standard of proof in sexual assault cases to a \u201cpreponderance of the evidence\u201d instead of the clear-and-convincing standard.<\/span><\/p>\n

She pointed to complaints about students suspended or expelled based on flimsy accusations by campus officials fearful of running afoul of the Education Department\u2019s office for civil rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDepriving any student of higher education opportunities should not be done lightly, or out of fear of losing state or federal funding,\u201d Mr. Brown said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Democratic governor pointed to the state\u2019s affirmative consent law, which he signed, a first-in-the-nation standard requiring state universities to adopt procedures to ensure that students give \u201caffirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement\u201d before engaging in sexual activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Brown said \u201cwe haven\u2019t yet ascertained the full impact of what we recently enacted,\u201d including possible racial disparities.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have no insights into how many formal investigations result in expulsion, what circumstances lead to expulsion, or whether there is disproportionate impact on race or ethnicity,\u201d said Mr. Brown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirty members of California\u2019s U.S. congressional delegation had urged Mr. Brown to sign the bill in a Sept. 28 letter, calling it a \u201cnecessary response to reduce an endemic culture of gender discrimination and violence in or schools.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The sponsor of Senate Bill 169, state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, a Democrat, said California may be \u201cthe only state currently working to preserve these Title IX civil rights protections in state law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ms. DeVos also opened a public-comment period on rule-making last month to replace the Obama administration\u2019s guidance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her decision to rescind the 2014 Dear Colleague guidance allows schools to decide whether to replace the lower evidentiary standard on their campuses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2017\/oct\/16\/jerry-brown-betsy-devos-campus-sexual-assault-bill\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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