Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced guidelines Monday to help schools and colleges across the nation better understand their obligations when responding to allegations of sexual assault. One guideline instructs administrators to require allegations of assault to meet a "more likely than not" standard of evidence, rather than the stricter "clear and convincing" standard that most institutions currently employ.
The guidelines were issued by the Education Department in the form of a letter, which clarifies the legal obligations of schools to "respond promptly and equitably to reports of sexual harassment or violence," as specified under Title IX. The letter also stated its intention to "aid educators in ensuring the safety of their students."
Title IX, a civil rights law prohibiting discrimination, including sexual assault, sexual battery and sexual coercion, also requires that K-12 schools, colleges and universities protect students from such violence. In compliance with Title IX, the guidelines issued Monday detail "enforcement strategies that schools and the Department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) may use to end sexual violence, prevent its recurrence and remedy its effects," according to the press release.
"We will definitely be taking a look at it and considering what we need to do to be in compliance," said Nicole Eramo, associate dean of students and a chair on the sexual assault board.
Eramo said she welcomes this kind of guidance from the government because it helps schools to navigate what can be tricky territory.
"There are a lot of intersecting pieces of information in terms of the federal legislation that can be confusing and it's just helpful to have this clarification for us to work from," she said. "The federal guidelines have tended to be vague in the past and this is hopefully more clear."
Lena Witek, assistant chair of Take Back the Night, commented on the significance of the guidelines.
"I think it is good that clear standards are being established for universities," Witek said, citing the statistic that one in four women are sexually assaulted while in college.
The Department of Education included several statistics about sexual assault in its letter.
"When young women get to college, nearly 20 percent of them will be victims of attempted or actual sexual assault, as will about 6 percent of undergraduate men," the department said in the letter.
Witek said she hopes the new guidelines will expand the resources at public universities, including funding for the University's Women's Center.
Although the recommendations come as a mere reminder and clarification of existing Title IX conditions, Witek believes they are coming at an essential time.
"I think [sexual assault] has been an increasing problem in campuses around the country," she said. "There have been a lot more public incidents."
Eramo said she believes the guidelines were released now not because of an increased rate of incidence, but because of heightened governmental awareness.
"It seems that this particular administration has a renewed interest in the topic of sexual assualt," she said.
In a phone press conference, Duncan emphasized that "many schools don't realize that they don't have to wait for the conclusion of police investigation to start their own investigations." To help schools deal swiftly and promptly with situations, Duncan said the Education Department's primary goal is prevention through education, as information is the best tool.
"We all need to come together ... to eliminate sex violence and any other kind of violence, harassment or intimidation, because sexual violence has no place in our schools," he said.
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