For Title IX, Beware Diminishing Due Process
T. Markus Funk and Jean – Jacques Cabou
May 8, 2024
Colleges should be wary of adopting weaker due process protections permitted under the new Title IX regulations, T. Markus Funk and Jean-Jacques Cabou write.
The White House approved and released the Department of Education’s sweeping changes to Title IX’s implementing regulations last month, changing the rules for how colleges conduct investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Colleges now have until August 1 to comply. Though the 1,561 pages making up the notice of final rulemaking have generated controversy on many fronts, there are three significant changes warranting particular attention.
Specifically, the regulations now give institutions the option of:
Adopting the Single-Investigator Model. The campus Title IX coordinator/investigator (the de facto campus prosecutor) may now in the same matter serve as the ultimate fact finder and decision-maker (the de facto campus judge and jury).
Dispensing With Live Hearings, Cross-Examination, and Expert Testimony. The accused no longer has a right to a trial-like, live hearing with cross-examination, and the parties have no right to introduce expert witness testimony.TT
