LANSING, Mich. — Lansing congresswoman, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, is calling out U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos over a proposed change to Title IX that would provide more protections to accused students in campus sexual misconduct investigations.
Slotkin, a Democrat, sent a five-page letter to DeVos Wednesday, explaining her opposition to a new rule DeVos wants to put in place that would add new requirements to protect the rights of the accused. The change would make investigations more like court proceedings, including the addition of a live hearing with the ability to cross-examine accusers.
"I have profound concerns over how this rule would impact victims of sexual assault and harassment on college campuses," Slotkin wrote in her letter to DeVos.
The rule change would also limit the types of cases that colleges would be required to investigate. Colleges would only be responsible for investigating misconduct related to campus programs and only when institution officials receive a formal complaint. Colleges would even be able to set their own standards for evidence.
DeVos first proposed the rule change in November 2017. Its public comment period ended Wednesday with 96,000 submissions, including Slotkin's letter.
The Democrat from Holly also mentioned Michigan State University, which has been mired in investigations regarding former university doctor Larry Nassar.
"MSU would likely not have been required to take action to protect the survivors of the Larry Nassar scandal," Slotkin wrote. "This is inexcusable."
The Department of Education will now review the comments it received and make a final decision on implementing the rule change.
Slotkin represents Michigan's 8th U.S. congressional district, which includes all of Ingham and Livingston counties, as well as the northern part of Oakland County.
