Today, Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Republican Leader Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona urging the Education Department to maintain the Trump administration’s Title IX rules after President Biden signed an Executive Order demanding they be reviewed:
In the letter, the Members write: "Sexual harassment is a serious and difficult issue, which is why the previous Administration took nearly three years to get the Title IX rule right. It created a balanced and fair system that provides protections for victims while respecting the due process rights of the accused."The Members continue: "By contrast, the Department’s past guidance encouraged institutions to adopt processes that have been struck down by multiple courts. Rescinding or revising the Title IX rule could jeopardize key protections for victims and the due process rights of the accused and place institutions back into legal jeopardy."
BACKGROUND: In May 2020, the Trump administration undertook a formal rulemaking process to issue updates to the Department of Education’s Title IX rules that formally protected victims of sexual assault under the sex discrimination law for the first time and increased due process rights for the accused. On March 8, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Education to review and “consider suspending, revising, or rescinding” the rule, putting the rule in jeopardy.
To read the full letter to Secretary Cardona, click here.
