The United States Department of Education’s 2020 Title IX regulations have been implemented. The regulations offer steps toward fairness, consistency, and reliability in campus disciplinary proceedings. These are predicated in the principle that Title IX protects access to education for complainants and respondents, and that proceedings must be fair to all. However, these new regulations crop up some potential perils that could roadblock just outcomes.
Co-Chairs of the Title IX and Campus Discipline practice, Patricia Hamill and Lorie Dakessian, have authored an article published by PACDL outlining the background and key procedural protections of the 2020 Title IX regulations. The article also addresses its potential dangers. including:
- The emergency removal of a student from campus or class
- A decision-maker’s potential exclusion of exculpatory information in statements by witnesses who do not testify at the live disciplinary hearing
- Possible diversion of a misconduct case into a separate code of conduct that offers fewer protection.
The article takes a deep dive into each of these possibilities, including detailed analysis, regulatory background, and pitfalls for respondents. While a school’s policies and procedures may comply on paper, the administrative personnel responsible for enacting them may halt the fairer processes laid out by these regulations.