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“Your action on Friday shows a clear lack of concern for the many requests of survivors of sexual assault and members of Congress who have asked you to leave the previous guidance in place,” the senators wrote. Led by Patty Murray, of Washington, they said the new guidance was “already creating uncertainty and chaos for schools,” and asked that Ms. DeVos reinstate the previous guidance.
The Education Department last week rescinded its pivotal 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter and a 2014 question-and-answer document instructing colleges on how they should deal with sexual assault. That guidance started an era of stricter enforcement under the gender-equity law known as Title IX.
The Education Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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The senators, however, joined the chorus of those assailing Ms. DeVos’s new guidance, in light of her criticism of the Obama administration’s practice of what she called “rule by letter.”
“If your goal is to produce new regulations rather than utilize guidance to inform stakeholders of their rights and obligations, it is incomprehensible that you would issue new, conflicting guidance as a part of that process,” the senators wrote. “We ask that you reinstate the previous guidance and make it clear that survivors’ voices will be heard throughout any rule-making process you decide to pursue.”
Adam Harris, a staff writer at The Atlantic, was previously a reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education and covered federal education policy and historically Black colleges and universities. He also worked at ProPublica.