DeVos Sex Assault Rule Largely Upheld by Mass. Judge

Natalie Fleming Nolen spoke to Law360 about the latest development in the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos arguing against Title IX rules governing how schools handle sexual misconduct complaints.

U.S. District Judge William G. Young largely upheld Title IX changes made under DeVos but remanded the portion of the rule that banned any evidence at hearings where cross-examination is not possible. 

“From the beginning, our goal has been to show that the DeVos Department of Education’s rulemaking harms our clients and puts at risk students across the country, particularly students of color, LGBTQ students and students with disabilities,” said Natalie. “We are proud to work with the National Women’s Law Center, and the ruling is a step in the right direction that the provision that would have resulted in sweeping exclusions of highly relevant evidence in Title IX hearings cannot and will not be enforced. We are optimistic that the Department of Education will revise the rule to afford survivors greater procedural protections under Title IX.”

In addition to Natalie, the victims’ rights groups are also represented by Morrison & Foerster’s Caitlin Crujido, Evan Harris, Robin Smith, and Vanshika Vij. 

Read the full article.