UC Prez Responds to Proposed Title 9 Changes

UC Prez Napolitano submitted a lengthy letter/response to changes proposed in U.S. Dept. of Education regulations governing Title 9 rules (which cover sexual assault/harassment). The rule changes proposed generally involve application of due process to the investigation and decision-making involved in such cases. As this blog has reported, there have been well-publicized cases in which external courts have reversed decisions of various universities around the country on procedural/due process grounds. Obviously, the issue is politically charged.

One thing which yours truly has remarked on in the past, apart from the issues raised in the letter, is the question of who makes the final determination. Typically, in the case of union-represented employees, of which there are many at UC, there are contractual grievance procedures which end in an outside neutral (arbitrator) hearing evidence and making the decision. The use of an outside neutral deals with the problem of the prosecution and decision-maker being one and the same. It might be useful for UC to consider whether such a division of labor would be beneficial to its Title 9 process. (There are issues, in particular, who pays for the arbitrator, that would have to be resolved. But if the concept is adopted, remedies can be found.)

You can read the Napolitano letter at the link below: