More Title 9 Problems in Court (and a reminder of our earlier suggestion) - Part 2

Yours truly has noted in prior posts that universities, including those in the UC system, would do well to follow the precedent they themselves have set with regard to union grievances, namely using an outside neutral to decide Title 9 cases.* A system cannot be unbiased if the prosecutor and the decision maker are one and the same. You can fiddle with rules of evidence, etc., but combining the two roles is a fundamental flaw. Below, an article from the LA Times notes that university administrators are now scrambling to revamp their decision systems in the light of a recent court decision - previously referenced in this blog - and possible new rules from the U.S. Dept. of Education.

Colleges and universities across California are scrambling to revise the way they handle sexual misconduct cases after a state appellate court ruled that “fundamental fairness” requires that accused students have a right to a hearing and to cross-examine their accusers.

The decision last month came in a USC case but applies to all California public and private colleges, and prompted many to immediately halt Title IX investigations while they reshape their procedures. California State University, the University of California and USC, Claremont McKenna and Occidental colleges confirmed that they have made or soon will be making changes...

Suzanne Taylor, University of California’s interim systemwide Title IX coordinator, said UC began exploring how to create a “fair and compassionate” hearing model after DeVos unveiled her proposed rules, but Taylor said the court ruling has given that effort “more urgency.” She said the process will take time, but the university expects to issue an interim policy in the next few weeks...

“Obviously we have to comply with the law, and we will,” Taylor said. “We’re really going to do everything we can to protect both our community and the integrity of our process.”...

Full story at https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-california-universities-title-ix-20190215-story.html

It's likely that even with revamped procedures, courts - which are steeped in the idea that prosecution and decision maker should be separate - will continue to second guess university decisions when they involve significant penalties.

===
*http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2019/01/more-title-9-problems-in-court-and.html