The US Department of Education issued regulations under Betsy DeVos that remain in effect. These regulations largely codify what federal due process law requires for public universities in Michigan and Ohio. That is – when a student accuses a student of sexual assault, the investigator is not the decision-maker, and both sides can have an advisor (typically a lawyer) ask questions of witnesses at a hearing.
The Biden Administration has proposed regulations but not yet issued them that would change the process to make it much less like a court hearing and more like simple interviews. I expect these regulations to be issued in the next six months.
As I stated, the new regulations will not affect procedures much at public universities in Ohio and Michigan because of a federal appeals court decision, Doe v Baum, that requires hearings with cross-examination.
However, It is unclear how many private colleges and universities in Ohio and Michigan will switch to the new model.
What about high schools, middle schools, and even elementary schools? The existing regulations require investigations but are vague about what due process is required. For the most part, school districts are simply conducting interviews.
How about university faculty and staff? Here we see a much greater array of policies. Most colleges try to avoid hearing processes if they can get away with it. University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the University of Toledo all regularly hold hearings in cases concerning faculty and staff.
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