New federal rules on campus sexual-assault cases will require that accused students be allowed to cross-examine their accusers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The requirement marks a shift from an initial draft of the new rules that Trump administration officials are writing to replace a set of Obama-era guidelines they believe didn’t provide sufficient protections for students accused of sexual assault. The rules, which Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will likely publish this month, will narrow the definition of sexual assault that schools are required to adjudicate and restrict eligible cases to those that occur on campus. The rules will be subject to a comment period. The rule changes fall under Title IX, a 1972 law barring gender discrimination in schools and colleges that receive federal funding.
In an earlier draft, the administration proposed providing schools with the option of incorporating cross-examination into their procedures. The new version would make a cross-examination provision mandatory, though questions could be funneled through a neutral party and students could be seated in separate rooms. The rules would bar accused students from asking their accusers inappropriate questions, such as details of the accuser’s sexual history. The modification echoes goals of some university administrators, men’s rights activists and due-process advocates who believe students at risk of expulsion should be given more opportunities to defend themselves. “Courts have recognized that cross-examination is an essential part of the process of figuring out the truth in cases where credibility is a factor,” said Joe Cohn of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which seeks due process for those accused of campus sexual assault. Anurima Bhargava, an Obama Justice Department official who oversaw civil rights enforcement in education, said the Obama administration discouraged cross-examination because it could make sex-assault victims reluctant to come forward.