growing up in an army family. it's all coming up tonight at 80 strain on c-span. >> if you are a teacher of social studies and civics to high school and middle school students try our resources of the classroom website. there's ready to go resources including current events videos, lesson plans and handouts, also enhanced tools to engage your students and discussions with new content added regularly. many teachers across the country use these resources so you should try too. it's free, quick and easy. go to cspan.org/classroom to sign up. education secretary betsy devos said they would launch a notice and comment process for reporting campus sexual assault. it replaces the system put in place under the obama ministration. the secretary made the comments at george mason university law school in virginia. we will show you the half-hour comments next followed by

reaction to the announcement. [applause] >> thank you dean butler for your kind introduction and the opportunity to be here. i want to also think the president for his leadership of george mason university and to the students and faculty with us today, thank you for making time to be here during this busy day of classes. it's a great honor for me to be here today to address a very important topic. earlier this year marks the 45th anniversary of title ix, a landmark legislation passed by congress that seeks to ensure, and i quote no person in the united states shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of or be subjected to

discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. the amendment to the higher education act was initially proposed by democrat senator birch, signed into law by republican president richard nixon and later renamed for patty make. herself a victim of sex and race discrimination. she has served an important role in shaping our nation's educational environment. title ix has helped make clear that educational institutions have a responsibility to protect every student's right to learn in a safe environment and to prevent unjust deprivation of that right. it is the responsibility i take seriously and it is a responsibility that the department of education office for civil rights take seriously.

we will continue to enforce it and vigorously address all instances where people fall short. sadly, too many fall short when it comes to their responsibility under title ix to protect students from sexual misconduct. acts of which are perpetrated on campuses across our nation. the individual impacts of sexual misconduct are lasting, profound and lamentable. emotions around this topic run high for good reason. we need to look no further than just outside these walls to see evidence of this. yet, i hope every person, even those who feel they disagree will end in here to what i outlined today. i am glad we live in a country where an open debate of ideas is welcomed and encouraged. debate comes with responsibilit responsibility. violence is never the answer

when viewpoints diverge. i appreciate that you have the opportunity to attend a university that promotes a higher level of discourse so let me be clear at the outset. acts of sexual misconduct are reprehensible, disgusting and unacceptable. they are acts of personal weakness and cowardice disguised as strength and power. such acts are atrocious and i wish they subject didn't need to be discussed at all. every person on every campus across our nation should conduct themselves with self-respect and with respect to others. sense becoming secretary of heard from many students lives

were disrupted. students who came to college to gain knowledge and lost something sacred instead. we know this much to be true. one rape is one too many. one assault is one too many. one aggressive act of harassment is one too many. one person denied due process is one too many. this conversation may be uncomfortable, but we must have it. it is our moral obligation to get this right. campus sexual misconduct must continue to be confronted had o on. never again will these acts only be whispered in closed off counseling rooms were swept under the rug. not one more survivor will be silenced. we will not abandon anyone.

we will amplify the voices of survivors who too often feel voiceless. while i listened to the stories of many survivors over the past several months, i couldn't help but think of my own family. i thought about my two daughters. i thought about my two sons. every mother dreads that phone call. i cannot imagine receiving that phone call. too many mothers and fathers are left on the end of the line completely helpless. i've looked parents in their tear filled eyes as they recounted their own story, and each time their pain was palpable. i am haunted by the story one brave woman told me. she was targeted and victimized by her college boyfriend, someone she thought cared about her.

he looked on as his roommates attempted to rape her. she escaped her encounter but too many do not. for too many, and incident like this means something even worse. there is no way to avoid the devastating reality of campus sexual misconduct. lives have been lost. lives of victims and lives of the accused. some of you hearing my voice know someone who took his or her own life because they thought their future was lost because they saw no way out, because they lost hope. one mother told me her son has attempted to take his life multiple times. each time she opens the door to his bedroom, she doesn't know whether she will find him alive or dead. no mother, no parent, no student should be living that reality.

we are here today for those families. we need to remember we are not just talking about faceless cases. we are talking about people's lives. everything we do must recognize this before anything else. we are here today because the previous administration helped elevate this issue in american public life. they listen to survivors who have brought this issue out of the back room of student light offices and into the light of day. i'm grateful to those who endeavor to end sexual misconduct on campus. but good intentions alone are not enough. justice demands humility, wisdom, and prudence. it requires a serious pursuit of truth. this is why i recently hosted the summit to better understand all perspectives,

survivors falsely accuse students, and educational institutions both k-12 and higher at. i want to learn from as many as i could because the conversation that excludes some becomes a conversation for non. we are having this conversation with and for all students. here's what i have learned. the truth is that the system established by the prior administration has failed to many students. survivors have all told me that the current approach does a disservice to everyone involved. that's why we must do better because the current approach isn't working. washington has burdened schools with increasingly elaborate and confusing guidelines that even lawyers find difficult to understand

and navigate. where does that leave institutions that are forced to be judged and jury. where does that leave parents? where does that leave students. this system, failed system has generated hundreds upon hundreds of cases mostly filed by students and believers schools let them down. it's also generated dozens upon dozens of lawsuits filed in courts across the land. students punished for sexual misconduct to also weave their schools let them down. the current failed system left one student to fend for herself at university disciplinary hearing. she told her university that another student sexually assaulted her in her dorm room. without any legal training

whatsoever, she had to prepare an opening statement and find witnesses. i don't think it's the rate that makes a person a victim to told reporters. she said it's the failure of the system that turns a survivor into a victim. this is the current reality. you may have read recently about a disturbing case in california. it's the story of an athlete, his girlfriend and failed system. the couple was described as playfully roughhousing but a witness thought otherwise and the incident was reported to the university title ix coordinator. the young woman repeatedly assured campus officials she had not been abused, no nor had any misconduct occurred. but because of the failed syste system, the university administrators told her they knew better.

they do dismissed the young man from his football team and expelled him from school. when i told the truth the young woman said, i was stereotyped and was told i must be a battered woman. that made me feel demeaned and profiled. this is the current reality. another student at a different school saw her rapist go through free. in doing so the failed system denied him due process. he sued the school and he walked free. this is the current reality. a student on another campus under it title ix investigation for a wrong answer on a quiz. the question asked the name of the class lab instructor. the student didn't know the instructor's name so he made one up. sarah jackson. unbeknownst to him turned out to be the name of the model. he was given a zero and told

his answer was inappropriate because it allegedly objectified the female instructor. he was informed his answer meets the title ix definition of sexual harassment. his university opened an investigation without any claimants. this is the current reality. i also think the student i met who served in the navy and wanted to continue his education after his servants but he didn't know the first thing about higher education. he googled how to apply to college and applied to one nearby. he was accepted and became the first in his family to attend college. the student told me as graduation approached his grandmother beamed with pride. she had already purchased of flight and picked out her sunday best for the occasion. three weeks before his graduation, he saw his

future -- for this young man was accused as a threat to the campus community. when he tried to learn the reason for his suspension, he was barred from campus. he was not afforded counsel by the college and couldn't afford counsel himself. eventually he found a lawyer who submitted a freedom of information act request pro bono but would do no more. only through that was he able to discover he had been accused of sexual harassment but he was still denied notice of the specific allegation and he remain suspended. this young man was denied due process. despondent and without options are hope, after five years of sobriety, he relapsed and attempted to take his own life. he felt he had let down everyone who mattered to him, including his grandmother who was looking forward to seeing the first member of her family

in capping down. whatever your accusers say you are is what people believe you are. that is the current reality. here's what it looks like. a student says he or she was sexually assaulted by another student on campus. if he or she is an urge to keep quiet or discouraged from reporting it to local law enforcement, the case goes to a school administrator who will act as the judge and jury. the accused may or may not be told of the allegations before a decision is rendered. if there is a hearing, both the survivor and the accused may or may not be allowed legal representation. whatever evidence is presented may or may not be shown to all parties. whatever witnesses if allowed to be called may or may not be cross-examined. and washington dictated that schools must use the lowest

standard of proof. now this campus official who may or may not have any evidence may be allowed to render a judgment that changes the direction of both students lives. the right to appeal may or may not be available to either party and no one is permitted to talk about what went on behind closed doors. it is no wonder so many call these proceedings kangaroo court. washington forced them to require these quasilegal structures to address misconduct and it comes up short for far too many students. the current system hasn't won widespread support nor has it inspired confidence in its judgments. the results of the current approach, everyone loses. some suggest that this current

system, while imperfect, at least protects survivors and thus must remain untouched, but the reality is it doesn't even do that. survivors are well served when they are retraumatized with the appeal after appeal because the failed system failed the accused and no student should be forced to sue their way to do process. a system is not fair when the only students who can navigate it are those whose families can afford to buy good lawyers or any lawyer at all. no school or university should deprive any student of his or her ability to pursue their education because the school fears shaming by or loss of funding from washington. for too long, rather than engage the public on controversial issues, the department's office for civil right has issued letters from unelected and unaccountable

political appointees. in doing so they failed to comply basic legal requirements that ensure our government does not run amok. unfortunately, school administrators tell me it has run amok. the office for civil rights has terrified schools. another said no school feels comfortable calling department for simple advice for fear of putting themselves on the radar and inviting an investigation. one university leader was rightly appalled when he was asked by an office of civil rights official, why do you care about the rights of the accused. instead of working with schools on behalf of students, the prior administration weapon lysed the office for civil rights to work again schools and again student students. one administrator summed this

up when he told me his staff should be forward-looking advocates for how to stop sexual misconduct. instead he said they've been forced to be backward looking data collectors. they wrote it exerts in proper pressure to adopt procedures that do not afford fundamental fairness. too often they wrote, outrage becomes a justification for shortcut. ultimately they concluded. these professors are right. the failed system does not

test new ideas with those who know this issue all too well. rather than inviting people to the table, they insist they knew better than those who walk side-by-side with students everyday. that will no longer be the case. the era of rule i letter is over. through intimidation and coercion the failed system has pushed schools to overreach. with the heavy hand of washington tipping the balance of the scale, the sad reality is that lady justice is not blind on campuses today. this unraveling of justice is shameful. it's un-american and it is against the foundation to which our founders pled there lives too so many years ago.

every action a misconduct must be taken seriously. every student accused of sexual misconduct must know that guilt is not predetermined. these are nonnegotiable principles. any failure to address sexual misconduct on campus fails all students. any school that refuses to take seriously a student who reports sexual misconduct is one that discriminates. any school that uses the system bias toward finding a student responsible for sexual misconduct also commits discrimination. a better way against with a refraining. this conversation has too often been framed between men and women are the rights of sexual misconduct survivors and their due process rights of accused students. reality is, it's a different picture.

there are men and women, boys and girls who are survivors and their men and women, boys and girls who are wrongfully accused. i have met them personally. i have heard their stories and the rights of one person can never be paramount to the rights of another. a better way means that due process is not an abstract legal principle only discussed in lecture halls. due process is the foundation of any system of justice that seeks a fair outcome. due process either protects everyone or protects no one. the notion that a school must diminish due process rights to better serve the victim only creates more victims. a better way also means we shouldn't demand anyone become something they are not. students, families, school administrators are just

dollars or judges. we shouldn't force them to be so for justice to be served. a better way is also being more precise in the definition of sexual misconduct. schools have been compelled by washington to enforce ambiguous and incredibly broad definitions of assault and harassment. too many cases involve faculty who have faced investigation and punishment for simply speaking their mind or teaching their classes. any perceived offense can become a full-blown title ix investigation but if everything is harassment that nothing is. punishing speech protected by the first amendment trivializes actual harassment. it teaches students the wrong lesson about the importance of free speech in our democracy. it derails the primary mission of the school to pursue truth.

a better way is recognizing that schools exist first and foremost to educate. their core obligation under title ix is to ensure all students can pursue their education free of discrimination. schools tend to do a good job, as they should, of making appropriate accommodations that don't infringe on the rights of others. :

washington has insisted that school step into the institutions. this doesn't mean schools don't have a role, they do. we should also draw on medical professionals, counselors, clergy and law enforcement for their expertise. and so, a better way includes pursuing alternatives that assist schools in achieving justice for all students. in order to ensure that american schools employ clear, equitable, just and fair procedures that inspire trust in confidence we will launch a transparent notice and comment process to incorporate the insight of all parties in developing a better way. we will seek public feedback and combine institutional knowledge, professional expertise and the experiences of students to replace the current approach

with a workable, effective and fair system. to implement sustainable solutions institutions must be mindful of the rights of every student. no one benefits from a system that does not have the public's trust. not survivors, not accused students and not institutions, nor the public. other groups have already made progress on these difficult issues. the american bar association established a task force comprised of lawyers and advocates from diverse backgrounds and bearing perspectives. they found consensus and offered subsidence ideas on how we can do better. schools should find a recommendation useful. the american college of trial lawyers also gathered experts from across the country to produce reasonable responses to the current failed system. an open letter from harvard law school faculty provides important perspective on

insights that will be helpful as we pursue a better way. another promising idea comes from two former prosecutors, gina smith and leslie gomez. both of them have spent their careers specializing in sexual misconduct cases. they propose a regional center model and it is being explored by a number of states today including right here in virginia. the model sets up a voluntary center were professionally trained experts handle title ix investigations and adjudication. it looks something like this. in partnership among states and their attorney general, participating schools refer to the center any title ix incident which rises to a criminal level. the center cooperates with local law enforcement and has access to resources to collect and preserve forensic evidence, facilitate but never require criminal prosecution, and apply

their investigative techniques to gather and evaluate all relevant evidence to determine whether sexual misconduct occurred. this ensures that students are not charged by school-based tribunals on the basis of hearsay or in the evidence. this model allows educators to focus on what they do best, educate. these are all a few examples that allow for a more effective and equitable enforcement of title ix for our interest is in exploring alternatives that would help schools meet their title ix obligation and protect all students. we welcome input and we look forward to hearing more ideas. schools have an opportunity to help shape and improve the system for other students. but they also have a responsibility to do better by their students. this is not about letting institutions of the hook.

they still have important work to do. one survivor told me that she's tired of feeling like the burden of insuring her school address title ix balls on her shoulders. she is right. the burden is not hers, nor is it any student burden. we need to act as if any of this were one of our own loved ones. one young woman made this clear to me when she told me her story of the field system. both as a falsely accuse students and as a survivor. she had recently gone through a bad breakup with her boyfriend. another female student, one of her) thought to console her except in all the wrong ways. the friend showed up and made an unwanted sexual advances. upset about being rejected by the heartbroken student the young woman who was supposed to be there as a friend instead turned a lighthearted gesture into a full-scale title ix incident. shockingly, the school punished

the student who only needed a friend after a breakup. this student then revealed to me that she had been sexually assaulted earlier in life. i have been on both sides of this issue, she told me. and on either side did they get it right. we can and must get it right for her and for all students. we must continue to condemn the scourge of sexual misconduct on our campuses. we can do a better job of making sure the handling of complaints is fair and accurate. we can do a better job of preventing misconduct through education, rather than reacting after lives have already been ruined. we can do a better job of helping institutions get it right and we can do a better job for each other. the truth is we must do better for each other and with each

other. thank you. may god bless all of you and may continue to bless our great nation. [applause] >> thank you all for coming