Engel To Meet with Department of Education on Title IX Issues

Joshua Engel has been invited to meet with officials from the United States Department of Education to discuss procedures used to adjudicate claims of sexual assault on college and university campuses.

Engel has been recognized as one of the leading advocates for students facing Title IX or campus disciplinary proceedings. Recently, Engel & Martin has obtained injunctions prohibiting universities from imposing discipline on students without providing due process.

This issue arises amidst a growing national controversy about the responses of colleges and universities to sexual assaults on campuses. After years of criticism for being too lax on campus sexual assault, on April 11, 2011, the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights sent a “ Dear Colleague Letter” to colleges and universities. The Dear Colleague Letter indicated that, in order to comply with Title IX, colleges and Universities must have transparent, prompt procedures to investigate and resolve complaints of sexual misconduct. Most notably, the Dear Colleague Letter required schools to adopt a relatively low burden of proof— “more likely than not“—in cases involving sexual misconduct, including assault.

Engel will be providing advice on how the Department should revise the Dear Colleague Letter to better protect the due process rights of accused students.