Colleges and universities deny students due process in internal disciplinary proceedings at an alarming rate, including the presumption of innocence, an education group says.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, in a report issued Monday, described how institutions will investigate and punish students for misconduct ranging from vandalism and housing violations to sexual assault.
“But their willingness to administer what is effectively a shadow justice system has not been accompanied by a willingness to provide even the most basic procedural protections necessary to fairly adjudicate accusations of serious wrongdoing,” FIRE wrote.
Using data from U.S. News & World Report, FIRE found almost three-quarters of the country’s top 53 schools do not guarantee students that they will be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Simultaneously, the education civil liberties nonprofit organization said just more than half of the institutions require their fact-finding staff or body to be impartial. In addition, fewer than one-third ensure each party knows what evidence is being presented by either side to the case in what FIRE define as a “meaningful hearing.”
FIRE conducted similar research last year but changed its criteria in 2018, the group said. It also suggested federal regulations proposed last month by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights could result in “a fairer status quo” in the future.
The Education Department is trying to amend its Title IX framework after the Trump administration last September rescinded Obama-era guidance on the issue. Those guidelines were criticized for placing an unfair burden on accused students and their schools. The floated changes would strengthen the rights of students alleged to have committed inappropriate behavior, while reducing the potential legal exposure of institutions.
