Secretary DeVos Unveils New Initiative to Address Sexual Assault in K-12 Public Schools
February 26, 2020
Last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced “a new Title IX enforcement initiative, led by the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), to combat the troubling rise of sexual assault in K-12 public schools.” Strengthening schools’ ability to respond to sexual harassment and assault reports, the initiative also “builds on the Department’s work to implement the ‘Pass the Trash’ provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which prohibits schools from simply moving employees who have committed acts of sexual misconduct.” The OCR’s initiative to examine sexual assault incidents includes conducting compliance reviews, increasing public awareness and support, conducting data quality reviews, and collecting more detailed data on sexual assault.