On Sept. 22, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rescinded the Obama-era Title IX guidance to schools on dealing with sexual assault on campus.
In so doing, she reversed federal policy that has played an important role in driving schools to do more to protect sexual-assault victims.
The department issued a letter saying that it was rescinding guidance issued in 2011 by President Barack Obama's Education Department. At the time, it clarified the obligations schools had under Title IX, a federal law that bans sex discrimination at federally funded schools.
While sexual-assualt survivors praised the Obama administration for the protections, DeVos claimed that some innocent men were being falsely accused with the previous standard.
In a statement, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Director of Government Affairs David Stacy said, "With [the] announcement, Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration have clearly drawn a line in the sand, stating that they prefer it be more difficult for survivors of sexual assault to receive justice.
"LGBTQ Americans face disproportionate levels of sexual assault and violence. This unconscionable decisioncoupled with the decision to rescind guidance aimed at protecting transgender studentssadly indicates that the Department of Education is no longer in the business of protecting students from harm."