AFT on Education Department’s Actions on Campus Sexual Assault

WASHINGTON—Statement by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on Title IX investigations of campus sexual assaults, including statements and actions by the Department of Education and its acting assistant secretary for the Office of Civil Rights, Candice Jackson, who said she disavows most accusers’ claims:

"Sexual assault is nothing to be flippant about. It is irresponsible and downright dangerous for the top enforcer of Title IX to make such an unsubstantiated statement that minimizes the very real crisis of campus sexual violence.

"Jackson’s statement is the latest in a troubling history of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her department abandoning their responsibility to uphold the civil rights protections of all students. Our duty to protect students from campus sexual assault and to stand up for victims and survivors should never be up for debate. But for months, DeVos’ Education Department has sent a chilling message to students and survivors by openly questioning Obama-era rules to protect students. DeVos’ meetings today with so-called men’s rights groups, and other fringe groups that want to silence sexual assault survivors’ voices, legitimatize those efforts. As a survivor of sexual violence, I will not sit back in silence while Betsy DeVos pretends that rape deniers have something useful to say about this topic.”