KingSpry congratulates Dr. Kathleen Conn, of counsel to the firm, whose commentary, “The Preponderance of Evidence Standard: Is OCR Overstepping Its Authority”, appears in West’s Education Law Reporter, volume 310(2), January 1, 2015.
In the paper, she discusses the evolution of Section 304 of the Violence Against Women Act, the new Clery Act, which creates updated reporting responsibilities for crimes occurring on campus property. Section 304 also states that colleges and universities must state the standard of evidence used in campus disciplinary proceedings for sexual assaults. Guidance documents from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), on the other hand, advise colleges and universities to employ the preponderance of evidence standard, a lower standard of proof that many commentators argue disadvantages the accused.
Her paper questions the authority of the OCR, an agency of the U.S. Department of Education, to continue to press for the adoption of a standard of evidence contrary to the language of a Congressional statute and its implementing regulations. The text is available through Westlaw.