Schools forcing students to waive federal rights in some rape cases
A student at Villanova University who reported allegations of sexual misconduct was asked to sign a form that prevented her from sharing evidence of the case with almost anyone, even her parents. Violating the terms could have affected the outcome of the school’s investigation into what happened.
At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a contract presented to students says that just talking about the process of reporting sexual misconduct could get a student expelled.
At York College of Pennsylvania, one student said he was threatened with academic discipline for telling his story on a podcast, violating a non-disclosure agreement that said he couldn’t discuss his allegations, even though he didn’t name the student he accused of rape.
These conditions, uncovered in an investigation of school policies for dealing with campus sexual violence, reveal an emerging trend: Schools are bullying students who report sexual assault into waiving certain rights before they can proceed with internal misconduct hearings.
It’s a practice that runs afoul of the law, according to several experts, and these three schools are not the only ones forcing students into problematic contracts. Public records requests at several schools turned up waivers that take away students’ right to discuss the investigative process, to review evidence in their own cases, even to share evidence with advocates or police. The punishment for violating can be anything from being placed at a disadvantage at their hearing to expulsion.
It’s not supposed to be this way. Federal law says schools must investigate complaints of sexual misconduct and violence unconditionally, and they must give both sides equal access to evidence.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/06/02/schools-students-federal-rights-rape-cases/9775181002/
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unconditionally, and they must give both sides equal access to evidence.'
