Professors Assail New Federal Education Guidelines

A professional organization of U.S. college educators is concerned that new federal civil rights guidelines leaves them vulnerable to false accusations and misunderstandings, reports DailyCaller.com.
 

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) on Thursday sent a letter to the Education Department outlining its concerns over the sexual harassment guidelines the agency issued in April.

One problem the group has with the guidelines is they require “a preponderance of evidence” be supplied to prove an instance of harassment. The previous wording for the type of evidence required had been “clear and convincing.”

“Given the seriousness of accusations of harassment and sexual violence and the potential for accusations, even false ones, to ruin a faculty member’s career, we believe that the ‘clear and convincing’ standard of evidence is more appropriate than the ‘preponderance of evidence’ standard,” the letter says.

The group also is concerned the new guidelines fail to protect instructors of sexuality topics. The letter said that the agency’s initiative fails to “acknowledge that what might be offensive or uncomfortable to some students may also be necessary for their education.”