When students file a complaint that their institution mishandled or ignored claims of sexual assault or harassment, they can often expect to wait years for a resolution from the Department of Education. Those delays frustrate not only those bringing the complaints but colleges that remain under prolonged investigation as well.
Advocates say that problem would be exacerbated by cuts to staffing at the department’s Office for Civil Rights included in last month’s White House budget proposal. Under the Obama administration, OCR took on an increasingly prominent role in responding to sexual assaults on campus — and in pressuring colleges and universities themselves to take more aggressive action on the issue. The budget maintains level funding for the office but calls for reducing full-time staffing by 7 percent to 523 employees….
Read more in Inside Higher Ed.