Harvard Law found in violation of Title IX for similar reasons to U.

Harvard Law School was found in noncompliance with Title IX for violating the same broad criteria as the University, according to aDec. 30announcement by theDepartment of Education's Office for Civil Rights. OCR said Harvard Law School had failed to provide an equitable and prompt response to cases of sexual assault.

Harvard Law School has entered into a resolution agreement with OCR, just like the University.

The agreement was announced following the conclusion of an investigation that began in 2010 when New England School of Law professor Wendy Murphy filed a complaint against Harvard Law School, Yale and Princeton.

A letter from the OCRto Martha Minnow, dean of Harvard Law School, lists three specific transgressions: how students file complaints, the process of rehearings and the required standard of evidence.

The first transgression was the school’s requirement that accusing students choose between filing a complaint with the school and filing criminal charges, though federal law requires that accusers should be allowed to pursue both options.

The second violation is the school’s allowance of “rehearings,” which allow students to appeal a given decision and could result in a delay of the grievance process.

The final and most controversial violation is the school’s use of the more rigorous “clear and convincing” standard of evidence rather than the federally required “preponderance” standard. Under the preponderance of evidence standard, the plaintiff needs to prove that it is more likely than not that a sexual assault had occurred.

The law school has agreed to amend its policies to comply with federal standards and has submitted a proposal for new Title IX procedures to OCR.

The proposal is inconsistent with Harvard’s university-wide procedures, which were introduced last summer and reflect the criticism voiced by 28 law professors in an open letter published by the Boston Globe in October.

The University similarly entered a resolution agreement with OCR in November and has since overhauled its sex discrimination and sexual misconduct policy, including adoption of the “preponderance” standard.

While Harvard Law School has entered into a resolution agreement, an investigation of Harvard College, Harvard’s undergraduate school, is currently ongoing.

In recent years, higher education institutions have come under greater scrutiny for their handling of sexual assault cases.

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

According to Brett Sokolow, president and CEO of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management group and Title IX expert, the increased attention could be attributed to a number of causes, includingthe appointment of Vanita Gupta, the new head of OCR who has vowed to take a more aggressive approach to sexual assaults on campuses.

“Schools like Princeton and Harvard used to have a lot more leverage but that’s obviously been changing,” said Sokolow. “As far as I know, they’re the last two universities in the country to adopt the preponderance standard.”

Both the University and Harvard Law School will continue to be monitored until OCR determines that they fully comply with Title IX laws.