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Title Ix Sexual Assault Investigations In Public Institutions Of Higher Education: Constitutional Due Process Implications Of The Evidentiary Standard Set Forth In The Department Of Education's 2011 Dear Colleague Letter, Lance Toron Houston

Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal

This Article examines the constitutional due process impact of the vastly opposite and conflicting standards of review in Title IX sexual assault investigations. Thousands of unionized public employees are subject to the terms and conditions of a public university collective bargaining agreement, which requires a heightened standard of "clear and convincing evidence" to discipline employees. At the same timeperhaps unknowingly-the employee is also held to the strict federally mandated standard of a "preponderance of the evidence," which has a lower standard of review. In short, under the same facts and within the same Title IX investigation, the employee is subject …