Blueprint for Reform: Due Process on Campus is a policy guide for state legislators and university trustees. It addresses the critical need to uphold due process rights within higher education institutions, emphasizing that fair and objective procedures are essential to justice and the protection of individual liberties. The guide highlights instances where students’ due process rights have been compromised, such as expulsions without proper notice or hearings, lack of cross-examination opportunities, and biased or unqualified hearing panels. These deficiencies underscore the necessity for comprehensive reforms to ensure that campus disciplinary proceedings are conducted with integrity and fairness.
Key Recommendations:
- Delegate Serious Felonies to Law Enforcement: Universities should refer allegations of serious crimes, like sexual assault, to appropriate legal authorities equipped to conduct thorough investigations, rather than handling them internally.
- Establish Clear Due Process Policies: Institutions must develop and implement policies that guarantee due process rights for all students, ensuring transparency and consistency in disciplinary procedures.
- Presumption of Innocence: Accused students should be presumed innocent until proven guilty, with the burden of proof resting on the institution to establish culpability.
- Right to Notice and Hearing: Students facing disciplinary action must receive prompt and detailed notification of the charges against them and be afforded a fair hearing to present their case.
- Access to Evidence and Representation: Accused students should have the right to access all evidence used against them and be allowed to have legal representation during disciplinary proceedings.
- Impartial Adjudicators: Universities must ensure that individuals involved in adjudicating disciplinary cases are impartial and have no conflicts of interest.
- Right to Cross-Examination: In cases where credibility is at issue, students should have the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, either directly or through a representative, to challenge the evidence presented against them.
- Written Statements of Findings: Institutions should provide a written statement of the findings and rationale for any disciplinary decision, ensuring transparency and accountability.
- Appeals Process: Students must have access to a clear and fair appeals process to contest disciplinary decisions.
These recommendations aim to restore and uphold fundamental due process rights on campuses, ensuring that disciplinary proceedings are conducted fairly and justly, thereby protecting the rights of all students involved.
