Education Secretary DeVos keynotes conservative group meeting at Missouri Capitol

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was the keynote speaker as the Federalist Society met at the Missouri Capitol on Monday.

Watch the speech in the player below

DeVos gave remarks on the Trump administration's work to reduce the federal government's role in education. The Federalist Society is made up of conservatives and libertarians who believe in limited government.

One topic the secretary spoke about was Title IX. Back in 2017, DeVos created interim guidelines on how to investigate allegations of campus sexual misconduct under federal laws. She proposed a rule in 2018 to permanently change Title IX, but according to her press secretary, they are still reviewing feedback on the measure before putting it into place.

"Our proposed rule recognizes that we can continue to combat sexual misconduct without abandoning due process," DeVos said.

Andy Hayes, the assistant vice chancellor for Civil Rights and Title IX at the University of Missouri, spoke in a panel about Title IX and due process at universities.

Hayes said MU takes care to ensure due process is followed at the university and highlighted the following rights that MU gives to the accused:

• A presumption of innocence for anyone that is accused
• The accused is allowed to have an adviser, which can be an attorney
• The accuser gets to see evidence the Title IX office collected before a hearing
• The accuser has a right to a hearing

DeVos said the Title IX process must be fair and impartial to gain confidence in its outcomes.

Another topic of the speech was the administration's Education Freedom Scholarships proposal, which would award federal tax credits in states that start new scholarship programs. These scholarships could be used at private schools and for homeschooling.