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Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate education committee, is calling for the ouster of the Education Departments civil rights chief, saying she is unfit for the job.

Candice Jackson, the acting head of the agencys Office for Civil Rights, triggered fierce criticism last week when she told the New York Times that 90 percent of campus sexual-assault complaints fall into the category of we were both drunk, we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.

In days since, Jackson apologized publicly, disclosing that as a survivor of rape herself, she believes all sexual harassment and sexual assault must be taken seriously. She also apologized privately to assault survivors in a meeting to discuss the departments role in enforcing Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination at federally funded schools.

[DeVos: Too many college students treated unfairly under Obama-era sexual-assault policy]

Murray said Monday that apologizing for such callous, insensitive and egregious comments is not enough. Jacksons words crossed a serious line and highlighted her clear biases in this area in a way that, to me and many women and men across the country, should disqualify her from service in the position of top Department of Education protector of students right to be safe at school, the senator said in a statement.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Jackson had apologized for her remarks, which did not represent her own point of view nor that of the department. Candice is a valuable part of the Administration and an unwavering advocate for the civil rights of all students, DeVos said.

If nominated for the permanent job at the helm of the Office for Civil Rights, Jackson would need Senate confirmation. Murrays position suggests she would face opposition.

Murray led Democrats unanimous opposition to DeVoss confirmation as education secretary and has been a relentless critic since then. She has repeatedly questioned DeVoss commitment to enforcing civil rights laws in the nations schools and colleges, pointing to the agencys decisions to rescind guidance protecting transgender students and narrow some civil rights investigations.

DeVos is also a strong supporter of voucher programs, many of which allow private schools to discriminate against voucher recipients who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or have LGBT parents. In testimony before Congress, she has declined to say whether she would block such private schools from receiving federal funds.

[DeVos wont say whether shed withhold federal funds from private schools that discriminate]

Murray was among 34 senators who sent DeVos a letter in June outlining their concerns about her teams approach to civil rights enforcement. The senators also asked DeVos nine questions about the departments civil rights division, including lists of open cases involving two of the agencys most controversial issues transgender students and sexual-assault allegations and any memos discussing policy changes.

They asked for a response by July 11, and DeVos sent a letter that day defending her commitment to the agencys civil rights work as unwavering.

She did not answer the senators questions, but she did acknowledge changes in the agencys civil rights office under her watch. Under President Barack Obama, DeVos wrote, the office had sought to punish and embarrass institutions, collecting reams of data from schools and colleges in search of violations at the expense of resolving individuals complaints quickly and fairly.

The civil rights office is no longer automatically treating individual complaints as evidence of systemic problems, DeVos wrote.

The Department today is returning [the Office of Civil Rights] to its role as a neutral, impartial investigative agency, she wrote.

Murray responded three days later, reiterating the request for answers to the nine questions DeVos had ignored.

The rest is here:
Key Democrat calls for ouster of DeVos's civil rights chief in light of 'egregious' remarks about sexual assault - Washington Post