Giving Compass' Take:

• According to experts, Betsy DeVos' new Title IX regulations lack clarity, leaving school officials questioning their legal obligations regarding sexual harassment and assault cases on college campuses. 

• What are the next steps for higher education administrators?  How can they best support their students under these new guidelines? 

• Read a more in-depth piece about the exact changes that DeVos is planning for Title IX regulations. 

Since the Obama administration issued guidance in 2011 that directed schools to investigate sexual misconduct claims quickly and thoroughly, more than 300 accused students have filed lawsuits regarding Title IX proceedings.

Dozens have prevailed in their claims — often when the college had not been following Title IX guidance already in place, attorneys said — and many have reached settlements.

In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos contended the now-rescinded guidance created an "opaque environment" that left colleges in the dark about what their legal obligations are. Under her leadership, the Ed Department is hoping to replace this guidance with formal regulations that would carry the force of law.

Yet in conversations with Education Dive, Title IX and other legal experts expressed uncertainty and differing opinions for how colleges would be expected to carry out several areas of the regulations. "This thing is a Rorschach test," said Peter Lake, the director of Stetson University's Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy. "People will see what they think they see in it, but when you really read the document it's either really inartful or it's unclear. That will be a problem because if we're going to have hard regulations, we're going to need to know when we're in violation of those. We can't be guessing is this one in or is this one out."

The proposed rule narrows the department's definition of sexual harassment to mean behavior that is "so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient's education program or activity." It also covers sexual assault or instances where an authority figure asks for sexual favors in return for perks such as a better grade.

Read the full article about title IX regulations by Natalie Schwartz at Education Dive