F.I.R.E.: OCR Descends into Self-Parody in Front of Incredulous College Lawyers. “This casual dismissal of administrative law is frightening to hear from the federal government, however ‘good-humored’ it may be. . . . The audacity of an OCR attorney telling a roomful of college and university attorneys that legal standards don’t matter is breathtaking. . . . OCR is also ignoring the Supreme Court’s decision in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999), which said that student-on-student harassment in the educational context is conduct that is targeted, discriminatory, and ‘so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively bars the victim’s access to an educational opportunity or benefit.’ Severity, pervasiveness, and objective offensiveness might not matter to OCR bureaucrats, but it does to the Supreme Court.”

UPDATE: One of my former law students was at that meeting and writes:

I attended that session, as well as the follow up session on sexual misconduct yesterday. This is my second NACUA conference and the first session when the entire room broke into applause in response to the notice and comment question. “Incredulous” is a mild way to describe the lawyers in that room, including me. “A blueprint, not THE blueprint?” Give me a break!

Indeed. Universities need to push back on this.