United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has formally announced her plan to rescind portions of the Title IX law, which is designed to help federally funded schools and universities like Sacramento State handle sexual assault.

DeVos’s announcement on Friday struck a chord with students, parents and education professionals across the country.

“I just feel disgusted,” said public relations major Nicole Marin. “I wouldn’t want to continue attending a university that doesn’t care about my safety or protect my rights as a student.”

DeVos said the main portion of the Title IX law being repealed is the “Dear Colleague” letter issued by the Obama Administration in 2011.

Additionally, the 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter required schools to allocate funds for Title IX officials and support services for students across the board. Responsibilities of university officials, in terms of investigative practices, intervention protocols and disciplinary actions to be taken against offenders, were also outlined. Any university that failed to meet these expectations could effectively lose their federal funding.

Along with the removal of the 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter, DeVos released her own “Dear Colleague” letter that explained some of the other significant changes, including guidelines for how long sexual assault investigations can take, as well as “mediation” as a form of conflict resolution.

Earlier this month, DeVos criticized the guidance laid out by the Obama administration by arguing that it put expensive constraints on universities, and that the system, as it stands, doesn’t provide justice for women or proper protection for young men facing accusations of sexual assault.

“I don’t think the way things are set up are is flawed at all,” said Harley Morse, a 24-year-old communications major at Sac State. “Sexual assault on college campuses is a serious issue, and we need systems in place that protect female students.”

Title IX was first signed into effect by former president, Richard Nixon, as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. At the time, these amendments aimed to ensure equal disbursement of women’s athletic scholarships, as well as funding for women’s collegiate sports programs.

The amendment stated that no person in the United States could be discriminated against, excluded from or denied the benefits of any federally funded educational program on the basis of sex or gender.

From  2011 to 2016, the amount of reported Title IX cases on college campuses increased by 500 percent, according to the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.

The State Hornet contacted CSUS Title IX coordinator William Bishop for more information about the CSU’s response to DeVos’s announcement.

Bishop was, however, unable to comment on the university’s position and advised that any questions on the matter be directed to the CSU Chancellors Office in Long Beach.

The California State University Chancellor Timothy White made a formal statement promising that the CSU would protect its students and employees.

“Our comprehensive policies comply with federal and state laws and regulations — and remain in full force and effect, White said. Today’s letter from the OCR does not change CSU’s approach because compassion and fairness to all parties is a bedrock of our existing policies.”