Read Joe Biden's Powerful Response To Betsy DeVos's "Devastating" Title IX Decision

On Thursday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced a rollback of Obama-era policies on how college campuses should handle allegations of sexual assault. Following her announcement, Joe Biden said DeVos' decision to roll back Title IX was "devastating."

"Today's announcement that the Department of Education plans to rewrite key Title IX guidance that works to address and prevent sexual assault in our schools is a step in the wrong direction," Biden said. "The truth is, although people don’t want to talk about the brutal reality of sexual assault, especially when it occurs in our most cherished institutions, it is our reality, and it must be faced head-on."

Back in April 2011, the Obama administration delivered a contentious reinterpretation of Title IX to college campuses in the form of a "Dear Colleague" letter, in order to ensure that students' allegations about sexual assault would be taken seriously. The letter included new guidelines about how campuses should respond to such allegations — guidelines that DeVos is now officially overturning.

It was not the first time the former vice president addressed DeVos' position on Obama-era Title IX guidelines. Earlier this year, in an interview with Teen Vogue, Biden criticized DeVos for her comments on Title IX during her confirmation hearing.

“It bothers me most if Secretary DeVos is going to really dumb down Title IX enforcement,” Biden told Teen Vogue in April. “The real message, the real frightening message you’re going to send out is, our culture says it’s OK. You know, the major reason why women drop out of college when they’re a freshman is because of sexual assault. Not their grades, sexual assault. And so, it would be devastating.”

Both during and after his tenure as vice president, Biden has focused on addressing sexual assault on college campuses.

More to come...