Students attending schools that are part of the University System of Georgia will be better able to defend themselves from false accusations of sexual assault, thanks to new policies adopted by the system's Board of Regents.

On Wednesday, the board voted to adopt new policies that would require all schools in the system to provide some due process to accused students, including the ability to have an adviser or attorney present at every stage of the investigation, hearing and appeal (accusers will also have this right). Accused students will now also receive "written notice of possible charges," because previously they were just being made aware there was an accusation, and not the specific details thereof.

Accused students will also have the opportunity to "notify the investigator of relevant witnesses and evidence at the outset of the matter." This sounds good in theory, but notice there is no requirement that investigators follow through with or include this information in their final report.

This lack of clarity allowed a judge to dismiss a student's lawsuit claim that a school ignored the evidence he provided that proved his innocence (the judge in that case let many other claims stand, however). The judge ruled that the school was only required to collect the evidence and had no requirement to properly consider that evidence. The same explanation could be used to deny an accused student the ability to defend himself.

Accused students will also now have "the right to respond to the investigator's final report in writing." This is a good step, but one will need to see what impact such a response will have. Can the hearing panel just ignore that response? That will be the likely outcome, as these schools are still under pressure from the federal government to find accused students responsible.

Another "win" — you can sort of call it that ­— for accused students comes in the way the school will mete out punishment for alleged offenders. Georgia schools will have to adopt the low "preponderance of evidence" standard to determine responsibility, but if a student faces suspension or expulsion, then "substantial evidence" will need to be identified to support the finding.

Luckily for accused students in Georgia, State Rep. Earl Ehrhart is standing up for their rights and their futures. It was his intense pressure — and threat of a loss of state funding — that helped push the Board into adopting the new policies. This also means that if Georgia colleges and universities continue to deny fair investigations to accused students, one can bet Ehrhart will step in.

"I am so pleased with the actions of the Board of Regents on this vital issue," Ehrhart said in a statement obtained by the Washington Examiner. "I've been working closely with them over the past year on this proposal, and I'm thrilled they agreed with me and put these measures in place to protect students. I look forward to continuing to work with the Regents and the heads of all our universities and colleges to make sure this new policy is implemented fully and fairly."

Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.