Conference committee debates campus sexual‑misconduct grievance rules in House File 2431

A Minnesota Legislature conference committee on House File 2431 heard testimony and questions on proposed changes to campus sexual‑misconduct grievance procedures, including whether institutions must offer supportive measures, whether hearings are required, how to define retaliation and sexual misconduct, and the standard of proof to be applied.

The issue matters to all Minnesota postsecondary institutions because the proposals would change how colleges and universities investigate and resolve allegations, affect privacy at small schools, and could influence reporting and campus safety practices statewide.

Melissa Wojcke, Title IX training administrator at the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE), told the committee the Senate draft is “a more robust version” that adds a definition of retaliation and includes supportive‑measures provisions for both reporting and responding parties. Wojcke said the retaliation definition “came from the federal definition in Title 9. It was it was based on that definition.” She also said she serves 77 institutions and that, in her survey, “all…