Starting this fall, college students throughout Minnesota will be required to complete training on sexual-assault prevention within their first 10 days of school.
And for the first time, their campuses will have to publicly disclose how many sexual-assault complaints they investigate each year, as well as how many result in disciplinary action.
Those are two of the new mandates in a state law, which takes effect Monday, designed to combat sexual violence on campus.
The law, which was approved by the Minnesota Legislature in 2015, reinforces what many colleges already have been doing, said Amy McDonough, government relations director for the Minnesota Private College Council.
Most schools already offer sessions on sexual assault as part of student orientation, either online or in person, she said. But the new law "requires schools to make sure that students take it."
The law doesn't spell out what will happen if students skip the required training. But they could be barred from registering for future classes until they complete the assignment, McDonough said. "Every campus is going to handle that differently."
The law also requires campuses to provide online options for anonymous reporting of sexual assault.
The goal is to encourage victims to come forward, even if they're not ready to identify themselves, said Yvonne Cournoyer of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, who was an adviser on the new law. "The idea was to open it a crack and reduce some of the fear around reporting," she said.
