If you are a student looking for a Montana Title IX lawyer, this page links to our guides for Montana State University in Bozeman and the University of Montana in Missoula. Each guide explains, in general terms, how that university handles a Title IX or sex-based harassment complaint against a student.
Each university runs its own process under its own policy. The written notice you receive, and the policy version it names, control your case.
How Montana universities handle Title IX cases
Both schools are part of the Montana University System, but the Board of Regents leaves the Title IX process to each campus. Board of Regents Policy 507 makes each campus responsible for developing its own Title IX policies and procedures, and it sets no hearing rules or deadlines of its own.
So the two schools use different documents:
- Montana State University uses the Equal Opportunity, Non-Discrimination and Harassment Policy, effective May 7, 2025, which it shares with MSU Billings, MSU Northern and Great Falls College MSU. Sex-based harassment claims follow the policy’s Appendix B, Title IX Procedures.
- The University of Montana uses its Sexual Harassment Policy (UM Policy 737) and Sexual Harassment Grievance Procedures for the Title IX track. Other sex and gender-based conduct can go to its Discrimination, Harassment, & Retaliation Policy (UM Policy 735) instead.
At both schools, a Title IX case can include a live hearing where advisors conduct cross-examination and the students do not question each other directly. The University of Montana provides an advisor for the hearing, without fee, if you do not have one, and says your own advisor may be, but is not required to be, an attorney. At Montana State, Appendix B says the university will appoint an advisor if you do not have one, while the main policy says it may appoint one, and the policy does not require the advisor to be an attorney.
The one shared rule is the appeal after the campus process ends. Board of Regents Policy 203.5.2 lets a party adversely affected by a final campus decision appeal to the Commissioner of Higher Education within 30 days of that decision. A further appeal to the Board of Regents is possible within 30 days of receiving the Commissioner’s decision. At the University of Montana, the campus procedures describe the start of the Commissioner appeal clock differently, so check that guide.
Montana university guides
- Montana State University: Campus Civil Rights handles cases under Appendix B, where days are counted as days the university is open for business. Appendix B allows 10 days from the date the written determination was submitted to the parties to appeal to the Title IX Coordinator. See the school page for dismissal appeal timing, because Appendix B does not name the dismissal notice as the trigger.
- University of Montana: the Office of Conflict, Resolution, & Policy decides which track applies. A hearing panel of two administrators and a Hearing Chair hears Title IX cases. See the school page for appeal timing, because the procedures and UM’s web pages count the campus appeal window from different events.
Common questions
Do all Montana public universities follow the same policy?
No. Board of Regents Policy 507 leaves Title IX procedures to each campus. Montana State and the University of Montana have separate policies, offices and hearing formats.
Is the appeal deadline the same everywhere?
The campus appeal is not. Montana State’s Appendix B says 10 days from the date the written determination was submitted to the parties. The University of Montana’s documents describe the window in two ways, so use the date in your written determination. The later appeal to the Commissioner of Higher Education comes from Board of Regents Policy 203.5.2.
What should I check first in my notice?
Check which policy, track and version the notice names. Montana State’s documents describe the version rule for older matters in different ways. The University of Montana’s policy prints no effective date and has no rule on which version applies to older incidents.
Talk to a Montana Title IX lawyer
If you have received a notice from a Montana university, you can contact us to talk about your situation and the documents you have.
Disclaimer
This page is general information only and is not legal advice. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any university named on this page, or by the Montana University System. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. University policies and procedures change. The notice you receive and the policy version it names control your case, so check your notice.
