New Federal Anti-Hazing Law Impacts Colleges and Universities Starting January 1, 2025

01.13.2025

On December 24, 2024, President Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which amends the Clery Act, 20 U.S.C. 1092, and requires institutions of higher education (“Institutions”) participating in federal student aid programs to track and report hazing incidents to the public. In addition to this reporting obligation, the law requires each Institution to develop a comprehensive program to prevent hazing and adopt/revise policies and procedures that comply with this new law.

Definitions

Under the Stop Campus Hazing Act, “hazing” is defined as “any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate, that—

(I) is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization; and

(II) causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the institution of higher education or the organization (such as the physical preparation necessary for participation in an athletic team), of physical or psychological injury including—

(aa) whipping, beating, striking, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on someone’s body, or similar activity;

(bb) causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, extreme calisthenics, or other similar activity;

(cc) causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to consume food, liquid, alcohol, drugs, or other substances;

(dd) causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing another person to perform sexual acts;

(ee) any activity that places another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm through the use of threatening words or conduct;

(ff) any activity against another person that includes a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law; and

(gg) any activity that induces, causes, or requires another person to perform a duty or task that involves a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law.

A “student organization” is “an organization at an Institution (such as a club, society, association, varsity or junior varsity athletic team, club sports team, fraternity, sorority, band, or student government) in which two or more of the members are students enrolled at the institution of higher education, whether or not the organization is established or recognized by the institution.”

Reporting Requirements

Beginning January 1, 2025, Institutions must begin to collect statistics on hazing incidents to be included in the Institution’s Annual Security Report (“ASR”) as required by the Clery Act. These statistics must be included in all ASRs issued as of October 2026. The October 2026 ASR will include hazing statistics for the 2025 calendar year.

The Stop Campus Hazing Act also requires Institutions to develop and publish a Campus Hazing Transparency Report (“Report”), which requires the following:

By July 1, 2025, Institutions must begin tracking findings concerning any student organization (only those that are established or recognized by the Institution) found to be in violation of the Institution’s standards of conduct relating to hazing; and

By December 24, 2025, Institutions must make the Campus Hazing Transparency Report publicly available on its public website. The Report must be updated not less than two times per year and must not contain any personally identifiable information.

Program and Policy Requirements

By July 1, 2025, each Institution must develop policies relating to hazing, including how to report incidents of hazing, the process used to investigate incidents of hazing, and information on applicable local, State, and Tribal laws on hazing.

The Stop Campus Hazing Act also requires prevention and awareness programs designed to reach students, staff, and faculty that include information about the Institution’s policies and procedures concerning hazing as well as primary prevention strategies intended to stop hazing before it occurs. This may include skill building for bystander intervention, information about ethical leadership, and the promotion of strategies for building group cohesion without hazing.

Related California Laws

California’s anti-hazing laws include Penal Code Section 245.6, under which certain hazing incidents may be prosecuted as a felony, and Education Code Section 66305 et seq. (A.B. 2193, approved by Governor Newsom on September 27, 2024, known as California’s Stop Campus Hazing Act), providing that, as of January 1, 2026, an individual injured by hazing may bring a civil lawsuit against an institution that had direct involvement in the hazing practice, or knew or should have known of the hazing practice and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it. A rebuttable presumption--that the institution took reasonable steps to prevent the hazing--arises if the institution has a prescribed hazing awareness and prevention program in place. California’s Stop Campus Hazing Act also requires the California State University, the University of California, and independent institutions of higher learning in California, as defined in the law, to annually report instances of hazing incidents to the legislature, beginning June 30, 2026. (This reporting requirement does not apply to California community college districts.)

Response to Hazing Incidents

It is also important to note that students who are found to have engaged in hazing may be subject to discipline under student conduct and discipline procedures. If a hazing incident involves sexual misconduct, the incident may need to be investigated and addressed in accordance with Title IX’s requirements.