Key takeaways
- The Stop Campus Hazing Act, passed by the U.S. Senate on December 11, 2024, will impose extensive new requirements on higher education institutions to prevent, address, and report hazing incidents.
- Hazing is defined as acts causing physical or psychological injury during initiation, affiliation, or maintenance of membership in a student organization, which includes any group with two or more members enrolled at the institution, regardless of official recognition by the institution.
- If Biden signs the Act into law this year, starting January 1, 2025, institutions must begin collecting and retaining data on reported hazing incidents for inclusion in their 2025 Clery Report, due by October 1, 2026.
On December 11, 2024, the U.S. Senate passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which provides new requirements for higher education institutions regarding preventing, addressing and reporting hazing on campus. President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law before the end of his term.
While many institutions already work hard to prevent and address hazing, they will likely need to review and revise their policies and practices in response to the Act’s new reporting requirements, as well as the Act’s expansive definitions of “hazing” and “student organization.”
The Act amends the Clery Act to add a definition of hazing, which includes actions that cause (or risk causing) physical or psychological injury performed during the “initiation into, affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization.” The organization need not be recognized by the institution – instead, it must have two or more members who are enrolled at the institution.