Higher education institutions must take action to prevent campus hazing incidents and report on any incidents as required by federal legislation, enacted in late 2024.
In an October 9 Dear Colleague Letter, the Department of Education (the Department) reminded institutions of the changes to campus security requirements and their responsibilities that were included in the Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA), enacted on December 23, 2024.
The changes impacted the required campus security reporting process through the annual security report (ASR) and the requirement by institutions to disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or to local agencies in its ASR.
The SCHA defines hazing and requires that each institution include a statement in its ASR of current policies related to hazing, a statement addressing the policy for the prevention and awareness programs relating to hazing and requires a Campus Hazing Transparency Report (CHTR) if there is at least one finding of a hazing violation.
There are three new requirements for institutions included in the SCHA:
- Compile statistics on hazing incidents reported to campus security authorities or local police for inclusion in the institution’s ASR. Such incidents must have occurred on Clery Act geography and meet the new Clery Act definition of hazing.
- Implement anti-hazing policies with specific emphasis on hazing prevention programs.
- Compile a CHTR that summarizes findings concerning any student organization that violates the institution’s hazing policy and publish that report on the institution’s public website if the institution identifies one or more hazing violations.
Institutions must have included 2025 hazing statistics in their 2026 ASRs and use the same geographical categories (On-Campus, On-Campus Student Housing, Non-Campus, and Public Property) for hazing incidents in their ASRs and in future reporting to the Department. The Department will begin collecting hazing statistics in the 2027 Campus Safety and Security Survey.
The Federal Student Aid Handbook has been updated on these topics, and the Department plans to propose regulations that amend current regulations on Institutional Security Policies and Crime Statistics in 34 C.F.R. § 668.46.
Questions about the SCHA requirements can be sent to the Campus Safety Help Desk at campussafetyhelp@westat.com or by calling 1-800-435-5985.
