[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5646 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5646

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of 
 higher education to disclose hazing incidents, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2023

Mrs. McBath (for herself and Mr. Duncan) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of 
 higher education to disclose hazing incidents, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Campus Hazing Act''.

SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF HAZING INCIDENTS IN ANNUAL SECURITY REPORTS.

    Section 485(f)(1)(F) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(f)(1)(F)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i)(IX), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon;
            (3) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(iv) of hazing incidents that were reported to 
                campus security authorities or local police 
                agencies.''.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HAZING.

    Section 485(f)(6)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(f)(6)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating clauses (iii) through (v) as clauses 
        (iv) through (vi), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:
                    ``(iii) The term `hazing' means any intentional, 
                knowing, or reckless act committed by a person, whether 
                individually or in concert with other persons, against 
                a student regardless of that student's willingness to 
                participate, that--
                            ``(I) was committed in connection with an 
                        initiation into, an affiliation with, or the 
                        maintenance of membership in, an organization 
                        (such as a club, society, association, athletic 
                        team, fraternity, sorority, or student 
                        government); and
                            ``(II) causes or is likely to contribute to 
                        a substantial risk, above the reasonable risk 
                        encountered in the course of participation in 
                        the institution of higher education or the 
                        organization (such as the physical training 
                        necessary for participation in an athletic 
                        team), of physical injury, mental harm, or 
                        degradation.''.

SEC. 4. RECORDING OF HAZING INCIDENTS.

    Section 485(f)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(f)(7)) is amended by inserting after the second sentence the 
following: ``For hazing incidents, such statistics shall be compiled in 
accordance with the definition of that term in paragraph 
(6)(A)(iii).''.

SEC. 5. HAZING EDUCATION AND REPORTING.

    Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(f)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through (18) as 
        paragraphs (10) through (19), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
            ``(9)(A) Each institution of higher education participating 
        in any program under this title, other than a foreign 
        institution of higher education, shall develop and distribute 
        as part of the report described in paragraph (1) a statement of 
        policy regarding the following:
                    ``(i) A comprehensive program to prevent hazing 
                that shall--
                            ``(I) be a campus-wide program for 
                        students, staff, faculty, and other campus 
                        stakeholders, such as alumni and families of 
                        students;
                            ``(II) be a research-based program;
                            ``(III) be designed and implemented in 
                        partnership with a broad coalition of campus 
                        stakeholders, including leadership of the 
                        institution, faculty, staff, students, alumni, 
                        and families of students;
                            ``(IV) include information on hazing 
                        awareness, hazing prevention, the institution's 
                        policies on hazing, how to report hazing, and 
                        the process used to investigate hazing; and
                            ``(V) include skill building for bystander 
                        intervention, information about ethical 
                        leadership, and the promotion of strategies for 
                        building group cohesion without hazing.
                    ``(ii) The institution's current campus policies 
                relating to hazing, which shall include procedures that 
                comply with the following:
                            ``(I) The institution shall--
                                    ``(aa) collect information, 
                                beginning not later than 6 months after 
                                the date of enactment of the Stop 
                                Campus Hazing Act, with respect to 
                                hazing incidents and hazing prevention 
                                policies of the institution;
                                    ``(bb) prepare, in accordance with 
                                this clause, a report (which shall be 
                                referred to as the `Campus Hazing 
                                Transparency Report') containing the 
                                information required under this clause;
                                    ``(cc) make the Campus Hazing 
                                Transparency Report publicly available 
                                not later than 12 months after the date 
                                of enactment of the Stop Campus Hazing 
                                Act; and
                                    ``(dd) update the Campus Hazing 
                                Transparency Report not less frequently 
                                than on January 15 and July 15 of each 
                                year, with, for each such update, each 
                                incident for which a formal finding has 
                                been issued, as described in subclause 
                                (II), during the period preceding such 
                                update that ends 15 days before the 
                                date of such update.
                            ``(II) The Campus Hazing Transparency 
                        Report shall include each incident involving a 
                        student of the institution for which a formal 
                        finding of guilt, responsibility, or 
                        culpability is issued that either of the 
                        following was committed:
                                    ``(aa) A violation related to 
                                hazing--
                                            ``(AA) of the institution's 
                                        standards of conduct; or
                                            ``(BB) of Federal, State, 
                                        or local law.
                                    ``(bb) When committed in connection 
                                with a violation reported under item 
                                (aa) and that threatened a student's 
                                physical safety (including a violation 
                                involving the abuse or illegal use of 
                                alcohol or drugs), any violation of--
                                            ``(AA) the institution's 
                                        standards of conduct; or
                                            ``(BB) Federal, State, or 
                                        local law.
                            ``(III) The Campus Hazing Transparency 
                        Report shall include, for each formal finding 
                        under subclause (II), the following:
                                    ``(aa) The name of the organization 
                                with which the violation that resulted 
                                in a formal finding of guilt, 
                                responsibility, or culpability, was 
                                committed in connection.
                                    ``(bb) A general description of the 
                                violation that resulted in a formal 
                                finding of guilt, responsibility, or 
                                culpability, the charges, the findings 
                                of the institution, and the sanctions 
                                placed on the organization.
                                    ``(cc) The dates on which--
                                            ``(AA) the incident was 
                                        alleged to have occurred;
                                            ``(BB) the violation that 
                                        resulted in a formal finding of 
                                        guilt, responsibility, or 
                                        culpability was charged;
                                            ``(CC) the investigation 
                                        was initiated; and
                                            ``(DD) the investigation 
                                        ended with a finding that a 
                                        violation occurred.
                            ``(IV) The Campus Hazing Transparency 
                        Report shall not include any information that 
                        would reveal personally identifiable 
                        information about any individual student.
                            ``(V) The institution shall provide, in a 
                        prominent location on the institution's public 
                        website, a link to the webpage that contains 
                        the Campus Hazing Transparency Report. Such 
                        webpage shall include--
                                    ``(aa) a statement notifying the 
                                public of the availability of 
                                information including findings or 
                                sanctions, except information protected 
                                under section 444 of the General 
                                Education Provisions Act (commonly 
                                known as the `Family Educational Rights 
                                and Privacy Act of 1974');
                                    ``(bb) a description of how a 
                                member of the public may obtain such 
                                information;
                                    ``(cc) a statement that the 
                                institution is required to provide such 
                                information pursuant to this clause;
                                    ``(dd) a statement notifying the 
                                public of the availability of the 
                                statistics required to be made 
                                available under paragraph (1)(F); and
                                    ``(ee) information about the 
                                institution's anti-hazing policy.
            ``(B) Each institution shall maintain each Campus Hazing 
        Transparency Report on its website for a period of 7 academic 
        years.
            ``(C) In the case of an allegation that a multi-institution 
        organization was involved in a hazing incident, the 
        requirements of this subsection shall apply only to the 
        institution or institutions at which the persons involved in 
        such allegation are enrolled or were formerly enrolled, 
        including any student who was a victim in the alleged 
        incident.''.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, shall be 
construed to alter legal standards regarding, or affect the rights 
(including remedies and procedures) available to individuals under the 
Constitution of the United States or other Federal laws that establish 
protections for freedom of speech or expression.
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