Biden Signs Stop Campus Hazing Act Creating New Requirements for Annual Security Reports
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
President Joe Biden in late December signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act into law, which will give institutions several requirements to track and report hazing incidents reported to campus security or local police on campus.
The law, originally introduced by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), amends the Higher Education Act (HEA) to require institutions participating in Title IV programs to track and include hazing incidents in their annual security reports (ASR). Beginning this year on January 1, institutions participating in any Title IV program must have begun to collect statistics on hazing incidents on their campus for their 2026 ASR.
Title IV-participating institutions are already required to keep and disclose information about crime on and near their campuses through the Clery Act. With the enactment of the Stop Campus Hazing Act law, institutions will be required to include their collected hazing incident statistics in their annual security reporting (ASR). This requirement will become applicable in two years, for the October 2026 reporting.
The law also mandates a Campus Hazing Transparency Report, which summarizes findings of student organizations that violated the institution’s hazing policies. Institutions must start collecting information regarding hazing incidents by July 1, 2025, for this report.
Within a year of the passage of this law, by December 23, 2025, institutions must make their Campus Hazing Transparency Report publicly available on their website. Institutions will also be responsible for updating their Campus Hazing Transparency Report at least two times each year to include all incidents involving a student organization with a hazing violation if applicable.
Additionally, the law requires that institutions have their hazing policies in place on June 23, 2025. Institutions' hazing policies will also need to be included in their ASR, which is due annually on October 1.
While 44 states have enacted anti-hazing laws, this bill creates a national standard for reporting requirements for hazing incidents.
“This bill empowers students and their families to make informed decisions about the schools they attend and the organizations they join,” McBath said in a statement. “That information could be life-saving. Our bipartisan legislation helps make sure that schools have the tools they need to foster safe learning environments.”
In the coming months, NASFAA expects the department to provide additional information on these new requirements.
“NASFAA will continue to monitor developments concerning the Stop Campus Hazing Act. Hazing is an important issue on college campuses and this is valuable consumer information. We will work with the department to ensure that the institutional reporting is implemented in a way that is streamlined and easily accessible for schools,” said Karen McCarthy, NASFAA’s vice president of public policy and federal relations. “As soon as additional guidance is made available, NASFAA will be sure to share those resources with the financial aid community.”
Publication Date: 1/8/2025
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