An Update on the Stop Campus Hazing Act - Updated Oct. 2, 2024

UPDATED (10/2/2024) The Stop Campus Hazing Act (H.R. 5646/S.2901) was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 24 by unanimous consent. The Stop Campus Hazing Act is the first bill backed by our community to receive votes in both chambers and is heading for enactment into law. In addition, on Sept. 20, the House also passed the Respecting the First Amendment on Campus Act (H.R. 7683) as part of a larger package: Accreditation for College Excellence Act of 2023. It passed in a bipartisan vote of 213-201. For more information about the Freedom of Association legislation, please see the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee's (FSPAC's) website.

The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act (H.R.5646/S.2901) on Sept. 11 by a vote of 28-2. The bill is now available for floor action later this year.

Before and after the House mark-up, members of the Anti-Hazing Coalition met with House Education Committee Chairman Virginia Foxx (R-NC/Alpha Delta Pi), Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA/Alpha Phi Alpha), lead sponsor Lucy McBath (D-GA/Delta Sigma Theta), committee member G.T. Thompson (R-PA), and Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH/Alpha Epsilon Pi). Multiple members of the Committee made comments during the mark-up about the courage of the Coalition’s parents to spend years fighting for this bill to become law and to prevent other senseless hazing tragedies.

The Stop Campus Hazing Act’s central feature is a requirement for schools to maintain a public web page documenting the student organizations on their respective campuses that have been disciplined in the last few years for actions that had the potential to harm other students. This database would allow parents and students to make informed decisions about what student organizations are safe to join, and student groups that haze new members would either reform themselves or find it challenging to recruit new members in the future.

The Anti-Hazing Coalition is comprised of parents who lost their sons in senseless hazing deaths, the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), and Hazing Prevention Network. The Coalition has also been successful in passing tough new hazing laws in multiple statehouses over the past few years.