I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2525 

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 

APRIL 14, 2021 

Mrs. MCBATH (for herself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, and Mr. DUNCAN) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 

institutions of higher education to disclose hazing incidents, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Report and Educate 

5 About Campus Hazing Act’’ or the ‘‘REACH Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF HAZING INCIDENTS IN ANNUAL SE7 CURITY REPORTS. 

8 Section 485(f)(1)(F) of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(1)(F)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in clause (i)(IX), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

2 the semicolon; 

3 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 

4 semicolon; 

5 (3) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 

6 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(iv) of hazing incidents that were re9 ported to campus security authorities or local 

10 police agencies.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HAZING. 

12 Section 485(f)(6)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 

13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating clauses (iii) through (v) as 

15 clauses (iv) through (vi), respectively; and 

16 (2) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 

17 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘hazing’ means any inten18 tional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a 

19 student, or a former student, of an institution 

20 of higher education, whether individually or in 

21 concert with other persons, against another stu22 dent (regardless of that student’s willingness to 

23 participate), that— 

24 ‘‘(I) was committed in connection with 

25 an initiation into, an affiliation with, or 


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1 the maintenance of membership in, any or2 ganization that is affiliated with such insti3 tution of higher education (including any 

4 athletic team affiliated with that institu5 tion); and 

6 ‘‘(II) contributes to a substantial risk 

7 of physical injury, mental harm, or deg8 radation or causes physical injury, mental 

9 harm, or personal degradation.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. RECORDING OF HAZING INCIDENTS. 

11 Section 485(f)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 

12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(7)) is amended by inserting after 

13 the second sentence the following: ‘‘For hazing incidents, 

14 such statistics shall be compiled in accordance with the 

15 definition of that term in paragraph (6)(A)(iii).’’. 

16 SEC. 5. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON HAZING. 

17 Section 485(f)(8)(B)(i) of the Higher Education Act 

18 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(8)(B)(i)) is amended— 

19 (1) in the matter preceding subclause (I), by 

20 striking ‘‘and stalking’’ and inserting ‘‘stalking, and 

21 hazing’’; 

22 (2) in subclause (I)(ff), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

23 the semicolon; 

24 (3) in subclause (II), by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(III) a comprehensive program to 

3 prevent hazing that shall— 

4 ‘‘(aa) be a campus-wide program 

5 for students, staff, faculty, and other 

6 campus stakeholders (such as alumni 

7 and families of students); 

8 ‘‘(bb) be a research-based pro9 gram; 

10 ‘‘(cc) be designed and imple11 mented in partnership with a broad 

12 coalition of campus stakeholders, in13 cluding leadership of the institution, 

14 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and 

15 families of students; 

16 ‘‘(dd) include information on haz17 ing awareness, hazing prevention, the 

18 institution’s policies on hazing, how to 

19 report hazing, and the process used to 

20 investigate hazing; and 

21 ‘‘(ee) include skill building for 

22 bystander intervention, information 

23 about ethical leadership, and the proVerDate Sep 11 2014 08:53 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2525.IH H2525

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1 motion of strategies for building 

2 group cohesion without hazing.’’. 

Æ 


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