Title: REACH Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Report and Educate About Campus Hazing Act or the REACH Act
This bill requires each institution of higher education (IHE) to (1) provide a comprehensive program to prevent hazing, and (2) report hazing incidents. Hazing means an intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a student, or a former student, of an IHE against another student (regardless of that student's willingness to participate), that (1) is connected with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, an organization that is affiliated with the IHE (e.g., athletic teams); and (2) contributes to a substantial risk of physical injury, mental harm, or degradation or causes physical injury, mental harm or personal degradation.
An IHE must disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus officials in its annual security report.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 706 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 706

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 7, 2019

 Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Casey) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 ``Report and Educate About Campus 
Hazing Act'' or the ``REACH 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 a 
                campus official.''.

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 student, or a 
                former student, of an institution of higher education, 
                whether individually or in concert with other persons, 
                against another 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, any organization 
                        that is affiliated with such institution of 
                        higher education (including any athletic team 
                        affiliated with that institution); and
                            ``(II) contributes to a substantial risk of 
                        physical injury, mental harm, or degradation or 
                        causes physical injury, mental harm, or 
                        personal 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. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON HAZING.

    Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(30) The institution shall provide a comprehensive 
        program to prevent hazing (as defined in section 
        485(f)(6)(A)(iii)). The program shall--
                    ``(A) be a campus-wide program for students, staff, 
                faculty, and other campus stakeholders (such as alumni 
                and families of students);
                    ``(B) be a research-based program;
                    ``(C) 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;
                    ``(D) 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
                    ``(E) include skill building for bystander 
                intervention, information about ethical leadership, and 
                the promotion of strategies for building group cohesion 
                without hazing.''.
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