The Stop Campus Hazing Act: What Chapters Need to Know in 2026
October 2026 · 6 min read
The First Federal Anti-Hazing Law
For decades, hazing in the United States was governed by a patchwork of state laws, campus codes and national organization policies. That changed when the Stop Campus Hazing Act was signed into law in December 2024. It is the first federal law to set anti-hazing requirements for colleges and universities, and it applies to every institution that takes part in federal student aid programs, which includes nearly every campus where fraternities and sororities operate. The law works by expanding the Clery Act, the federal campus safety reporting law, so hazing is now handled with the same transparency colleges already apply to other campus safety issues.
How the Law Defines Hazing
Under the Act, hazing is an intentional, knowing or reckless act committed against a student in connection with joining, being affiliated with or keeping membership in a student organization, when the act creates a substantial risk of physical injury, mental harm or degradation. The definition applies regardless of whether the student was willing to participate. Examples named in legal summaries of the law include beatings and whipping, forced sleep deprivation, forced consumption of alcohol or drugs and forced sexual acts. For chapter leaders, the most important phrase is "regardless of willingness." A new member saying yes does not make an activity acceptable.
What Colleges Must Now Do
The law gives campuses three main responsibilities. First, they must include hazing statistics in their Annual Security Report, the yearly safety report colleges publish each fall, along with their hazing policies, how to report hazing, how investigations work and the hazing laws that apply. According to an analysis by the law firm Fox Rothschild, the reports published in 2026 are the first to include these hazing statistics. Second, colleges must publish a Campus Hazing Transparency Report on their websites that names student organizations found responsible for hazing violations, with a description of each violation, the relevant dates and the sanctions, and update it at least twice a year. Third, colleges must run hazing prevention and awareness programs. Legal summaries note the law points to bystander intervention skills, ethical leadership and ways of building group cohesion without hazing.
Why This Matters for Your Chapter
The transparency report is the part chapter leaders should take most seriously. A hazing finding is no longer a private matter between a chapter, its national organization and the dean of students. It can appear by name on a public university web page that prospective members, parents, alumni and the media can all read. That affects recruitment, alumni giving and a chapter's relationship with its campus. At the same time, campuses now have a clear legal reason to expect documented prevention education from the student organizations they recognize.
Five Steps Chapters Can Take Now
First, know your rules: read your campus hazing policy, your state's hazing law and your national organization's policy, and make sure every officer knows where to find them. Second, educate every member, not just new members, and keep a record of who completed training and when. Third, audit your traditions: replace any activity that relies on humiliation, exhaustion, alcohol or secrecy with activities that build real belonging, such as service, mentoring and shared goals. Fourth, train bystanders so members know safe ways to step in, including distracting, delegating to someone with authority, and checking in afterward. Fifth, make reporting safe: publish how members can raise concerns, including at least one option outside the officer team, and treat retaliation as a serious violation.
How MemberPrep Helps
MemberPrep's Hazing Prevention & Risk Management Training gives members research-informed education on what hazing is, the laws that apply, bystander intervention and event safety, delivered online so every member can complete it on their own schedule. Each participant signs electronic acknowledgments with timestamps, completes scored assessments and earns a certificate that chapters, campuses and national organizations can verify. The result is the kind of documented prevention education the new federal law expects. This article is general information, not legal advice; chapters should consult their campus and national organization about their specific obligations.
Related service: Hazing Prevention & Risk Management Training