Laws and Campus Policies on Hazing

Hazing is a violation of both the University's Standards of Conduct and California law, whether the alleged activities occurred on campus or off campus. Student organizations and/or individual students accepting responsibility or found responsible for hazing may be suspended or dismissed from the University in addition to facing potential criminal sanctions, such as prison incarceration and monetary fines. Student organizations, sports clubs, and athletic teams involved in alleged hazing activities may lose their status as campus organizations.

Additionally, hazing is considered as a form of absuive conduct in the workplace. For more information, please view the Abusive Conduct in the Workplace policy.

The interim Hazing Prevention Procedures reads as follows: 

PACAOS 102.12 - Participation in hazing or any intentional, knowing, or reckless act, activity, or method committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons, including current, former, or prospective students, regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate, that is committed in the course of a preinitiation, an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, an official or unofficial student organization or other student group that

i. causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the institution of higher education or the organization (such as the physical preparation necessary for participation in an athletic team), of physical or psychological injury, including personal degradation or disgrace, and/or

ii. the person knew or should have known was likely to cause serious bodily injury.

Stop Campus Hazing Act

California Education Code – Sections 66305-66309

This bill expressly prohibits a person from being subjected to hazing in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial assistance or enrolls students who receive state student financial aid. The bill defines an educational institution as a public or private institution of higher education in the state. Beginning January 1, 2026, this bill additionally authorizes a former, current, or prospective student, against whom hazing is directed and who has suffered injury as a result, to commence a civil action against an educational institution if (1) the institution has direct involvement in the hazing practice of the organization, or knew or should have known of the hazing practice and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the hazing practice, (2) the organization involved in the hazing is affiliated with the educational institution at the time of the alleged hazing incident, and (3) the alleged hazing incident occurred on or after January 1, 2026. For purposes of determining whether an educational institution “knew or should have known of the hazing practice and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the hazing practice of the organization,” the bill would establish a rebuttable presumption that an educational institution took reasonable steps to address hazing if the educational institution has specified antihazing measures. The bill requires the Trustees of the California State University, the Regents of the University of California, and certain independent institutions of higher education, on or before June 30, 2026, and annually thereafter, to report to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature the number of hazing incidents that constituted a violation of the institution’s policy prohibiting hazing and whether the violation was affiliated with a student organization, as specified.

This bill also requires the State Department of Education to make available on the department’s internet website, on or before July 1, 2025, a model antihazing policy for local educational agencies and resources on hazing prevention for professional development purposes and to increase awareness among pupils, school staff, and community members of the dangers of hazing.

Campus-Recognized Sorority and Fraternity Transparency Act 

California Education Code - Sections 66310 – 66312

This bill requires each institution of higher education to include in the institution’s requirements for campus recognition of a campus-recognized sorority or fraternity, as defined, a requirement that the sorority or fraternity submit to the institution on or before July 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, specified information concerning the sorority’s or fraternity’s members and their conduct. The bill requires the institution to suspend the campus recognition of any campus-recognized sorority or fraternity that does not comply with the reporting requirements. The bill requires each institution with sororities or fraternities to compile and maintain the collected information into a publicly accessible report posted, and archived, on each respective campus’ Greek Life internet homepage or its equivalent for a minimum of 10 years and sent through a campuswide email to all enrolled students on or before October 1, 2023, and annually thereafter. 

Assault and Battery

California Penal Code - Section 245.6

(a) It shall be unlawful to engage in hazing, as defined in this section.

(b) “Hazing” means any method of initiation or preinitiation into a student organization or student body, whether or not the organization or body is officially recognized by an educational institution, which is likely to cause serious bodily injury to any former, current, or prospective student of any school, community college, college, university, or other educational institution in this state. The term “hazing” does not include customary athletic events or school-sanctioned events.

(c) A violation of this section that does not result in serious bodily injury is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100), nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or both.

(d) Any person who personally engages in hazing that results in death or serious bodily injury as defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (f) of Section 243 of the Penal Code, is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony, and shall be punished by imprisonment in county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.

(e) The person against whom the hazing is directed may commence a civil action for injury or damages. The action may be brought against any participants in the hazing, or any organization to which the student is seeking membership whose agents, directors, trustees, managers, or officers authorized, requested, commanded, participated in, or ratified the hazing.

(f) Prosecution under this section shall not prohibit prosecution under any other provision of law.

(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 299. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)

This is also known as Matt's Law. Matt's Law was named in memory of Matt Carrington, a 21-year-old California State University, Chico student from Concord, California. Carrington died in the basement of a fraternity house located two short blocks from campus.

Prior to the enactment of Matt's Law, hazing — even in the case of death — was only a misdemeanor, as part of California's education code, rather than punishable under the state's penal code. Matt's law prevents unaffiliated fraternities from using the argument that they cannot be punished for hazing, simply because they are not student organizations. The law also gives prosecutors clear authority to bring charges against anyone or any organization involved in hazing, not just currently enrolled students.

H.R.5646 - Stop Campus Hazing Act

PDF version available here.

This act requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs to report hazing incidents. It also renames the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act as the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act. In compliance with the Clery Act, UC San Diego publishes the Annual Security & Fire Safety Report.

Specifically, the act requires each IHE to disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies in its annual security report. The act defines the term hazing to mean any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate, that (1) is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization (e.g., a club, athletic team, fraternity, or sorority); and (2) causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the IHE or the organization, of physical or psychological injury.

Additionally, each IHE must include in its annual security report (1) a statement of current policies relating to hazing, how to report hazing incidents, the process used to investigate hazing incidents, and information on applicable laws on hazing; and (2) a statement of policy regarding prevention and awareness programs relating to hazing that includes a description of prevention programs.

Further, an IHE must develop a campus hazing transparency report that summarizes findings concerning any student organization found to be in violation of the IHE's standards of conduct relating to hazing. An IHE is not required to develop or update this report unless the IHE has a finding of a hazing violation.

The act does not apply to foreign IHEs.