REACH Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1932 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 MARCH 16, 2021 Mrs. MCBATH (for herself and Mr. LOWENTHAL) 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 inci- dents, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Report and Educate 4 About Campus Hazing Act’’ or the ‘‘REACH Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF HAZING INCIDENTS IN ANNUAL SE- 6 CURITY REPORTS. 7 Section 485(f)(1)(F) of the Higher Education Act of 8 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(1)(F)) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1932.IH H1932 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1932 IH (1) in clause (i)(IX), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 1 the semicolon; 2 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ after the 3 semicolon; 4 (3) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 5 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 6 (4) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(iv) of hazing incidents that were re- 8 ported to campus security authorities or local 9 police agencies.’’. 10 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HAZING. 11 Section 485(f)(6)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 12 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(6)(A)) is amended— 13 (1) by redesignating clauses (iii) through (v) as 14 clauses (iv) through (vi), respectively; and 15 (2) by inserting after clause (ii) the following: 16 ‘‘(iii) The term ‘hazing’ means any inten- 17 tional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a 18 student, or a former student, of an institution 19 of higher education, whether individually or in 20 concert with other persons, against another stu- 21 dent (regardless of that student’s willingness to 22 participate), that— 23 ‘‘(I) was committed in connection with 24 an initiation into, an affiliation with, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1932.IH H1932 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1932 IH the maintenance of membership in, any or- 1 ganization that is affiliated with such insti- 2 tution of higher education (including any 3 athletic team affiliated with that institu- 4 tion); and 5 ‘‘(II) contributes to a substantial risk 6 of physical injury, mental harm, or deg- 7 radation or causes physical injury, mental 8 harm, or personal degradation.’’. 9 SEC. 4. RECORDING OF HAZING INCIDENTS. 10 Section 485(f)(7) of the Higher Education Act of 11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(7)) is amended by inserting after 12 the second sentence the following: ‘‘For hazing incidents, 13 such statistics shall be compiled in accordance with the 14 definition of that term in paragraph (6)(A)(iii).’’. 15 SEC. 5. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON HAZING. 16 Section 485(f)(8)(B)(i) of the Higher Education Act 17 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(8)(B)(i)) is amended— 18 (1) in the matter preceding subclause (I), by in- 19 serting ‘‘, and hazing’’ after ‘‘stalking’’; and 20 (2) in subclause (I)— 21 (A) in item (aa), by inserting before the 22 semicolon the following: ‘‘, and hazing’’; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1932.IH H1932 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1932 IH (B) in item (bb), by inserting before the 1 semicolon the following: ‘‘, and the definition of 2 hazing in paragraph (6)(A)(ii)’’; and 3 (C) in item (dd), by inserting ‘‘, or hazing’’ 4 after ‘‘stalking’’. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 May 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1932.IH H1932 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS