Colleges now have to make their hazing records public. Under the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act, schools post a Campus Hazing Transparency Report at least twice a year. Starting October 1, 2026, they also list hazing incidents in their Annual Security Report. Both are usually on the school’s website.
If your son or daughter came home from pledging or preseason practice hurt, scared, or not wanting to talk about it, you may be asking a hard question: has this happened at that school before? College hazing reports can help you find out. Here’s where to look, what the reports leave out, and why they can matter in a hazing lawsuit.
What Does the Stop Campus Hazing Act Require?
The Stop Campus Hazing Act was signed into law on December 23, 2024. It amended the Clery Act, the federal law that already requires colleges taking part in federal student aid programs to publish campus crime statistics. The new law adds two public college hazing reports.
The Campus Hazing Transparency Report. This report lists hazing violations where a recognized student organization, like a fraternity, sorority, club, or team, was found responsible. For each case, it shows the group’s name, what happened (including any alcohol or drug use), and the school’s findings and sanctions. It covers incidents wherever they happened, on or off campus. Schools had to post the first report by December 23, 2025, and must update it at least twice a year.
Hazing statistics in the Annual Security Report. Every October 1, colleges publish an Annual Security Report with campus crime data. Schools began tracking hazing incidents on January 1, 2025. The report due October 1, 2026 is the first to include those numbers.
How to Check Your College’s Hazing Records
- Search the school’s website for “hazing transparency report.” It is often under student conduct, campus safety, or fraternity and sorority life.
- Open the 2026 Annual Security Report. Look on the campus police or public safety page. Some schools call it the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Find the hazing table.
- In Pennsylvania, check the older school hazing records too. Pennsylvania schools have posted hazing violation reports since 2019 under a state law, so their records go back further than the federal reports.
- Use a national database. HazingInfo.org lets you search nearly 1,500 colleges for their hazing incidents, policies, and reporting options.
- Ask campus public safety for its crime log entries involving hazing.
- Save copies. Download or screenshot each report and note the date. Reports change as they are updated.
What College Hazing Reports Can’t Tell You
A clean report doesn’t always mean a clean record. Each report has real limits.
- Transparency reports only list confirmed findings. Cases still under investigation, or ones the school called unfounded, usually don’t appear. Individual students are not named.
- Annual Security Report numbers only count certain locations. They include incidents reported to campus officials or police within the school’s Clery geography. An off-campus fraternity house may fall outside it.
- Many schools haven’t posted at all. HazingInfo found that more than 800 colleges missed the December 2025 deadline for the transparency report. By September 2026, only about 54% had posted updated reports. Schools with no formal findings aren’t technically required to post one, so a missing report can be hard to read.
Even with those gaps, HazingInfo counted at least 556 confirmed hazing incidents at four-year residential colleges between July 2025 and August 2026. The real number is likely higher.
Why School Hazing Records Can Matter in a Hazing Lawsuit
A hazing lawsuit often comes down to one question: what did the school, fraternity, or team know, and when? School hazing incident reports can help answer it.
Most hazing cases are built on negligence, meaning someone failed to use reasonable care to prevent harm. If a college already found the same chapter or team responsible for hazing, that history may help show the danger was foreseeable, or predictable. It may also show the school or a national fraternity had a chance to step in and didn’t.
Public college fraternity hazing records are only a starting point. In a lawsuit, an attorney can request much more through discovery, the legal process for getting evidence from the other side. That can include full disciplinary files, internal emails, and prior complaints. Every case is different, but a school’s own records may become important evidence.
College Hazing Records in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Pennsylvania passed the Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law in 2018, after the death of a Penn State pledge. It requires Pennsylvania colleges to post hazing violation reports online and update them twice a year. According to a July 2026 HazingInfo review, Pennsylvania had 31 reported hazing incidents at 19 schools over the prior year, the most in the Mid-Atlantic. About two-thirds of Pennsylvania campuses had posted an updated report. Roughly half the incidents involved fraternities and half involved sports teams.
New Jersey led the region for transparency, with nearly 70% of schools posting updated reports. HazingInfo found eight incidents at four New Jersey campuses. The level of detail varied widely from school to school.
In both states, you generally have two years from the date of an injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. If the student was under 18, the clock usually doesn’t start until their 18th birthday. Claims against public schools may have shorter notice deadlines, so it’s best to talk with an attorney early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check the school’s Campus Hazing Transparency Report and its Annual Security Report, both on its website. In Pennsylvania, schools also post state-required hazing reports going back to 2019. HazingInfo.org lets you search nearly 1,500 colleges in one place.
Most colleges post them on their student conduct, campus safety, or Greek life pages. Search the school’s site for “hazing transparency report.” The campus police page usually hosts the Annual Security Report.
Hazing is an intentional, knowing, or reckless act that puts a student at risk of physical or psychological harm to join or stay in a group. It counts as hazing even if the student agreed to take part. Common examples include forced drinking, beatings, sleep deprivation, and humiliating tasks.
The federal Stop Campus Hazing Act, signed in December 2024, requires it so students and families can see how schools respond to hazing. That gives families real information before choosing a school or letting a student join a group.
Yes, in many cases. A student may be able to sue a college if it knew or should have known about a hazing risk and failed to act. Whether a claim is possible depends on the facts, the school, and state law, including whether the school is public or private.
Yes. A hazing lawsuit may name the local chapter, the national fraternity, and the individual members involved. National organizations can sometimes be held responsible when they failed to supervise a chapter with known problems.
Talk to a Hazing Lawsuit Attorney in Pennsylvania or New Jersey
If your child was hurt by hazing at a college in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you don’t have to figure out what comes next alone. Ethen Ostroff Law can look into the school’s hazing records, explain your options, and help you understand whether you may have a claim.
Consultations are free, and you pay no fee unless we win. Call 610-510-8883 or fill out the form on EOL.law to talk with our team.
Justice For All.
