OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
S.B. 126 Final Analysis
134th General Assembly
Click here for S.B. 126’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Passed by the General Assembly
Primary Sponsors: Sens. Kunze and Gavarone
Effective date: October 7, 2021
Effective Date:
Holly Cantrell Gilman, Attorney
SUMMARY
Criminal offense of “hazing”
 Includes in the criminal definition of “hazing” an act to continue or reinstate
membership in a specified organization that creates a substantial risk of harm.
 Expressly includes in the criminal definition of “hazing” coercing individuals to consume
alcohol or a drug of abuse.
 Increases the penalty for the existing prohibitions against hazing to a second degree
misdemeanor.
 Expands the list of specified officials who are prohibited from recklessly permitting
hazing and limits that prohibition to offenses committed against an individual associated
with the specified official’s organization.
 Prohibits an individual from recklessly participating in hazing that includes forced
consumption of alcohol or drugs of abuse resulting in serious physical harm to another.
 Prohibits a specified institution, school, or organization official from recklessly
permitting hazing that includes forced consumption of alcohol or drugs of abuse
resulting in serious physical harm to an individual associated with the official’s
organization.
 Specifies that a violation of either of the two new prohibitions regarding hazing that
includes forced consumption resulting in serious physical harm is a third degree felony.
Criminal prohibition on failure to report hazing
 Requires specified officials to immediately report to law enforcement the knowledge or
reasonable cause to suspect that an individual has suffered or faces a threat of hazing.
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 Makes the reckless failure to fulfill that reporting requirement a fourth degree
misdemeanor or, if the hazing causes serious physical harm, a first degree
misdemeanor.
State and institutional anti-hazing plan and policies
 Requires the Chancellor of Higher Education to adopt a statewide educational plan for
preventing hazing at institutions of higher education that includes both a model anti-
hazing policy and guidelines for anti-hazing education and training.
 Requires each public and private institution of higher education to adopt an anti-hazing
policy, to report hazing incidents, and to provide student and faculty educational
training.
Title
 Entitles the act “Collin’s Law: The Ohio Anti-Hazing Act.”
DETAILED ANALYSIS
Criminal offense of “hazing”
The act revises the criminal definition of “hazing” in two ways. First, it expands that
definition to include “any act to continue or reinstate membership in or affiliation with any
student or other organization.” Under former law, the definition of “hazing” was limited to
“doing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation into any
student or other organization.” Second, the act expressly specifies that hazing may include
coercing another to consume alcohol or a drug of abuse.
The act maintains the standard that, for any act or coercion to rise to the level of
criminal hazing, it must cause or create a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to
any person.1
Application
For purposes of determining which entities and individuals are subject to the hazing law,
the act specifies that an “organization” includes a national or international organization with
which a fraternity, sorority, or other organization is affiliated.2
Moreover, it maintains the application of the hazing law to both public and private
educational institutions.3
1 R.C. 2903.31(A)(1).
2 R.C. 2903.31(A)(2).
3 R.C. 2903.31(B).
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Prohibitions against and penalty for “hazing”
The act adds the following individuals to the list of those prohibited from recklessly
permitting hazing: teachers, consultants, alumni, and volunteers of any organization, including
primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools and any other public or private educational
institution. Formerly, only administrators, employees, and faculty members were so prohibited.
In addition, the act specifies that this prohibition applies only to hazing of any person
associated with the organization, rather than any person in general as under former law.4
The act increases the criminal penalty for recklessly participating in, or permitting,
“hazing” to a second degree misdemeanor, instead of a fourth degree misdemeanor as under
former law.5
New prohibitions against “hazing” under special circumstances
The act further establishes two new prohibitions against hazing. Specifically, it prohibits:
1. Any person from recklessly participating in the hazing of another when the hazing
includes coerced consumption of alcohol or drugs of abuse resulting in serious physical
harm to the other person; and
2. An administrator, employee, faculty member, teacher, consultant, alumnus, or
volunteer of any organization, including primary, secondary, or post-secondary schools
or any other public or private educational institutions, from recklessly permitting the
hazing of any person associated with the organization when the hazing includes coerced
consumption of alcohol or drugs of abuse resulting in serious physical harm to that
person;
A violation of either of these prohibitions is a third degree felony.6
Failure to report hazing
The act prohibits an administrator, employee, faculty member, teacher, consultant,
alumnus, or volunteer of any organization, including a primary, secondary, or post-secondary
school or any other public or private educational institution, who is acting in an official and
professional capacity from recklessly failing to immediately report the knowledge of hazing to a
law enforcement agency in the county in which the victim of hazing resides or in which the
hazing is occurring or has occurred.7
The act makes a violation of this provision a fourth degree misdemeanor. However, if
the violation causes serious physical harm, it is a first degree misdemeanor.8
4 R.C. 2903.31(B)(2).
5 R.C. 2903.31(D).
6 R.C. 2903.31 (C) and (D).
7 R.C. 2903.311(B).
8 R.C. 2903.311(C).
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Statewide hazing prevention plan
Under the act, the Chancellor of Higher Education must develop a statewide educational
plan for preventing hazing at institutions of higher education. It must include (1) a model anti-
hazing policy and (2) guidelines regarding anti-hazing education and training. The model policy
must prohibit students and other individuals associated with an organization from engaging in
any of the hazing offenses and must include provisions that mirror the requirements for
institutional anti-hazing policies as described below.9 The Chancellor’s guidelines must provide
anti-hazing education and training for (1) students, (2) administrators, faculty, and individuals
employed by an institution, and (3) organizations recognized by, or operating under the
sanction of, an institution.10
Institutional anti-hazing requirements
Anti-hazing policy
The act requires each public and private institution of higher education to develop an
anti-hazing policy that includes rules prohibiting hazing, a method to enforce the policy, and
appropriate penalties for violations. The policy’s penalties, if imposed, are in addition to
criminal penalties and may include the imposition of fines, withholding of diplomas or
transcripts, the revocation of permission to operate an organization on campus, or probation,
suspension, dismissal, or expulsion. Each policy applies to any act of hazing or violation of the
act’s criminal provisions on or off-campus that takes place between two or more people who
are affiliated with the institution.
Each institution must post the policy on the institution’s publicly accessible website and
provide copies to all organizations within the institution.11
Reports of hazing violations
Beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, each institution must maintain and post a
report of hazing violations. To the extent permitted by the federal Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act,12 each report must include the name of the offender, the date the offender
was charged with a violation and the date of resolution, a general description of the violation,
investigation and findings, and penalties imposed.
The initial report must include all hazing violations reported to the institution for the five
previous consecutive years, to the extent the institution has retained that information. An institution
must post its first report by January 15, 2023, and must update and re-post it on January 1 and August
1 of each year. These reports shall be retained for five consecutive years.13
9 R.C. 3333.0417(B)(1) and 3345.19(B).
10 R.C. 3333.0417(B)(2).
11 R.C. 3345.19(B) and (C).
12 See 20 United States Code 1232g and 34 Code of Federal Regulations 99.1 et seq.
13 R.C. 3345.19(D).
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Student anti-hazing education
The act requires each institution to provide students with an online or in-person
educational program on hazing, hazing awareness, prevention, intervention, and the anti-
hazing policy that complies with the Chancellor’s guidelines. Each institution must (1) offer an
opportunity for students to complete the program during new student orientation, (2) certify
each student’s attendance, and (3) prohibit a student who does not attend the program from
participating in any institutional organization. Likewise, each organization within an institution
is prohibited from accepting or initiating a student who has not completed the program. 14
Staff and volunteer training
Each institution must provide mandatory training on hazing to all staff and volunteers
that advise or coach an organization and who have direct contact with students. The training
must include information on hazing awareness, hazing prevention, and the institution’s anti-
hazing policy. Each institution also must adopt rules requiring organizations to conduct
mandatory anti-hazing training that complies with the Chancellor’s guidelines for any
volunteers who have contact with students.15
No private right of action
The act provides that nothing contained in its provisions may be construed to create a
private right of action against any individual or institution of higher education.16
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 03-10-21
Reported, S. Education 06-16-21
Passed Senate (33-0) 06-16-21
Reported, H. Criminal Justice 06-24-21
Passed House (89-0) 06-25-21
Senate concurred in House amendments (33-0) 06-28-21
21-SB126-134/ts
14 R.C. 3345.19(E)(1) and (4).
15 R.C. 3345.19(E)(2), (3), and (4).
16 R.C. 3345.19(F) and Section 4.
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Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 2903.31
As Reported By Senate Committee: 2903.31
As Passed By Senate: 2903.31
As Reported By House Committee: 2903.31
As Passed By House: 2903.31
As Enrolled: 2903.31