School Districts Take Steps to Comply with New Anti-Hazing Law

In the article, “School Districts Take Steps to Comply with New Anti-Hazing Law,” featured in Mainline Media News, Susan Guerette weighed in on a new state law aimed at ending hazing that went into effect July 25 and extended the consequences of hazing down to 7th to 12th graders.

Susan said, “The new anti-hazing law applies to both public and private schools. School districts should adopt policies on it and must provide those policies to all coaches, she said. They must also post their policies on their district websites.”

“It is important,” said Susan. “We’re having a lot of hazing incidents."

Having the anti-hazing policy tells students “this is a serious thing,” she said. Consequences at the school level could include expulsion and also criminal penalties could be imposed. Also, organizations, such as sports teams could be disbanded or suspended for a season, depending on the severity of the incident.

Asked about why it would apply to students as young as 7th grade, Susan said, “I think they’re really trying to be proactive in implementing it.”

Susan advised districts to have a written anti-hazing policy and to post it on their websites and also promulgate it to staff, not just coaches.

To read the full article, please visit Mainline Media News.