TxSSC
School Safety Law Toolkit
Senate Bill 37
Effective Date: September 1, 2023
A person commits an offense if the person:
- engages in hazing;
- solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid another in engaging in hazing;
- recklessly permits hazing to occur; or
- has firsthand knowledge of the planning of a specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational institution, or has firsthand knowledge that a specific hazing incident has occurred, and knowingly fails to report that knowledge to the dean of students or other appropriate official of the institution, a peace officer, or a law enforcement agency.
Any person, including an entity organized to support an organization, who voluntarily reports a specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational institution to the dean of students or other appropriate official of the institution, a peace officer, or a law enforcement agency is immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of the reported hazing incident if the person:
- reports the incident before being contacted by the institution or a law enforcement agency concerning the incident or otherwise being included in the institution's or a law enforcement agency's investigation of the incident; and
- cooperates in good faith throughout: any institutional process regarding the incident, as determined by the dean of students or other appropriate official of the institution designated by the institution; or any law enforcement agency's investigation regarding the incident, as determined by the chief or other appropriate official of the law enforcement agency designated by the law enforcement agency.