Both failing to report hazing and hazing that does not result in serious bodily injury are Class B misdemeanors. Hazing that results in serious bodily injury is a Class A misdemeanor. Hazing resulting in a death is a state jail felony. An organization found guilty of hazing may be fined $5,000 to $10,000 or, for incidents causing personal injury or property damage, an amount double the loss or expenses incurred due to the hazing incident.

It is not a defense to prosecution that the person hazed consented to the hazing activity.

Any person reporting a specific hazing incident to the Dean of Students or other appropriate institutional official is immune from civil and criminal liability unless the report is in bad faith or malicious.

This state law does not limit or affect the right of an educational institution’s right to enforce its own penalties against hazing.

The Education Code defines hazing as “any intentional, knowing, or reckless act occurring on or off the campus of an educational institution, by one person or acting with others, directed against a student, that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in an organization.” The statute contains a list of conduct which constitutes hazing.