| Chapter 120 |
| 2026 -- S 2495 Enacted 06/18/2026 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO EDUCATION -- HEALTH AND SAFETY OF PUPILS |
Introduced By: Senators LaMountain, McKenney, Felag, Burke, Gallo, Tikoian, DiPalma, Murray, and Appollonio |
| Date Introduced: February 06, 2026 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Chapter 16-21 of the General Laws entitled "Health and Safety of Pupils" is |
| hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 16-21-44. Policy on addressing and prohibiting hazing in student athletics. |
| (a) The department of elementary and secondary education (the “department”), in |
| conjunction with the Rhode Island interscholastic league (the “interscholastic league”), shall |
| establish an anti-hazing policy (hereinafter “policy”) to address acts of hazing in student athletics. |
| The guiding principle behind this policy is that hazing, bullying, and harassment have no place in |
| any school environment. This policy shall incorporate best practices as determined by the |
| department and the interscholastic league. This policy shall also establish zero tolerance for hazing |
| and ensure discipline for hazing incidents is transparent and consistently applied across the state. |
| (b) This policy shall include the following: |
| (1) Definitions and illustrations of hazing; |
| (2) Sanctions and penalties to be imposed on students and student-athletes who engage in |
| hazing incidents, which penalties may include, but are not limited to,: suspension from a team,; |
| the periods of such suspension,; and where appropriate, team-level consequences, which may |
| include the cancelation of a team’s season; |
| (3) The recognition that consent by a person being subjected to an act of hazing is not a |
| defense under this section; |
| (4) Education and prevention components that incorporate the opportunity to connect with |
| any emerging statewide efforts around school climate, anti-bullying, and anti-hate initiatives in |
| Rhode Island schools; and |
| (5) A requirement that each student-athlete subject to this policy shall, prior to attending |
| any team practices, meetings, games, or other functions, sign an acknowledgement and recognition |
| that a violation of the policy may result in the imposition of penalties and sanctions. This document |
| may be a separate acknowledgement or combined with other documents student-athletes are |
| required to sign as a condition of participation. |
| (dc) The department and the league shall use best practices to establish a comprehensive |
| definition for hazing. By way of guidance, and not as a limitation, the definition of hazing should |
| include as an element, the imposition or activity of humiliating, degrading, abusing, or endangering |
| a person, often in the context of a group setting. |
| (ed) Every school and school district participating within the Rhode Island interscholastic |
| league shall be subject to the provisions of this section and the anti-hazing policy. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
| ======== |
| LC004829 |
| ======== |