Sam's Law requires all public colleges and universities in the state of Washington to establish a hazing prevention committee to increase transparency about hazing education and intervention (see below). It also increases the penalties for hazing: under Sam's Law, hazing is a gross misdemeanor instead of a lower-level misdemeanor, and incidents involving death or “substantial bodily harm” could be charged as a felonies.

The law is named after Sam Martinez, a first-year WSU student who died in a hazing-related incident in 2019. For more information about Sam's Law, visit the Washington State Legislature website.

The Stop Campus Hazing Act requires higher education institutions to include hazing incidents in their Annual Security Reports starting in 2025. Colleges must implement evidence-based hazing prevention and education programs and make related policies publicly available. The law also mandates the creation of a publicly accessible Hazing Transparency Report, updated twice a year, listing student organizations found responsible for hazing. These requirements aim to increase transparency, promote student safety, and strengthen campus-wide hazing prevention efforts.

Learn more about the Stop Campus Hazing Act.