State Lawmakers to Discuss Hazing Reporting Law at Cheltenham High School

State lawmakers will gather at Cheltenham High School on Tuesday to discuss a new state law that expands when hazing must be reported.

The gathering comes as the Wyncote school's own hazing case moves toward trial. Four coaches and six students were charged after a sophomore told officials a player assaulted him with a broomstick in a locker room following football practice. Attorneys for the coaches say their clients did not know how far the incident went. Prosecutors say coaches were told by a player about what happened and shared text messages showing they tried to keep it quiet.

House Bill 2474 was sponsored by State Rep. Nikki Rivera (D-96th dist.). State Sen. Art Haywood (D-Philadelphia and Montgomery County) and State Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties) added an anti-hazing provision to the bill. The bill first dealt with deepfake pornography made with images of underage children.

Under the law, hazing incidents and cases where a child's image is used to make deepfake pornography must be reported to the state's Childline service, which takes child abuse and child sexual abuse material reports. The Department of Human Services then passes each report to law enforcement across the state.

Rivera said the law closes gaps in reporting. "House Bill 2474 makes it crystal clear that mandated reporters must immediately report to authorities when a child is creating child sexual abuse material or hazing another student," Rivera said in a statement.

The bill was signed Oct. 22, 2026 and takes effect Jan. 22, 2027. Tuesday's event at Cheltenham High School in Wyncote is scheduled for 3 p.m.