Educators and coaches in the Colonial and Wissahickon school districts will now be legally required to report suspected hazing to state authorities under a law Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Thursday, Oct. 22.
Previously, hazing was not defined as child abuse under Pennsylvania law. That left school staff uncertain about whether and how to report it. Under the new law, any suspected hazing must be reported directly to ChildLine, the state's child-abuse hotline.
House Bill 2474 passed both the state House and Senate unanimously, according to Glenside Local. The bill also adds AI-generated child sexual abuse material to mandatory reporting requirements. The law takes effect in 90 days, CBS 21 reported.
The hazing provision was a direct response to the Cheltenham High School football scandal. Multiple players allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old teammate in the locker room in 2025. Four former coaches face criminal charges for allegedly covering up the incidents, with formal arraignment hearings scheduled for Oct. 28 in Montgomery County Court, the Times Herald reported.
Sen. Art Haywood, a Democrat representing Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, pushed the hazing language as an amendment sponsored by Sen. Lisa Baker, a Republican. It was attached to Rep. Nikki Rivera's bill on child sexual abuse material. Megan Sharkey, Haywood's communications director, told Glenside Local the bipartisan effort moved from introduction to passage in roughly three months.
"No student should endure the violence or humiliation described in the grand jury report," Haywood said in a September press release announcing the legislation.
A Montgomery County grand jury report detailed how the Cheltenham coaching staff allegedly learned about a Sept. 3, 2025, locker room assault but did not contact the victim's mother or notify school administrators, according to the Times Herald. The victim told a volunteer coach he had been "jumped" by teammates. McFadden and Tolbert allegedly told the student not to tell his mother, according to court documents cited by the Times Herald. School administrators did not learn of the incident until Sept. 18, 2025, through an anonymous tip on the Safe2Say app.
Haywood, state Rep. Napoleon Nelson, Cheltenham Superintendent Chris McGinley and Cheltenham High School Principal Ben Hammond are scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 3 p.m. outside Cheltenham High School to mark the bill's passage.
No public comment from Colonial School District or Wissahickon School District on updated training or procedures appears in available records as of publication. Rep. Rivera told CBS 21 she expects mandated reporters statewide to receive new training in the coming months.
The four former Cheltenham coaches remain free on $5,000 unsecured bail. All four face misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy.
