West Chester Area School District coaches and teachers would face new hazing-reporting duties under bipartisan legislation announced Monday, Sept. 14, by two state senators.

Sen. Art Haywood, a Democrat representing Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, and Sen. Lisa Baker, a Republican representing Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties, circulated a co-sponsorship memo to fellow senators on Sept. 10 seeking support for the bill. If passed, the measure would apply to every public school district in the state, including WCASD's three high schools: Henderson, East and Rustin.

Hazing is not currently defined as child abuse under Pennsylvania law. That means mandated reporters, including teachers, coaches and school staff, are not legally required to report it to ChildLine, the state's child-abuse hotline run by the Department of Human Services. The proposed bill would close that gap.

The legislation follows a Montgomery County grand jury report released in July that detailed alleged hazing and abuse of a Cheltenham High School football player. Four coaches and six players were charged July 29 in connection with two locker-room incidents involving a 15-year-old sophomore during the fall 2025 season.

The grand jury found that the school district's failures went beyond one student. It said the district's "level of incompetence didn't just fail one child," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Under current law, hazing committed by one student against another does not trigger mandatory reporting unless sexual assault is alleged. The grand jury said that if hazing had been a reportable offense, "the Cheltenham High School administration would not have had the opportunity to mishandle the juvenile victim's disclosure and the ensuing investigation as poorly as they did."

The grand jury recommended that teachers, coaches, school administrators and medical professionals be required to report hazing they witness or learn about. It also found that at least five paid Cheltenham football coaches lacked up-to-date Act 126 clearances, which require school employees with direct student contact to complete child-abuse recognition and reporting training every five years.

"No student should endure the violence or humiliation described in the grand jury report," Haywood said in a statement reported by MyChesCo.

Baker said the Cheltenham case made further reform unavoidable. In the senators' joint announcement, she noted "commendable cooperation" in developing the legislation since the grand jury report's release.

No WCASD officials have publicly commented on the proposed legislation. The bill has not yet been formally introduced in the Senate, and no committee hearing has been scheduled.