The Missouri House gave final approval to Senate Bill 160 — a wide-reaching education bill that includes "Danny's Law."
The portion of the bill is named after former University of Missouri student Danny Santulli. An October 2021 hazing at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity gave Santulli a severe brain injury and left him unable to walk, talk or see.
Santulli's family has been working with lawmakers since the incident to prevent similar hazing events.
Danny’s Law would make hazing a criminal offense for those who knowingly participate in acts that endanger a student or member of a private or public university.
It also provides an exception of prosecution for people present at the time of a hazing incident who call 911, provide relevant information and remain at the scene until help arrives. Those who can prove they provided first aid to the victim before assistance arrived are also immune from prosecution. The bill was passed in the Senate earlier this year.
Miami attorney David Bianchi, who represents the Santulli family, said Missouri would be one of seven states to implement this type of legislation.
"And that is to incentivize young people who are at a fraternity hazing event or sorority hazing event that if they see that somebody is in extreme distress as a result of hazing, that they should pick up the phone and call 911 immediately," Bianchi said.
He said the bill provides three major things.
"Number one, it will absolutely save lives if it becomes law. Number two, it's bipartisan ... it's very difficult to be against because it's the right thing to do to save lives," Bianchi said. "And number three, it has no budgetary impact. So, there's no reason not to support this."
Bianchi said he's never seen a case this severe in his 45 years of practice.
"That was the worst fraternity hazing injury in the history of the United States," Bianchi said. "Danny Santulli has been left permanently blind. He cannot speak, he cannot walk, and he will never be able to care for himself."
Danny's Law is nearly identical to Florida's anti-hazing bill, Andrew's Law, that Bianchi also helped pass. Bianchi said Andrew Coffey went through a similar hazing incident.
"It's the traditional event that usually takes places from the month of October, where fraternity members bring in the pledges, blindfold them, and give them the so-called family bottle of alcohol and make them drink the whole thing," Bianchi said.
Bianchi said Santulli's family recognizes that they can't turn back the clock but will do everything in their power to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.
"I know they've been following this daily, and they are deeply touched by the fact that it is going to be named after their son," Bianchi said.
MU students react
"It was national news, it was something that I heard about, and I think many current and prospective students if not all were aware of to some degree," said Wyatt Carlson, a junior at MU.
Carlson currently serves as president of the MU Interfraternity Council. He was a senior at a Kansas City high school when Santulli was hazed.
"If someone had had the opportunity to call for help, or to get Danny the help that he needed and that he deserved, who knows how this could have ended up," Carlson said.
MU has recorded 20 instances of fraternities and sororities who have violated university policies since 2020.
Other provisions
Senate Bill 160 also includes pieces that prohibit discrimination against protective hairstyles in elementary and secondary educational institutions as well as an act prohibiting higher learning institutions from taking adverse action against a student association because of the association's beliefs or the actions of its leaders.
Kehoe has 15 days to veto or sign the bill before it becomes law. Because he is unable to separate individual items, he must approve or deny the entire thing.
