UC Riverside Hazing Victim’s Family Unveils ‘Tyler’s Law’ at Los Angeles Press Conference

New measure holds colleges accountable for failing to prevent hazing, mandates annual reporting, and creates statewide anti-hazing policies.

 LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17, 2025 — The family of a University of California, Riverside student who died during a fraternity hazing ritual are holding a press conference on Tuesday to call awareness to a new state law that makes schools directly accountable for failing to stop the practice.

Called Tyler’s Law, the bill (AB 2193) expanded the state’s hazing law so that, starting in 2026, students injured by hazing can sue not just individual participants, but also the college itself—if the school was directly involved, knew about the hazing, or should have known and did nothing. This applies to any higher education institution receiving state financial support or enrolling students with state aid.

Additionally, the bill requires the University of California, California State University, and certain private colleges to report hazing cases annually, including whether they were tied to student organizations. The Department of Education also must create a model anti-hazing policy and educational materials by mid-2025, aiming to help schools and communities better prevent, detect, and address hazing.

“Our son Tyler had the spirit of giving, loving and an overall sense of pride. Tyler’s Law seeks to help put an end to hazing and hold educational institutions accountable and require safeguards and protections to our children,” said Tyler’s parents, Myeasha Kimble and William Hilliard, in a statement. Their testimony in Sacramento was instrumental in convincing legislators to pass the law in September.

Tyler, a 20-year-old business major died Sept. 16, 2018, during a hazing ritual while pledging to one of UCR’s fraternities. Since then, Kimble and Hilliard, along with their civil rights attorneys Toni Jaramilla and V. James DeSimone, pushed for the new law to be passed in the last legislative session.

They will speak with the press at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, in Jaramilla’s law office conference room, 1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 900, Los Angeles.

“Tyler’s Law is historic,” Jaramilla said. “Educational institutions can now be held accountable if they knew or should have known about hazing practices and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent or stop them. From this tragedy, Tyler and his parents have created a law aimed at preventing hazing deaths and injuries, protecting other families from similar heartbreak.”

“We are hopeful that Tyler‘s law will prevent fraternities, sororities, and other campus organizations from engaging in the type of hazing that resulted in Tyler‘s death,” DeSimone said. “We are also grateful to announce that we have resolved Tyler‘s parents case against all of the defendants which we hope will bring some semblance of closure to them for having to suffer the loss of this preventable death of their son.”

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