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A tighter cellphone and device ban is on its way to Indiana schools after lawmakers passed SB 78 to limit phone use during the school day.
The bill’s bell-to-bell ban builds on Indiana’s existing school cellphone ban, which currently requires students to put away phones and other personal devices during instructional time. The purpose of the added restriction is to create more uniform policies from school to school and classroom to classroom that take the onus of enforcement off of teachers, according to the bill’s author.
On Wednesday, Indiana state senators concurred with changes made by House lawmakers, sending the bill to Gov. Mike Braun for his signature.
The proposal received significant support from educators throughout the session who said cellphones led to distractions and fights.
“Inside the classroom, where attention and focus and human connection are essential, these devices have become a significant barrier to learning,” said John O’Neal of the Indiana State Teachers Association. “A wireless device ban is not about restricting technology, it’s about creating an environment where students can thrive.”
But some school leaders also expressed concern about the potential costs to implement the bill, like paying for additional lockers or storage pouches, as well as learning devices for students who previously brought their own. In response to cost concerns, House lawmakers changed the bill to remove language requiring “secure” storage, with the aim of allowing schools to use existing facilities like cubbies to store the devices.
Under the bill, public school districts and charter schools would have to adopt policies that require students to either leave their devices at home, or to put the devices away, powered off and inaccessible, for the entirety of the school day. The bill defines devices as cellphones, tablets, laptops, gaming devices, or smartwatches that are connected to phones or the internet.
The bill would allow some exceptions, such as for students who need the devices for medical reasons, translation, or as part of their special education services, or in the case of an emergency. It would also allow audio recording devices for notetaking.
And students could bring their laptops or tablets from home to use for learning at a teacher’s direction until July 1, 2028. After that date, these devices would have to be provided by the school in order to be used for learning.
The restrictions would not apply to private schools. A failed Democratic amendment would have included private schools that accept state vouchers in the requirements.
If the bill is signed into law, school districts will need to adopt bell-to-bell cellphone policies by July 1, 2026 and possibly prepare space to store students’ cellphones before the beginning of the next school year.
Under the bill, the Department of Education is also supposed to publish model policy guidance that would include how schools could use existing resources to comply with the law.
In testimony before lawmakers earlier this month, Jeff Butts of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents and former superintendent of Wayne schools said the district of around 16,000 students received an estimate of $275,000 for phone storage pouches.
Whiteland Community High School does not have enough lockers for its 2,100 students, Principal Duke Lines told lawmakers. Under the school’s current device policy, students can use their cellphones during lunchtime, for teacher-directed instructional use, or for work-based learning purposes.
“If students carry backpacks with them all day, is a phone inside a backpack considered inaccessible?” he said.
While lawmakers initially changed the bill to allow schools to use Secured School Safety Grant funds to purchase storage pouches, they ultimately removed this language from the legislation.
They also rejected an amendment to allow schools to charge parents a fee of no more than $25 for storage pouches was rejected — but lawmakers did clarify that schools already have the ability to charge this kind of fee if they choose to do so.
The 2026 legislative session is expected to end this week.
Aleksandra Appleton covers Indiana education policy and writes about K-12 schools across the state. Contact her at aappleton@chalkbeat.org.
