Overview
- The Senate approved Senate Bill 78 on a 28-19 vote, with eight Democrats and 11 Republicans opposed.
- The measure requires districts to adopt either a no-device policy or a secure-storage policy that keeps student phones inaccessible throughout the school day.
- Teacher-directed use for instruction would be limited to school-provided devices, narrowing classroom technology to district-issued equipment.
- The bill expands the definition of wireless devices to include connected smartwatches, closing a common workaround.
- As the bill moves to the House with Rep. Jake Teshka as sponsor, debate continues over safety, implementation costs, and enforcement, and a child-wellbeing coalition’s same-day report graded Indiana a C under its current instructional-time-only limits.