Indiana phone-free school law (2026): Indiana prohibits student wireless devices during instructional time, with teacher discretion for educational use and emergency exceptions. Here's what administrators need to know about compliance, scope, and enforcement.
Indiana has enacted a statewide phone-free school law. Under SB 185 (2024) — signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb 2024-03-11 — every district must adopt a policy restricting student personal-device use during instructional time. The law takes effect 2024–25 school year, and many Indiana districts are choosing to extend their policies bell-to-bell.
What Indiana's Phone-Free School Law Requires
- • Statute: SB 185, signed March 11, 2024
- • Scope: prohibited during instructional time
- • Effective: 2024–25 school year
- • Teachers may permit specific educational use
- • Health and emergency exceptions written into statute
How Indiana Schools Comply
Indiana's law gives districts flexibility on how to enforce. The schools that succeed pair a written policy with an enforcement mechanism that doesn't put the burden on teachers — and that produces compliance data when the state asks for it.
Three enforcement models
- • Physical pouches (e.g., Yondr): high per-student cost, daily distribution logistics, and limited compliance data.
- • District storage (lockers, cubbies, classroom caddies): lowest cost but relies on staff to police compliance.
- • Device-level software (LockedIn): OS-level locking, geofencing, and automated compliance reporting — no daily logistics.
Why Indiana schools choose LockedIn
LockedIn is a software-based phone-free campus solution built for Indiana's schools. It provides
OS-level device locking,
campus geofencing, real-time monitoring, and automated compliance reports — exactly what Indiana administrators need to demonstrate that the policy is being enforced. Unlike physical pouches, there's no hardware to lose, replace, or distribute. See our full
comparison of phone-free campus solutions or the
LockedIn vs Yondr pouches guide.
Verify the law in Indiana
Read the primary source — SB 185 (2024) — and confirm the latest guidance with your state agency before adopting policy.
See our complete phone-free school laws by state directory for legislation updates across all 50 states + DC.
Get started
Indiana schools can be phone-free in less than a day with LockedIn. Use our free phone-free school policy generator to draft a compliant policy, then contact our team to deploy district-wide.