© 2026. The Trustees of Indiana University
Copyright Complaints
1229 East Seventh Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47405
News, Arts and Culture from WFIU Public Radio and WTIU Public Television
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Indiana lawmakers establish Office of School Safety to coordinate school safety, emergency protocols

Lawmakers sent a bill to the governor to establish the Office of School Safety within the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
Lawmakers sent a bill to the governor to establish the Office of School Safety within the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

A new state office will soon give Indiana schools more guidance on safety measures. The governor signed a law to establish the Office of School Safety within the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

The new office will coordinate school safety resources and work with other state agencies to determine best safety practices for schools. It will also maintain guidelines for school security and emergency response protocols.

HEA 1637 tasks the new office with collecting data and information from previous school disasters around the country. It will then use that information to create a program to train and certify school safety specialists.

Join the conversation and sign up for our weekly text group:  the Indiana Two-Way . Your comments and questions help us find the answers you need on statewide issues, including our project  Civically, Indiana  and our  2025 bill tracker .

The office can also meet with school corporations and charter schools to review their safety plans and make recommendations. Schools must follow certain requests from the office.

The legislation will take effect July 1.

Stay in touch: sign up for the Indiana Two-Way by texting "Indiana" to 765-275-1120.

Tags
Kirsten Adair grew up in Greentown, Indiana and graduated from Butler University's College of Communication with a degree in journalism. Before coming to IPB News, Adair was a news reporter at The Kokomo Perspective and Logansport Pharos-Tribune in north-central Indiana. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and cuddling with her two cats.