A stricter, “bell-to-bell” ban on student cellphone use was the subject of extended debate Wednesday as Indiana lawmakers wrestled with lingering concerns over how schools would store devices — and how much that could cost — under pending legislation.
The House Education Committee took testimony but did not vote on Senate Bill 78, a proposal authored by Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, that would expand Indiana’s current limits on student cellphone use during instructional time to cover the entire school day.
The bill previously advanced from the Senate in a narrow, 28-19 vote. Concerns from both Democrats and Republicans centered around student safety, as well as possible cost and enforcement burdens on schools.
Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, said amendments and a vote are expected next week.
“This says, no, none during the daytime,” Raatz told the committee, referring to cellphones and other devices.
Indiana law already restricts student cellphone use during class unless permitted for instructional purposes. Raatz said the proposed change is meant to eliminate loopholes and inconsistent enforcement that allow phones during lunch, passing periods or at teacher discretion.
Lawmakers and school officials said those gaps have left teachers policing phone use period by period. Meanwhile, students continue to text, scroll social media and use smartwatches, wireless earbuds and messaging apps embedded in school-issued devices — some more discreetly than others — amounting to an average of more than 40 minutes of lost learning time each day.
The bulk of Wednesday’s discussion centered not on whether phones should be banned, but on how schools would comply — particularly with current bill language requiring devices to be placed in “secure” and “inaccessible” storage throughout the day.
Raatz said he drafted the bill’s language to ensure flexibility for schools — rather than prescribe a single, statewide approach.
“I did that purposely to give you all the opportunity to implement in the precise way that you wish,” he said, “as long as it fits the tenants of the bill.”
But school leaders said that flexibility needs to be clearer in statute.
Terry Spradlin, executive director of the Indiana School Boards Association, said his group supports a bell-to-bell ban but wants the bill revised to better reflect local discretion.
“What we’re asking for is the ability for schools to determine how best to meet the intent of the bill,” Spradlin said. “There are loopholes and inconsistencies now, but the solution can’t be so prescriptive that it creates new problems for schools that don’t look the same.”
Behning foreshadowed a possible amendment to strike the word “secure.” He specifically noted concerns raised by elementary schools that lack lockers or other locking storage options.
He signaled, too, that lawmakers are looking to clarify that schools would not be required to purchase specific storage systems like locking pouches and that backpacks, cubbies or other school-determined methods could satisfy the bill’s requirements, so long as phones remain inaccessible during the school day.
Fort Wayne as a test case
Lawmakers repeatedly pointed to Fort Wayne Community Schools, the state’s largest district, which already enforces a full-day cellphone ban.
“It’s working, folks,” said Steve Corona, a longtime Fort Wayne school board member and president of the Indiana School Boards Association. “We have the data to show that grades are up, fights and disruptions within our buildings are down.”
Social media questions resurface
Although Senate Bill 78 does not wade into issues related specifically to social media, lawmakers briefly revisited Wednesday whether Indiana should do more to limit youth access to platforms that many educators said fuel school conflicts.
“It is the back and forth that is occurring with social media,” said Jeff Butts, executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. “Monday mornings are the roughest because of what has happened over the weekend on social media.”
Behning said legislators “hear your call for social media” restrictions and indicated “there are discussions as to what we might be able to do.”
He referenced Raatz’s Senate Bill 199, a separate proposal that originally would have barred children under 13 from creating or maintaining social media accounts and required written parental consent for users ages 13 to 17. But senators stripped that language last week before sending the bill to the House.
The issue has gained renewed attention in recent days after Gov. Mike Braun and other state leaders publicly called for tighter limits on children’s social media use in the wake of the death of an Indiana teen that officials have linked to online harassment, framing the platforms as a driver of mental health challenges and school-based conflict.
Fort Wayne piloted the policy 2023-24 school year before expanding it districtwide and now uses magnetic locking pouches to store student phones.
“The first week was rough for students, parents, teachers and administrators,” Corona said. “Our society is addicted to the use of cellphones, and everyone was suffering from withdrawal symptoms, but we got over it.”
The district spent an estimated $400,000 to $500,000 on the pouches, Corona said, largely using Secured School Safety Grant funding.
“That’s not inexpensive,” he said. “But what we get in return with respect to academic improvements, student safety — it’s worth it.”
Other school leaders cautioned, however, that not every district has Fort Wayne’s scale, funding or infrastructure.
David Strauss, principal of Batesville Middle School, said his school supports a bell-to-bell ban but cannot guarantee phones would remain “inaccessible” under the bill’s current language.
“The bill does not clearly define whether lockers meet the standard,” Strauss said, noting that students access lockers during the day.
“Indiana schools vary widely in size, structure and available resources,” he added. “Schools need flexibility to meet the intent of this bill without limitations on implementation.”
Others warned that overly rigid storage requirements could divert instructional time if teachers are tasked with collecting and redistributing phones each day.
“We would probably have to call more folks to the table to implement that, which means we’re going to need to utilize, potentially our teachers, to assist with collecting and securing devices in the morning and returning them at the end of the day,” said Duke Lines, principal of Whiteland Community High School. “That would require the use of instructional time for compliance purposes, which runs counter to the bill’s stated goal of maximizing instructional focus.”
Lines also expressed liability concerns. If phones are left in secure storage for an extended time or overnight, he asked, “who is held liable” if something happens to the device?
Teachers, parents back tighter limits
Educators and parents overwhelmingly testified in favor of stronger restrictions, describing classrooms that have “transformed” after phones were removed.
“Our children were not just distracted, they were addicted,” said Marissa Tanner, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Northview Middle School in Indianapolis.
After her school implemented a bell-to-bell policy in 2024, she said standardized test scores increased “by double digits in both math and English.” State data shows Northview’s ILEARN pass rates improved by more than 40% in both subjects between 2024 and 2025.
“Students are talking to one another again,” Tanner said. “The daily disruptions now consist of things like passing notes, and I’m happy to deal with that instead of fighting with the screens.”
Rep. Tonya Pfaff, D-Terre Haute, herself a teacher, emphasized that the bill would send a clear signal to parents, employers and students.
“If we pass this bill, everyone is on the same page. Employers aren’t texting their workers during the day. Parents aren’t texting their kids during the day,” she said. “Teachers will know that we don’t have to fight that fight every single period. ‘Put your phone away. Take your AirPods out.’ I mean, to me, this is a message that says we value education and we need our students to learn.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
