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Indiana's Bell-to-Bell School Cellphone Ban: What Schools Need to Know in 2026
Yes. Since 1 July 2026, Senate Enrolled Act 78 requires Indiana public schools to keep student cellphones and other personal wireless devices away for the whole school day, from first bell to dismissal, including lunch and passing periods. It replaces a 2024 rule that covered instructional time only.
Senate Enrolled Act 78, signed by Governor Mike Braun on 5 March 2026, took effect on 1 July 2026, so 2026-27 is the first school year under it. It covers cellphones, smartwatches, gaming devices and similar personal wireless devices for the entire day, and local reporting says that includes lunch and hallway passing periods. Exceptions cover emergencies, medical management such as blood sugar monitoring, IEP and 504 plans, translation for multilingual learners and assistive note-taking devices.
Indiana first restricted phones in 2024 with a law (SEA 185) limited to instructional time. Educators found it hard to enforce outside lessons, so SB 78, authored by Sen. Jeff Raatz and sponsored in the House by Rep. Jake Teshka, extended it to the whole day. The Senate passed it 36-12 in February 2026. Until 1 July 2028 teachers may allow school-approved student devices for lessons; after that only school-supplied devices may be used in class.
The law does not say how devices must be stored, and the Indiana Department of Education has left districts to decide how to keep them inaccessible, partly to avoid an unfunded mandate. No state money was attached. Reported approaches include lockers all day at Mitchell Community Schools, lockable pouches for grades 6-12 at Orleans Community Schools, a classroom phone hotel at Springs Valley, and an off-and-away rule at North Lawrence.
Whatever Indiana's SEA 78 requires, lockable pouches let students keep their own phone, locked, from the first bell to the last, so the school does not collect, store or answer for devices. Before The Internet ships lockable phone pouches and unlocking bases across the United States, including to Indiana, and can print the school's name or crest on them. Schools buy them outright: one price, no subscription, lease or per-student annual licence. Send us your student numbers and any written quote you already have, and we will beat it.
Frequently asked questions
Does Indiana's ban cover lunch and passing periods?
Yes. Reporting on SEA 78 says students may not have devices for the whole instructional day, explicitly including lunch and passing periods in the hallways.
When did the bell-to-bell rule take effect?
On 1 July 2026, so it applies from the start of the 2026-27 school year. The earlier 2024 law covered instructional time only.
Does the state pay for lockers or pouches?
No state funding was attached. Districts choose their own storage, such as lockers, classroom caddies or lockable pouches, and pay for it from local budgets.
Related reading
School phone bans by US state · Phone-free schools toolkit · Bell-to-bell school phone policy template
Written by the team at Before The Internet, a Toronto-based phone-free company that rents lockable phone pouches for events across North America and sells them to schools and venues worldwide, shipping purchases to any country.
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