The Indiana General Assembly passed several consequential education-related bills in its abbreviated session that ended Feb. 27.
Two bills placed restrictions on student social media and cellphone use.
And a section of Senate Bill 76 that focuses on immigration enforcement requires schools to cooperate with federal authorities when they arrive at a school.
If they don’t cooperate, they face state fines of $10,000.
In the past, schools were considered “safe havens” and off limits.
Social media restrictions on children took a winding path to passage.
In the session’s waning hours, the Senate stripped social media language out of Senate Bill 199 after it passed the House.
The Senate moved it into House Bill 1408, an education-related measure and added language clarifying parental consent for children under age 16, and age verification requirements for social media companies.
The bill applies to social media companies that generate at least $1 billion in annual global revenue such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. No platforms are specifically mentioned.
The bill also impacts platforms with algorithms that spur users to click for more content and have a substantial number of children under 16 who spend an average of two hours a day or more on the platform.
Parents who give consent have the option of monitoring their child’s usage with a separate password.
Sponsoring lawmakers couldn’t say definitively if the popular Snapchat app fell under the guidelines, although it would appear to meet the revenue requirements.
Some lawmakers said Snapchat is often the platform of choice for cyberbullying and online exploitation.
It passed with bipartisan support and follows the tragic January death of Hailey Buzbee, 17, of Fishers, who authorities alleged was lured to her death after meeting a man on an online gaming site and then messaging with him on an encrypted app.
A 39-year-old Columbus, Ohio, man led police to a forest in Ohio where he buried the teen.
Her death increased attention and support for the bill, although the Session app the teen used likely wouldn’t meet the threshold to be restricted.
Meanwhile, testimony on the cellphone ban concluded that academic performance improved and disciplinary incidents decreased in schools with the bell-to-bell ban.
Besides cellphones, the ban covers tablets, gaming devices and smartphones. Devices must be turned off and stored in lockers or pouches for the entire school day.
Previously, a 2024 law banned cellphone use during instructional time.
Exceptions were carved out for students with health needs, emergencies or teacher permission for educational reasons.
The new policies take effect in the 2026-27 school year.
Senate Bill 199 drew criticism and accusations of micromanaging universities. It requires state universities and colleges to eliminate degree programs based on the wages netted by the degree. It sets a threshold that requires them to be higher than the wages of a high school graduate, or about $35,000.
It’s tied to President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress last year that links federal student loans to degree earnings.
Lawmakers also passed Senate Bill 88, which requires state colleges and universities to accept the Classic Learning Test score for admission in addition to the SAT and ACT.
The bill also requires schools to teach students the benefits of waiting to have children until they get married, known as the “success sequence.”
The copy and paste bill, authored by Sen. Gary Byrne, R-Byrneville, was drawn up by the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that wrote Project 2025. It’s already been passed in GOP states Tennessee and Utah and others are weighing it.
House Bill 1004, which repeals 40 provisions in education code, drew scrutiny from teacher unions.
The state’s teacher unions opposed it because they said required work hours would be removed from individual teacher contracts, giving school districts the authority to add duties and extend workdays without additional compensation.
The Indiana State Teachers Association said the bill repeals long-standing protections for teachers who work in joint programs, interlocal agreements and special education cooperatives.
State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, opposed the bill and said it could hinder schools in recruiting teachers.
“We’re going to look back, and we’re going to regret what we did to public education, because every session we destroy a valuable portion of it,” said Smith, a retired educator.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
