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Committee advances school-device bill; amendment to allow parent-paid storage fees fails
Summary
The House Committee on Education advanced Senate Bill 78 with amendments that permit narrowly defined electronic note-takers and school‑sanctioned laptops or tablets, require DOE guidance on storage, and require devices to be powered off and inaccessible during the day. An amendment to let schools charge families a $25–$100 annual storage fee failed 4–8.
The Committee on Education voted to advance Senate Bill 78 on a 12–0 roll call after adopting a package of amendments that clarify what devices schools may allow students to bring and how districts must store them.
Representative Teska introduced an amendment to add “electronic note takers” to the list of allowable school‑safety grant purchases, saying the devices “are note takers, that, are able to record just audio, and then transcribe,” and stressing they are narrowly defined and not internet‑enabled. The committee also approved language directing the Department of Education to publish guidance on how schools may use existing lockers or other resources for storage and a policy requiring that wireless communication devices be “powered off, and inaccessible to a student throughout the school day.”
The debate turned to money when Representative Delaney offered an amendment that would have allowed school corporations to charge parents a fee for providing a storage service — a minimum of $25 and up to $100 per year. Delaney said the fee would help districts cover costs of bags or cabinets and cited start‑up work elsewhere as precedent. "We're providing a service that we don't want to provide," he said while explaining the rationale for a modest fee.
Opponents raised equity and implementation concerns. Representative Cash said some districts lack clear authority or capacity to levy and administer such fees and that adding mandatory floor amounts would complicate longstanding rules about which fees schools may charge. Jeff Butts, executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, told the committee that under current statute districts can add non‑curricular fees through their boards, so the language was not strictly necessary.
Members amended Delaney’s proposal on the floor and discussed replacing a mandatory minimum with a ‘‘not more than’’ cap. A roll‑call vote on the fee amendment failed 4–8; the chair announced the amendment had failed and the committee proceeded to approve the bill as amended.
What happens next
Chair and committee members said the bill will move to the next step in the legislative process. The committee report lists the device description updates, DOE guidance requirement, and powered‑off storage policy as the primary substantive changes the committee approved.
Votes at a glance
- Amendment (storage fee): failed, 4 yes — 8 no. - Senate Bill 78 (do pass as amended): passed, 12 yes — 0 no.
Sources and provenance
This article is based on committee proceedings beginning when Representative Teska introduced amendments to SB 78 and ending with the committee vote: topic introduction SEG 036; amendment debate and fee discussion SEG 165–336; fee vote SEG 337–441; final motion and roll call SEG 444–487.
Speakers quoted or cited in this article appear in the meeting speaker list and include Representative Teska and Representative Delaney.
