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Board hears district overview of new Indiana laws affecting phones, social media and reporting requirements
Summary
District administrators outlined three recently passed Indiana bills — SB 78 (bell-to-bell cellphone restrictions), HB 1408 (parental controls and limits for minors’ social media) and HB 1242 (state report on school-corporation data and efficiencies) — and said the district is awaiting Department of Education guidance on implementation.
District administrators briefed the Lake Central School Corporation board on three pieces of recently enacted Indiana legislation and flagged unanswered implementation questions during the March 2 meeting.
The presentation described Senate Bill 78 as a ‘‘bell‑to‑bell’’ cell-phone restriction that requires personal mobile devices to be stored and inaccessible for the school day, with enumerated exceptions, including when devices are documented in a student’s IEP or 504 plan, when a device is necessary for medical management and when a device is required for language translation (the district noted it may pursue managed-device alternatives where appropriate). The administrator said classroom pouch procedures the district has used will not meet the new law’s letter and raised enforcement concerns while the district awaits formal guidance from the Indiana Department of Education.
The administrator also outlined House Bill 1408, which the presentation said requires parental permission for social-media accounts for minors age 15 and younger, tasks social-media companies with removing certain addictive features and targeted advertising, and gives parents tools to set daily and weekly time limits; the presentation said enforcement of that law is assigned to the state attorney general.
Finally, the district noted House Bill 1242, which requires the Indiana Department of Education to compile statewide data on school corporations and charter schools — including enrollment and performance measures — and to recommend ways to increase administrative efficiencies and reduce administrative costs.
Board members asked whether local classroom controls had been effective in the district; speakers said the district had earlier implemented classroom phone pockets and zipper pouches and that those practices produced staff and student buy‑in, but that the new language will require different approaches. The district said it will report back with guidance from the Department of Education when available.
No board action was taken; the item was presented for information and future implementation planning.
