Indiana students might end up in shambles again. On January 20, 2026, the Indiana Senate passed Senate Bill 78. This bill will restrict students even more from having their phones during school hours. Under this new bill, students will not be allowed to use their phones, smart watches, or other wireless devices for the ENTIRE school day. During an interview, Senator Jeff Raatz said, “It would cost nothing in academics, no additional programs, simply by pulling the cellphones from them and letting the kids learn how to communicate and not rely so much on their phones.”
Although the bill has not been totally passed, it is on its way to the House. According to WTHR reporter, Matthew Fultz, a survey done by Stand for Children Indiana showed support for restricting phone use during the entire school day, and saw widespread support across the political spectrum. More than 63% of 600 Hoosier voters, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, said they supported such a ban on phones at school.
Personally, I agree with this bill; students should be able to use their phones in case of an emergency or to contact their parents or guardians. Plus, there is no way teachers can keep enforcing the law upon their students and expect them to listen. According to an author of the Indiana Capital Chronicle, Casey Smith, Raatz said this bill is meant to eliminate loopholes and inconsistent enforcement. But this should make students think, if teachers are lenient with the rule now, why should the teachers of Indiana change their ways?
Lawmakers and school officials said these gaps have left teachers policing phone use period by period (Smith, 2026). With these gaps, students lose more than 40 minutes of learning each day. Schools would not have to purchase specific storage containers as long as the wireless devices remain inaccessible during student school hours. During the meeting for the bill, lawmakers repeatedly pointed out the fact that Fort Wayne Community Schools already enforces the full-time cellphone ban. In an interview with Duke Lines, the principal of Whiteland Community High School, Lines said, “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.” I believe this would become an inconvenience for school districts, unless the school makes students place their phones with a specific teacher for the whole day.
Overall, I believe this bill would cause problems for the students, teachers, and school districts all around the state. Most importantly, completely restricting phones in schools removes a reliable way for students to contact their parents or guardians in case of an emergency. There are different ways to improve concentration without causing difficulties and inconveniences. Without careful planning and flexibility, this bill could leave students and schools struggling to adapt rather than improving the learning environment. Schools may not have trouble adapting, but teenagers would definitely not succeed very well.
