Senate Bill 78 was introduced to the Indiana State Senate on December 8th, 2025. The bill would restrict all wireless communication devices for students, including cell phones, smartwatches, and outside computers/tablets.
Bill 78 has passed the state Senate with a vote of 28-19 after 40 minutes of deliberation. Eight Democrats and eleven Republicans opposed the bill.
This “bell to bell” cell phone restriction would be a modification to the bill passed last year, which left it up to teacher discretion to define instructional time. In the bill itself, the words “instructional time” has been crossed out and replaced with “school day”. Teachers would no longer be able to allow students to be on their phones at all during the school day, and would have to require all work to be on school assigned devices, such as Mooresville’s Chromebooks.
There are a few exceptions to this bill if it would pass the house. Anyone with a medical reason to have their phone, like diabetes, would be permitted to carry their phone to check notifications about their health. A student would need a medical note from a licensed Indiana health care provider. If a student is foreign and does not understand the English language, then they are permitted to use a phone as a translating device.
The bill is not fully passed yet, so this is still all hypothetical. The bill as stated earlier has already passed the Senate and is moving onto the house for a larger vote. The path Bill 78 must take is a long one. First, it must go through the House Education committee. If passed by the Education committee, then the bill will go through the entire house. If an amendment to the bill is proposed and passed at any point in this process, the bill must be passed by the senate again. So there is still a lot of work to be done until Senate Bill 78 is passed.
Educators, students, and parents all differ on their opinions on Senate Bill 78. English teacher Kamille Jacobs is a mom and educator at Mooresville High School, and says that her views on the bill don’t change between mom and teacher.
“There are really very few times a parent needs their child during school. Most things being texted back and forth during the school day are things that can wait…It will sting in the moment, but they [students] will figure it out,” Jacobs said. “Overall, as a parent, I appreciate this bill. I want my kids focused in school and applying themselves. Not having the constant distraction of a cell phone is not only better for them academically, but it will create face-to-face social interaction outside of class times,” Jacobs continued to say.
MHS Principal Wes Upton agrees with Jacobs on the fact that it is a good idea to implement the bill, but is concerned with the fine print of the bill.
“I wish the bill provided some resources for schools like supplying the bags to lock them up or provided us with a fine that was written into code where people had to pay to get their phone back if it was confiscated. I liken it to when a person has their vehicle impounded for improper use. You can’t get it back until you pay the fine,” Upton said. He also acknowledges the fact that policing this bill would be difficult for schools and would require harder punishments.
“Our consequences would likely become more stiff…policing this is easier said than done,” Upton said.
Students on the other hand almost unanimously appose this bill for a multitude of different reasons, with one of the top reasons being safety and connection to the “outside world”. Junior Levi Brewington was not completely apposed to the educational benefits of the bill, but was concerned with no ability for students to reach outside the school walls.
“’I’m displeased at this bill not only because it takes away from my touch to the outside world, but also because it raises safety concerns,” Brewington said.
At the other end of the spectrum, Gage Ott, a junior at Mooresville High School, says that his day won’t be affected much at all by this bill. Ott does see the saftey concerns, but also brings up the point teachers will still have their phones if an emergency were to arrises.
“I absolutely think this bill will improve classroom settings due to that there will be less distraction from students and possible noise reduction, as well as, less talk if students were to be doing something on their phones’ together,” Ott said.
At the end of the day, this bill is not yet approved through the house. If you do or do not believe this bill should pass the Indiana State House, then reach out to your local representative and let them know. You can also answer that question with the following poll:
