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Read. Follow. Verify.Indiana Senate Bill 159 requires schools to give parents control over student devices and bans noneducational use of school tech
Last action · January 28, 2026: First reading: referred to Committee on EducationSponsors: Spencer Deery and 3 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Indiana s and charter schools must update their technology plans and internet use policies by January 1, 2027, to let parents increase content filters, block websites, and limit device use outside of school hours. The bill also requires schools to ban students from using school-supplied technological devices for noneducational purposes during instructional time, effective July 1, 2026.
Local school districts and charter schools must revise administrative policies and vendor contracts, while families gain new authority to restrict internet access and device usage on school-issued equipment outside the classroom.
- The Indiana General Assembly holds regular legislative sessions annually to consider statutory changes affecting public education and state administration. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
school corporations and charter schools
Schools must update three-year technology plans, revise internet and wireless device policies, post policies online, and ensure compliance with parental control and classroom restriction mandates.
parents
Parents gain the right to receive school technology policies and utilize controls to increase filter strength, block websites, and limit device usage time while students are not in school.
students
Students face prohibitions on using school-supplied devices for noneducational purposes during instructional time and experience stricter filtering and time limitations outside of school.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do schools need to provide parents with device control tools?
Are students completely barred from using wireless devices during class?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the Senate · in House committee.
Procedural history
11 actions- Jan 28, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Education
- Jan 27, 2026SenateReferred to the House
- Jan 26, 2026SenateSenator Donato added as third author
- Jan 26, 2026SenateHouse sponsor: Representative Teshka
- Jan 26, 2026SenateFloorThird reading: passed; Roll Call 73: yeas 41, nays 3
- Jan 22, 2026SenateAmendment #3 (Deery) prevailed; voice vote
Show 5 earlier actions
- Jan 22, 2026SenateFloorSecond reading: amended, ordered engrossed
- Jan 15, 2026SenateFloorCommittee report: amend do pass, adopted
- Jan 6, 2026SenateSenator Johnson T added as second author
- Jan 5, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst reading: referred to Committee on Education and Career Development
- Jan 5, 2026SenateAuthored by Senator Deery
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Parental Control Over Digital School Tools
The bill transitions responsibility for off-hours device regulation by explicitly mandating that schools provide parents with the tools to filter, block, and limit student technology use outside of classroom hours.
Connected Entities
Sources
iga.in.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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