New education battles in Indiana could reshape classroom rules and funding

Lawmakers return to a condensed session next week facing a crowded education agenda that includes a proposal to ban student cellphone use for the entire school day, renewed efforts to boost math and STEM instruction, and renewed scrutiny of how state funding serves rural and low-property-tax districts. The session must wrap up by late February, with Senate bills due Jan. 9 and House bills due Jan. 14, heightening pressure to move quickly.

One of the most visible measures already filed, Senate Bill 78, would extend current law by requiring public schools to prohibit cellphone use "from bell to bell," including lunch and passing periods, with limited exceptions. Under the law passed in 2024, phones are barred during instructional time unless a teacher authorizes use for academic purposes. Supporters say broader restrictions could reduce distractions and improve student focus and mental health; critics have raised concerns about student safety during emergencies and about preserving local control for school districts.

Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner has called for a statewide conversation about technology’s effects on young children and urged greater attention to social media’s role in student well-being. " I cannot tell you how much it is impacting our children," Jenner said. "We are seeing seven- and eight-year-old[s] with social media accounts. We are seeing nine-year-old[s] on anxiety medicine because they’re obsessed with the number of likes and the comments." Republican lawmakers are also contemplating policies aimed at social media platforms and the algorithms that keep children engaged.

Education officials point to gains in early literacy due to recent state investments, but they and lawmakers acknowledge math and STEM achievement lags behind reading progress. The session is likely to include proposals to strengthen math instruction and expand STEM opportunities for students across the state.

Funding equity promises to be another flashpoint. Lawmakers are weighing proposals that would shift resources or change formulas in ways that could affect counties with weak property-tax bases. For Dubois County, where schools contend with long bus routes, rural demographics and tight budgets, state decisions on funding and mandates will shape classroom staffing, transportation costs and local programming.

Advocacy groups are pushing competing priorities: calls for greater state investment in K-12 education and equitable funding for districts with limited tax bases, alongside appeals for local flexibility, shared services, school safety investments and reduced regulatory burdens.

With a short legislative calendar, the outcomes of these debates may be decided quickly, leaving local school boards, administrators and families to adapt to any new rules or funding changes in the months ahead.