These 10 education bills could impact IPS, cafeteria food and school choice

From banning cellphones to restructuring Indianapolis schools, major education changes are advancing quickly through the Statehouse during this short legislative session.

As Indiana lawmakers near the halfway point of the 2026 session, they are considering bills tackling students' technology use in and outside of the classroom.

For the second consecutive year, Indianapolis Public Schools faces legislation that would reshape the district. A bill that would create a new public authority to oversee all IPS and charter schools within its boundaries. The proposal has faced a lot of public pushback from IPS parents, who say it diminishes the power of the elected school board members in making decisions on its own schools, but most charter school leaders see the bill as a win. 

Bills have until Thursday, Jan. 29, to pass out of the originating chamber or the legislation will be considered dead for the session. However, language can still be added back to surviving bills. 

Lawmakers must conclude the session by March 14. Here is a look at some of the education bills that are still alive. 

Governance 

A new authority for Indianapolis public schools (HB 1423)
The bill would establish the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, a new municipal corporation tasked with overseeing a unified system for transportation, building use and school performance for both the district and charter schools within its boundaries.

Convert traditional schools to charter schools (HB 1176)
This bill would allow school districts a quicker turnaround time in converting schools to charter schools — an autonomous school with their own board oversight. The proposal, by Rep. Jake Teshka (R-North Liberty) would also prevent a school district from acting as both an authorizer and a partner to the same charter school. The partnership allows the district to share resources, including transportation and facilities. Senate Bill 239 would make similar changes for districts to collaborate with charter schools.

The bill would also require parental notification if a school determines a student is at risk of not achieving grade level proficiency in math. 

Technology 

Cellphone ban (SB 78) 
Less than two years after public schools were required to ban cellphones during class, a bill would now require schools to pick either a “no device” or a “secure storage” policy for cellphones between the start and end of the day. The policy would include students’ other wireless communication devices, including smartwatches. 

Social media ban for minors (SB 199) 
The bill would require social media companies to implement an age-verification process for all users and prohibit children under 14 from owning or maintaining social media accounts. Teenagers aged 14-17 could obtain access to social media, but only with parental permission. 

Limiting device usage outside of school (SB 159)
Requires public schools to create technology plans that describe their appropriate use of school-supplied devices and to enable parents to have control over the devices to limit sites or provide tools to limit the device while out of school. 

Curriculum 

Emphasizing marriage before having children (SB 88) 
Schools would be required to emphasize the importance of the “success sequence,” which argues that students who follow three main rules in life can be lifted out of poverty if this bill becomes law. Those three ideas include obtaining at least a high school diploma, securing full-time employment and waiting until marriage to begin having children. 

School choice 

Tax credit scholarship program for school choice (SB 161)
Senate Bill 161 by Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) requires the state to participate in the federal tax credit scholarship program created in the federal One Big Beautiful Bill, which will enable scholarship-granting organizations in Indiana to accept private donations that can fund student scholarships for participating private schools. Donors then receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 per year. 

Other education topics

Banning processed food and beverages from schools (HB 1137)
House Bill 1137 would restrict ultra-processed foods from being served in schools that receive federally funded meal benefits. It also requires schools to post ingredients for breakfast and lunch items on its website.

Education code deregulation (HB 1004)
This 165-page bill is a priority for the House Education Committee chairman, Rep. Bob Behning (R-Indianapolis). The aim is to delete redundancies and regulations found in Indiana’s education policy code that Behning found unnecessary, duplicative or no longer used. 

ABA therapists in schools (HB 1102)
Requires schools to allow outside applied behavioral analysis therapists to provide services for students upon request. This is meant to better help students who are transitioning from care at a center to a classroom setting.

Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org.