A plain-English guide to Indiana’s bullying and cyberbullying law, written for school counselors and other school staff. Start with the summary, then open any section below for the legal details.
Bottom line for counselors: Indiana requires every school district to have a written bullying policy. The law covers cyberbullying, including off-campus behavior that affects school. Follow your district's reporting and investigation steps and keep careful notes.
Indiana's bullying law includes 13 of 14 key elements, which Lantern rates comprehensive. Cyberbullying can also be a crime under Indiana law. State law lets schools discipline students for cyberbullying. School phones: statewide ban (Senate Bill 185, March 11, 2024). Indiana also has 2 online-safety laws for minors, including Indiana Consumer Privacy Act, Indiana Code Section 24-15-1-1 et seq..
Sources last checked: StopBullying.gov summary reviewed April 28, 2026 · school phone rules checked November 11, 2026 · online-safety tracker updated July 5, 2024.
Lantern · State profile
Comprehensive state protections · 13 of 14 key elements
- Covers cyberbullying Yes
- Reaches off-campus behavior Yes
- District policy required Yes
- Reporting & investigation rules Yes
- Staff training Yes
- Support for students involved Yes
- School phone rules Statewide phone restriction
- Online safety laws for minors 2 on the books
What this means for counselors
- Your district is required to have a written bullying policy. Find it, and learn who in your building receives reports.
- State law sets expectations for reporting and investigating bullying. Follow your district's steps and timelines, and keep careful notes.
- Cyberbullying that happens off campus can be addressed when it affects school. Record how the online behavior reached or disrupted school.
- The law calls for support for students who are involved. That is core counseling work, for the student targeted and for the student who bullied.
- Staff training is part of state law. Ask when training happens and make sure it covers cyberbullying and social media.
- Prevention education is expected. Classroom lessons on digital citizenship and online empathy fit here.
- Your state limits student phone use at school. Know your school's phone rules so responses to online incidents are consistent.
- Your state has laws on minors' online safety. They mostly regulate tech companies, but they are useful context when you talk with families.
What Indiana’s bullying law includes
- Bans bullying outright: included
The law clearly states that bullying is not allowed. - Defines bullying: included
The law spells out what counts as bullying. - Says where the rules apply: included
The law describes where the rules apply, such as school grounds, buses, events, or online. - Names protected groups: not included
The law lists characteristics, such as race or disability, that bullying often targets. - Districts must have a policy: included
Every school district has to adopt a written bullying policy. - Reporting and investigation rules: included
The law sets out how bullying is reported and investigated. - Consequences for bullying: included
The law describes consequences for students who bully. - Policy shared with families: included
Districts have to tell students, staff, and families about the policy. - Support for students involved: included
The law calls for protection or support, such as counseling, for students who are involved. - Policies reviewed and updated: included
District policies have to be reviewed and kept up to date. - Prevention education: included
The law requires or encourages bullying prevention lessons or programs. - Staff training: included
The law requires or encourages training for teachers and other staff. - Parent involvement: included
The law involves parents in preventing or responding to bullying.
Questions and answers about the law
How are bullying and cyberbullying defined in Indiana anti-bullying laws and regulations?
Indiana anti-bullying laws include the following definition of bullying:
“Bullying” means overt, unwanted, repeated acts or gestures, including verbal or written communications or images transmitted in any manner (including digitally or electronically), physical acts committed, aggression, or any other behaviors, that are committed by a student or group of students against another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or harm the targeted student and create for the targeted student an objectively hostile school environment that:
(1) places the targeted student in reasonable fear of harm to the targeted student’s person or property;
(2) has a substantially detrimental effect on the targeted student’s physical or mental health;
(3) has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted student’s academic performance; or
(4) has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, and privileges provided by the school.
Ind. Code Ann. § 20-33-8-0.2 (2013)
Do Indiana anti-bullying laws and regulations cover cyberbullying that occurs off-campus?
Yes. Indiana anti-bullying laws cover off-campus conduct whenever:
(1) the individual committing the bullying behavior and any of the intended targets of the bullying behavior are students attending a school within a school corporation; and
(2) disciplinary action is reasonably necessary to avoid substantial interference with school discipline or prevent an unreasonable threat to the rights of others to a safe and peaceful learning environment.
What are the policy requirements for schools to prevent and respond to bullying behavior?
Indiana school districts must establish written discipline rules that prohibit bullying. School discipline rules must contain key policy and procedural elements, including, but not limited to:
- Statements prohibiting bullying;
- Provisions concerning education, parental involvement, and intervention;
- Procedures for reporting and investigations, including timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to the parents of both the targeted student and the bully and timetables for reporting to school counselors, school administrators, the superintendent, and law enforcement;
- Discipline provisions for teachers, school staff, or school administrators who fail to initiate or conduct and investigation;
- Discipline procedures for false reporting;
- Procedures outlining the use of follow-up services that includes support services for the victim and bullying education for the bully;
- Disciplinary consequences for violation of the policy; and
- Requirements regarding how the policy will be publicized within the district.
Indiana anti-bullying laws require the department to periodically review each policy to ensure the policy’s compliance with state law. Indiana school districts must submit a report to the department each year documenting the number of reported bullying incidents involving a student of the school corporation by category.
Do Indiana anti-bullying laws and regulations include protections for specific groups?
No. There are no specific groups listed under Indiana anti-bullying laws or regulations.
Indiana schools that receive federal funding are required by federal law to address discrimination based on certain personal characteristics. Find out when bullying may be a civil rights violation.
Do Indiana anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to implement bullying prevention programs or strategies?
Yes. Indiana public schools must provide age appropriate, research-based instruction focusing on bullying prevention for all students in grades 1 through 12.
Do Indiana anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to train teachers and other school staff on how to respond to bullying incidents?
Yes. Indiana school districts must provide training to the school corporation’s employees and volunteers who have direct, ongoing contact with students concerning the school’s bullying prevention and reporting policy.
Do Indiana anti-bullying laws and regulations encourage or require districts to provide safeguards or mental health supports for students involved with bullying?
Yes. Indiana school discipline rules prohibiting bullying must include a detailed procedure outlining the use of follow-up services that include support services for the victim and bullying education for the bully.
Do Indiana anti-bullying laws and regulations involve parents in efforts to address bullying behavior?
Yes. The governing body of each school corporation shall work with parents to develop and periodically review an evidence-based plan for improving student behavior and discipline in the school corporation after receiving a model plan developed by the department. The model plan developed by the department must include policies to address instances of bullying and cyberbullying on school property of a school corporation. School discipline rules must also include timetables for reporting of bullying incidents to the parents of both the targeted student and the bully.
Answers from StopBullying.gov, last reviewed April 28, 2026.
School phone and device rules
Statewide ban. Most recent statewide action: Senate Bill 185, March 11, 2024.
Source: Ballotpedia, checked November 11, 2026.
Online safety and social media laws for minors
These laws mostly place duties on apps, platforms, and websites, such as age checks, parental consent, or limits on addictive feeds. Several have been challenged in court.
- Indiana Consumer Privacy Act, Indiana Code Section 24-15-1-1 et seq.
In effect: January 1, 2023 - Age verification for material harmful to minors, SB 17, Indiana Code Section IC24-4-23
In effect: July 1, 2024 August 2024 · Status: blocked in court (in part or whole)
Source: Orrick Online Safety Law Tracker, updated July 5, 2024.
Legal citations, explained (13)
Each entry shows what the law or rule is about first, then its official name with abbreviations spelled out.
- Purpose and composition of fund; grant priorities and amounts Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 5-2-10.1-2 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 5-2-10.1-2
- School safety specialist training and certification program Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 5-2-10.1-11 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 5-2-10.1-11
- Safe school committees; school plans; copies of school floor plans to law enforcement agency and fire department Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 5-2-10.1-12 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 5-2-10.1-12
- Cyberbullying resources Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-19-3-11.5 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-19-3-11.5
- Involvement of parents with discipline plan; department’s model discipline plan Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-26-5-32 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-26-5-32
- Bullying prevention; training for employees and volunteers Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-26-5-34.2 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-26-5-34.2
- Bullying prevention; student instruction Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-30-5-5.5 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-30-5-5.5
- “Bullying” Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-33-8-0.2 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-33-8-0.2
- Discipline rules prohibiting bullying Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-33-8-13.5 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-33-8-13.5
- Relief of obligation to report Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-33-9-12 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-33-9-12
- School corporation reports; department Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-34-6-1 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-34-6-1
- Notice of reporting requirements; audits Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-34-6-2 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotated Section 20-34-6-2
- Uses of money in the fund; distributions to a charter school Law passed by the legislature Indiana Code Annotate Section 20-40-20-6 Read the text of Indiana Code Annotate Section 20-40-20-6
Official Indiana resources
Educational information, not legal advice. Laws change, so confirm with your district and state education department.
Find a school district in Indiana
Search by ZIP code, select a district on the map, or look one up by name. Each district links to a search for its own bullying policy, since district rules can go further than state law.
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