Indiana education laws, gathered mainly in Title 20 of the Indiana Code, set the rules that govern when children must attend school, what they must learn to graduate, how public schools are funded and graded, who can teach in a classroom, and what rights students and parents have around discipline, bullying, and special education. The Indiana State Board of Education sets statewide academic policy, and local school corporations run the day-to-day operations inside that framework.
When Children Must Be in School
Children must start school in the fall term of the school year in which they turn seven, and they must stay enrolled until they graduate, turn eighteen, or complete a formal exit interview at sixteen.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-33-2-6 – Students Required to Attend The exit interview is not a right. A student has to go through the process, and the school can decline to approve the withdrawal.
Homeschooling Requirements
Indiana treats homeschools as nonpublic, nonaccredited schools, which means homeschool families are not bound by public-school curriculum or program requirements.2Indiana Department of Education. Homeschool FAQ Parents do not have to notify the state or the local district before pulling a child out to homeschool, and the Department of Education does not accept or maintain homeschool records.
The one firm legal requirement is attendance. Parents must keep an accurate daily attendance record and provide it if the Secretary of Education or the local public school superintendent asks for it. The expectation is 180 days of instruction in an academic year running from July 1 through June 30, and any days the child spent enrolled in a public or accredited school count toward that total.2Indiana Department of Education. Homeschool FAQ The Department of Education recommends keeping documentation of ongoing educational activity in case questions of educational neglect arise, but no other specific records are legally mandated.
What Students Must Do to Graduate
Starting with the class of 2023, Indiana students have had to complete Graduation Pathways, which have three parts.3Indiana Department of Education. Graduation Pathways
First, the diploma. Students earn one of four designations: General, Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors, or Core 40 with Technical Honors. Core 40 is the default, and it is the minimum admission standard for Indiana’s public four-year universities. Parents can opt their child into the General designation if they decide it fits better.4Indiana Department of Education. Diploma Requirements
Second, employability skills. Students demonstrate workplace readiness through a project-based, service-based, or work-based learning experience aligned with the Department of Workforce Development’s benchmarks.
Third, postsecondary readiness. Students meet this by completing at least one qualifying option, such as earning an honors diploma, hitting ACT or SAT college-readiness benchmarks, scoring at least 31 on the ASVAB, earning an industry-recognized credential, completing a registered apprenticeship, concentrating in a career and technical education pathway, or passing AP, IB, dual-credit, or CLEP coursework.
An alternate diploma is available for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who take the state’s alternate assessment, but only when a case conference committee has specifically determined it is appropriate.4Indiana Department of Education. Diploma Requirements
Academic content underneath those diplomas is driven by state standards. The State Board of Education adopts standards for every grade from kindergarten through twelfth in English and language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-31-3-1 – Adoption of Academic Standards The Department of Education can also develop standards in additional subject areas.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-31-3-2 – Development of Subject Area Academic Standards
How Indiana Funds and Grades Its Public Schools
Public school funding runs primarily through the state tuition support formula in Title 20, Article 43. The formula calculates each school corporation’s state aid based on student enrollment, then layers on grants for special education, career and technical education, academic performance, and “complexity” funding for districts serving higher concentrations of students from low-income households.7Justia. Indiana Code Title 20, Article 43 – State Tuition Support
Property taxes complicate the picture. Indiana’s constitution caps property tax at 1% of assessed value for homesteads, 2% for other residential and agricultural property, and 3% for business property, codified in Indiana Code 6-1.1-20.6. When a tax bill hits the cap, the excess is credited back to the taxpayer and the school district never collects it.8Justia. Indiana Code 6-1.1-20.6 – Credit for Excessive Property Taxes The result is heavier dependence on state aid in districts with a weaker local tax base.
On the accountability side, Indiana grades every public school on an A-through-F scale under Indiana Code 20-31-8-3, and the State Board of Education may also assign separate grades to individual performance indicators.9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-31-8-3 – Establishment of Categories of Performance Schools that meet legal and performance standards receive full accreditation and are typically reviewed again in five years. Schools that fall short can be placed on probation, given mandatory improvement plans, or in severe cases face state intervention that reaches school governance.
Charter Schools and the Choice Scholarship Voucher
Charter schools are publicly funded and operate outside traditional district structures. The Indiana Charter School Board, created under Indiana Code 20-24-2.1, authorizes charter schools statewide, reviews new proposals, and monitors the schools it has approved.10Justia. Indiana Code 20-24-2.1 – Indiana Charter School Board Certain universities can also serve as authorizers.
The Choice Scholarship Program is Indiana’s private-school voucher. Eligible students receive state funding to attend participating private schools, including religious schools. For the 2025–2026 school year, household income must be at or below 400% of the federal free or reduced-price lunch threshold. A family of four qualifies with annual household income of no more than $237,910, with limits scaling by household size.11Indiana Department of Education. Choice Scholarship Program Eligibility Requirements 2025-2026 School Year
Teacher Licensing and Employment
Indiana Code 20-28 governs teacher licensing, and the Department of Education fills in the specifics. The Department sets the academic and professional preparation required for each license type, the GPA thresholds, and the exams candidates must pass.12Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-28-5-3 – Requirements for Licensing At least one renewal pathway must be available that does not require a graduate degree.
People switching into teaching from another career can use the alternative certification route in Indiana Code 20-28-5-12.5. Candidates need a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year institution and must complete a program covering content, pedagogy, classroom management, and assessment. They also have to pass a subject-area proficiency exam, hold current CPR certification, and complete youth suicide awareness training.13Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-28-5-12.5 – Alternative Certification Teaching License Since July 2024, alternative certification programs must align their curriculum with the science of reading, and candidates seeking elementary or early childhood licenses must prepare to earn a literacy endorsement.
Every school corporation must run annual performance evaluations of its licensed educators. Each teacher is rated highly effective, effective, improvement necessary, or ineffective. The written evaluation plan has to be presented to the school board in a public meeting before evaluations begin, and the superintendent must discuss the plan with teachers or their representative first. After the evaluation, the evaluator meets with the teacher, who can ask for a different evaluator.
Renewing a standard five-year or ten-year license takes a 90-point Professional Growth Plan. One clock hour of qualifying professional development equals one point, and all points must be earned after the license’s issue date.14Indiana Department of Education. Professional Growth Plan (PGP)
Student Discipline and the Expulsion Appeal Window
Indiana Code 20-33-8 sets the framework for student conduct. School personnel stand in the role of parents for discipline purposes and may take any reasonable action to keep the learning environment orderly. Students must follow responsible directions from staff and avoid disruptive behavior, while keeping their right to free expression as long as it does not substantially disrupt school or infringe on others’ rights.15Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-33-8-8 – Duty and Powers of School Corporation to Supervise and Discipline Students
Expulsion triggers real due process. Under Indiana Code 20-33-8-19, the student and parent must receive written notice of the reasons for the proposed expulsion and their right to attend an expulsion meeting, delivered by certified mail, personal delivery, or confirmed electronic mail. The student can present their side at the meeting, and the person conducting it must produce a written summary of the evidence before deciding. If the student or parent disagrees, they have ten days to file a written appeal with the school board.16Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-33-8-19 – Expulsion Procedure and Appeals Missing that ten-day window ends the right to challenge the decision at the school level.
Anti-Bullying Rules Every District Must Have
Every school corporation must adopt discipline rules that prohibit bullying, including cyberbullying carried out through computers, cell phones, or other digital devices. Indiana Code 20-33-8-13.5 spells out what those rules must include.17Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 20-33-8-13.5 – Discipline Rules Prohibiting Bullying Required
- An expedited investigation process, with timetables for notifying the parents of both the targeted student and the alleged perpetrator. Schools must make a reasonable attempt to notify parents by the end of the next school day after learning of a possible incident.
- Provisions for both anonymous and personal reporting of bullying to teachers or staff.
- A requirement that schools prioritize the safety of the targeted student.
- Discipline for teachers, staff, or administrators who fail to initiate or conduct a bullying investigation, and for students who file false reports.
- Support services for the victim and bullying education for the alleged perpetrator.
The rules can reach off-campus behavior when the students involved attend the same school corporation and the conduct is reasonably likely to cause substantial interference with school discipline or threaten the safety of the learning environment.
Special Education Rights
Indiana’s special education framework, codified in Title 20, Article 35, implements the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Eligible students are entitled to a free appropriate public education tailored to their needs, delivered through an Individualized Education Program built by educators, parents, and specialists and reviewed regularly as the student progresses.18Justia. Indiana Code Title 20, Article 35 – Special Education
Procedural safeguards for families are detailed in 511 IAC 7-37.19Legal Information Institute. 511 IAC 7-37-1 – Notice of Procedural Safeguards Schools must provide a written notice of safeguards at least once per school year, and again at key moments: an initial referral for evaluation, the first complaint or due process hearing request in a school year, or any disciplinary change of placement. The notice must fully explain the parent’s right to receive written notice before a school proposes to change a child’s identification, evaluation, placement, or services. Parents who disagree with a school’s decisions can pursue dispute resolution and request impartial hearings.
Immunizations and Staff Background Checks
Students entering public and private schools have to be current on a series of vaccinations, and the list is updated periodically by the Indiana Department of Health. For the 2026–2027 school year, students in kindergarten through fifth grade need vaccinations for hepatitis B, diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis, polio, varicella, measles/mumps/rubella, and hepatitis A. Sixth graders add meningococcal and Tdap, and twelfth graders face additional meningococcal B requirements.20Indiana Department of Health. Required and Recommended School Immunizations, Indiana 2026-2027 Medical and religious exemptions are available, though a religious objection does not exempt a child from other health-related testing or treatment that state law may require.
On the adult side, every school corporation, charter school, and nonpublic school must require an expanded criminal history background check for anyone applying for a job that is likely to involve direct, ongoing contact with children. The check has to occur within thirty days of the employee’s start date, and it has to be repeated for every employee at least once every five years. Schools may require fingerprints and pass fees to the applicant. The same rule reaches contractors who will have regular contact with students.21Indiana Office of the Attorney General. Summary of Rights and Benefits for Indiana Teachers