Indiana’s New Parent-Control Mandate: What HEA 1004 Means for Your District

On April 30, 2026, the Indiana General Assembly passed House Enrolled Act 1004, a sweeping omnibus education bill recodifying Title 20 of the Indiana Code. Tucked into Section 61 is a meaningful update to the state’s school internet filtering statute, and it deserves attention from every district IT leader, superintendent, and school board in the state.

The headline: by January 1, 2027, every Indiana school corporation and charter school must adopt and implement a policy that gives parents control over their child’s school-issued device when it’s used outside of school and outside of virtual or remote learning.

What the statute requires

The existing CIPA-aligned filtering mandate stays in place. Schools still need an internet use policy, technical filtering of materials harmful to minors, disciplinary measures for violations, and a publicly posted policy.

What’s new is a three-part parent-control requirement. Parents must be able to:

1. Increase the strength of the district’s content filter
2. Block specific websites or categories of content
3. Limit the amount of time the student uses the device

Schools must also affirmatively notify each parent that the policy exists.

There is a narrow exemption for districts under contract, as of June 30, 2026, with a filtering vendor that cannot deliver the new parent controls. That exemption lasts only until the current contract expires or renews, and it fully sunsets on July 1, 2030. By that date, every Indiana school must be on a vendor that supports filter strengthening, content blocking, and device time limits through a parent-facing interface.

What this means in practice

For most Indiana districts, the operational question isn’t whether to comply, it’s whether the current filtering vendor can meet the new requirements without a forklift change. The statute is specific about what the parent-facing tool must do, and not every CIPA-compliant filter on the market includes a polished parent app with these three capabilities.

For district leadership, there’s also a parent-communication lift. The notification requirement isn’t a one-time email. It’s an ongoing obligation that schools should plan to build into back-to-school communications, enrollment workflows, and the district website.

How Securly fits

Securly Filter is a CIPA-aligned web filter built for K-12, and Securly Home is the parent-facing app that extends it into the home. Home is included with every Filter subscription at no additional cost, and it covers the three statutory requirements in one parent login:

• Filter strength. Parents can block additional categories and sites on top of what the district has already blocked. District IT sets the control level, so parents can tighten the filter without weakening the school’s policy.
• Site and category blocking. Parents add specific sites or category blocks themselves, directly from the Home app, without changing the in-school policy.
• Time limits. Home includes Offline Schedules and a Pause Internet control, so parents can set time windows when the device is offline or pause access from the app.

For districts already running Securly Filter, activating Home is a customer success conversation, not a new procurement. For districts evaluating their renewal timeline against the January 2027 deadline, it’s worth a closer look.

Get the full breakdown

We’ve put together a one-page issue brief covering the statutory requirements, the exemption details, a readiness checklist, and sample local policy language your district can adapt. Download the HEA 1004 issue brief.

If you’d like to talk through what HEA 1004 means for your district specifically, schedule a 20-minute call with our K-12 team.

Frequently Asked Question

Q: When does Indiana HEA 1004 take effect for school device policies?

A: Indiana school corporations and charter schools must adopt and implement the new parent-control policy by January 1, 2027. The law was passed on April 30, 2026, giving districts roughly eight months to evaluate vendors, update policies, and notify parents.

Q: What controls must Indiana schools give parents under HEA 1004?

A: The statute requires schools to give parents three specific capabilities for school-issued devices used outside of school and outside of virtual learning: (1) increase the strength of the district’s content filter, (2) block specific websites or categories of content, and (3) limit the amount of time the student uses the device. Schools must also affirmatively notify each parent that the policy exists.

Q: Does HEA 1004 replace the existing CIPA filtering requirements?

A: No. The existing CIPA-aligned filtering mandate stays fully in place. Schools still need an internet use policy, technical filtering of materials harmful to minors, disciplinary measures for violations, and a publicly posted policy. HEA 1004 adds new parent-control requirements on top of those existing obligations.

Q: Is there an exemption for districts already under contract with a filtering vendor?

A: Yes, but it’s narrow. Districts under contract as of June 30, 2026, with a filtering vendor that cannot deliver the new parent controls are temporarily exempt. That exemption lasts only until the current contract expires or renews, and it fully sunsets on July 1, 2030. By that date, every Indiana school must be on a vendor that supports the three required parent controls.

Q: How do parents need to be notified about the policy?

A: Schools must affirmatively notify each parent that the policy exists. This isn’t a one-time email — it’s an ongoing obligation that districts should build into back-to-school communications, enrollment workflows, and the district website.

Q: Does Securly meet the HEA 1004 parent-control requirements?

A: Yes. Securly Filter is a CIPA-aligned K-12 web filter, and Securly Home is the parent-facing app that covers all three statutory requirements in one parent login: filter strength adjustments, site and category blocking, and time limits through Offline Schedules and Pause Internet. Home is included with every Filter subscription at no additional cost.