Indiana generally prohibits people, including those who have a license to carry a handgun, from knowingly or intentionally possessing a firearm in or on:¹

• School property (including private and public schools and preschools);² or
• Property that is being used by a school for a school function or on a school bus.³

Indiana law includes exceptions to this general restriction, including for people who are not students at the school and are otherwise legally eligible to possess firearms, if they:

• Are specifically authorized by a school board or charter school administrative body to carry a concealed firearm in or on school property;
• Possess a firearm in a motor vehicle;
• Are school resource officers;⁴
• May legally possess a firearm and do so while on school property in connection with or while:
  • Attending a worship service or religious ceremony conducted at a house of worship located on the school property; or
  • Carrying out official duties at a house of worship located on the school property, if they are employed by or a volunteer at the house of worship;⁵or who
• Keep a firearm:
  • Locked in the trunk of their motor vehicle;
  • In the glove compartment of their locked motor vehicle; or
  • Stored out of plain sight in their locked motor vehicle.⁶

Indiana also makes it unlawful to knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly leave a firearm in plain view in a motor vehicle that is parked in a school parking lot.⁷

MEDIA REQUESTS

Our experts can speak to the full spectrum of gun violence prevention issues. Have a question? Email us at media@giffords.org.

Contact

1. Ind. Code Ann. § 35-47-9-2(a).[↩]
2. See Ind. Code Ann. § 35-31.5-2-285 for a definition of “school property”; see also, Ind. Code Ann. § 35-31.5-1-1 (indicating that such definition applies to all statutes relating to penal offenses).[↩]
3. In Indiana, a student who is identified as bringing a firearm to school or on school property, or in possession of a firearm on school property, must generally be expelled for at least one calendar year. Ind. Code Ann. § 20-33-8-16(d). The school superintendent may, on a case by case basis, modify the period of expulsion for a student who is expelled under this section. Ind. Code Ann. § 20-33-8-16(e).[↩]
4. As defined in Ind. Code Ann. § 20-26-18.2-1.[↩]
5. Ind. Code Ann. § 35-47-9-1.[↩]
6. Ind. Code Ann. § 35-47-9-2(b).[↩]
7. Ind. Code Ann. § 35-47-9-2(c).[↩]