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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

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  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).[]