Does Indiana require autism training for school staff? What Indiana law asks, and where outside training fits
The short answer
We found no general autism-training requirement for teachers or paraprofessionals in the Indiana Department of Education sources we reviewed. The department lists recurring seclusion and restraint training for appropriate school employees and says it should include alternatives such as positive behavioral intervention and support. The department's May 2024 version of Indiana's special education rules requires public agencies to provide special education paraprofessionals with preservice and in-service training covering their students' specific needs and characteristics; we could not confirm later amendments.
What we found
On October 29, 2026, we read the Indiana Department of Education's 2026-2027 list of required training for school employees, the state's special education rules (511 IAC 7, in the department's published version), the department's license renewal page for the Professional Growth Plan, its paraprofessional requirements, and its Commission on Seclusion and Restraint page. We searched these sources for autism, behavior, positive behavior and disability training duties for teachers and paraprofessionals. We could not directly search the Indiana Code or the official Indiana Administrative Code, or confirm whether the department's May 2024 copy of the special education rules reflects later amendments.
The department's list says what it covers:
"Following each legislative session, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) provides an updated list of state- and federally-required training for school employees. Below is the list for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. This list does not include optional training or training required by a local school corporation or governing body."
None of the required items on that list is autism training for teachers or paraprofessionals. Your school corporation may set its own training requirements beyond the state list.
Source: Indiana Department of Education, 2026-2027 Required Training for School Employees.
Related training rules for Indiana school staff
### Seclusion and restraint training for appropriate school employees The department's 2026-2027 list includes seclusion and restraint training:
"Training should include the appropriate use of effective alternatives to physical restraint and seclusion, including the use of positive behavioral intervention and support and conflict de-escalation. The training must include the safe use of physical restraint and seclusion in incidents involving imminent danger or serious harm to the student, school employees, or others."
It lists the training as "Required for: Appropriate school employees" and says: "This is a recurring training requirement that schools must ensure is maintained throughout the school year." The department's model plan lists regular employee training among the minimum plan elements for school corporations, charter schools and accredited nonpublic schools. The department's commission page says: "This plan is a model only and schools are free to adopt their own plans as they see fit." It adds that any plan a public, charter or accredited nonpublic school adopts must contain, at a minimum, the elements listed in state law. It also says each public, charter or accredited nonpublic school must adopt a restraint and seclusion plan. Ask your school which employees must complete this training and how often. Our course does not teach restraint, seclusion, de-escalation or crisis intervention.
Source: 2026-2027 Required Training for School Employees; Commission on Seclusion & Restraint.
### Training for special education paraprofessionals (511 IAC 7-36-2) The department's May 2024 agency version of 511 IAC 7-36-2 states the following training duties for public agencies serving special education students:
"(f) The public agency shall do the following:
(1) Provide preservice and in-service training to paraprofessionals in the following areas:
(A) The role of the paraprofessional related to the role of the professional person providing supervision and direction.
(B) The specific skills and content knowledge necessary to carry out the assigned responsibilities.
(C) Information on the following:
(i) The specific special needs and characteristics of the students with whom the paraprofessional will be working.
(ii) Special education procedures, including the confidentiality of personally identifiable information.
(2) Document, in writing, the training provided to paraprofessionals."
The rule does not name autism, set a number of hours or say how often in-service training happens. For a paraprofessional who works with a student with autism, the student's needs and characteristics are part of what the training must cover.
Source: Indiana Department of Education, Special Education Rules, Title 511 Article 7.
### Teacher license renewal Indiana teachers can renew a license through a Professional Growth Plan. The department's page says: "A 90 point PGP is required for the renewal of a five (5) year or ten (10) year license." One qualifying clock hour earns one PGP point. The page names no autism, disability or behavior topic that the points must cover. It also says: "If you are working in an Indiana school, your PGP will be verified within your school district or LEA. If there are questions about what is verifiable for PGP points, contact the Principal or Superintendent."
Source: Indiana Department of Education, Professional Growth Plan (PGP).
### Autism training for school corporation police officers The one autism item on the department's 2026-2027 list applies only if a school corporation sets up its own police department. Then its governing body "must adopt a policy requiring the corporation police officer to complete training to appropriately interact with individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Asperger's syndrome." This requirement applies to individuals employed as school corporation police officers, not to their work as teachers or paraprofessionals.
Source: 2026-2027 Required Training for School Employees.
### Autism resource centers listed by the state The department's Indiana Resource Network list includes autism and behavior resource centers, among them HANDS in Autism, PBIS Indiana and the Indiana Resource Center for Autism. The list places them under resource centers it describes as "not financially supported by DOE." For HANDS in Autism it says: "Services and resources are available for free, low cost and fee for service or contractual basis." No course price is shown.
Source: Indiana Department of Education, Indiana Resource Network (IRN).
Where outside training fits
The sources reviewed do not establish that our course would be accepted for any of these purposes. The paraprofessional rule puts the training duty on the public agency. The department says each public, charter or accredited nonpublic school must adopt a seclusion and restraint plan containing the minimum elements listed in state law. For educators working in an Indiana school, the PGP is verified within their school district or LEA. For questions about these training duties or PGP verification, contact your school corporation or the Indiana Department of Education. We offer this course as introductory ABA training. We do not claim that it satisfies 511 IAC 7-36-2 or any seclusion and restraint training requirement, or that it counts toward Professional Growth Plan points or license renewal. We do not claim a number of training hours for it.
What our Intro to ABA Level 1 course covers
The Intro to ABA Level 1 course teaches methods and techniques of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for parents and caregivers, teachers, paraprofessionals and behavior technicians who work with a child every day. Topics include what autism is, what ABA is, pairing, errorless teaching and prompting, and active student responding. Complete the course and pass its 40-question final exam with a score of at least 80%. Completing this course earns a Special Learning certificate of completion. That certificate is not a continuing education (CE) certificate. It is basic training in ABA methods for daily practice, not a professional credential. We do not claim Indiana state approval or continuing education credit for this course.
A paraprofessional who took it wrote: "I want to learn everything I can to help my student succeed in the public school system. I found Special Learning's ABA level 1 course so fascinating and inspiring."
Two ways to start
- For one person: try the first two sessions free for 7 days; account creation is required, with no payment information requested. The full course costs $199, paid once, with no subscription or recurring charge. Activate your license code within 90 days of purchase; the published completion window is 10 weeks after activation. You may request a later start date, no later than three months after purchase. Start the free sessions
- For your district's staff: tell us how many people need training and when, and we will send a quote; each participant who completes the course and passes its 40-question final exam with a score of at least 80% earns an individual certificate of completion. Ask for a school quote
Last reviewed: October 29, 2026.