INDIANAPOLIS — Next school year, Indiana school districts will be limited to using three “virtual student instructional days.”

The restrictions are part of a new law passed during this past legislative session.

The virtual days language was part of HB 1093, which was passed with bipartisan support. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed it into law March 15.

The new law will go into effect on July 1. It will only allow three e-learning days a year.

Lawmakers also dictated they must be “teacher-directed instruction for at least fifty percent of the particular instructional day.” That means students will have to be at their computers following along like they would in a classroom.

While the bill limits a district's e-learning days, there is an exception for "extraordinary circumstances." Lawmakers did not define what that means, instead putting that on the state department of education, which is currently working on defining what that means and creating a waiver process for districts seeking more e-learning days.