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American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

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Wednesday, September 27, 2017

To raise awareness of the overly restrictive blocking of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools in schools and school libraries, AASL has designated one day during Banned Books Week as Banned Websites Awareness Day. On Wednesday, September 28, AASL asks school librarians and other educators to promote an awareness of how overly restrictive filtering affects student learning.

Background | Complimentary Webinars | Resources & Activities

Logo Use | Promotional Partners

Background

Usually the public thinks of censorship in relation to books, however there is a growing censorship issue in schools and school libraries - overly restrictive filtering of educational websites reaching far beyond the requirements of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Students, teachers, and school librarians in many schools are frustrated daily when they discover legitimate educational websites blocked by filtering software installed by their school.

Filtering websites does the next generation of digital citizens a disservice. Students must develop skills to evaluate information from all types of sources in multiple formats, including the Internet. Relying solely on filters does not teach young citizens how to be savvy searchers or how to evaluate the accuracy of information.

Over extensive filtering also extends to the use of online social networking sites such as FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, etc. In order to make school more relevant to students and enhance their learning experiences, educators need to be able to incorporate those same social interactions that are successful outside of school into authentic assignments in the school setting. Unfortunately, filters implemented by school districts also block many of the social networking sites.

Resources

Intellectual Freedom related posts on Knowledge Quest
AASL White Paper on Educational Technology in Schools
" Access to Information: Perspectives of a Superintendent and a School Board Member" Knowledge Quest 44, no.1 (September/October 2015), pages 48-53

" Filtering beyond CIPA: Consequences of and Alternatives to Overfiltering in Schools" Knowledge Quest 44, no.1 (September/October 2015), pages 60-66.

" Filtering Texas-Style: An Interview with Michael Gras and Scott Floyd" Knowledge Quest 39, no.1 (September/October 2010), pages 30-37.

" Minors' First Amendment Rights: CIPA & School Libraries" Knowledge Quest 39, no.1 (September/October 2010), pages 16-21.

" A Tale of Two Students" American Libraries (08/07/2012)

Filtering and the First Amendment by Deborah Caldwell-Stone with "Snapshot of Filtering in School Libraries" by Helen R. Adams

Press release: AASL designates Wednesday, September 28, 2011, as Banned Websites Awareness Day

PDF to share with parents: Includes "How School Librarians Can Assist You: Internet Safety" and "Filtering & To Filter or Not: The Pros and Cons of Using Parental Control Software"

Activities

"Don't Filter Me" High School Student Information Gathering Activity
Have high school students try to access selected web sites with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender-related content to check whether their schools' filters are blocking access to these sites.

The ACLU "Don't Filter Me" project notes that blocking access to this content while still allowing access to anti-LGBT sites violates students' First Amendment rights and, at schools that have gay-straight alliance clubs, the federal Equal Access Act which "requires equal access to school resources for all extracurricular clubs, including gay-straight alliances and LGBT support groups." Information for checking websites is located at http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights/dont-filter-me

Logo Use

The AASL Banned Websites Awareness Day logo is available for download and use by educational institutions, or by individuals for educational purposes, under the following guidelines:

Click each thumbnail for larger, downloadable image:

High Resolution Banner

Web Badge

Promotional Partners
National Promotional Partners
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF)
National Association of State Educational Media Professionals (NASTEMP)
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
State Promotional Partners
Alaska Association of School Librarians (AkASL)
Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL)
Hawaii Association of School Librarians (HASL)
Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA)
Iowa Association of School Librarians (IASL)
Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL)
Massachusetts School Library Association (MASL)
New Jersey Association of School Librarians (NJASL)
New York Library Association/Section of School Librarians (NYLA/SSL)
Ohio Educational Library Media Association (OELMA)
Pennsylvania School Librarian Association (PLSA)
South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL)
Texas Association of School Librarians (TASL)
Wisconsin Educational Media Association (WEMTA)

For more information regarding BWAD Promotional Partners contact acline@ala.org.

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-american association of school librarians

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To raise awareness of the overly restrictive blocking of legitimate, educational websites and academically useful social networking tools in schools and school libraries, AASL has designated one day during Banned Books Week as Banned Websites Awareness Day. On Wednesday, September 28, AASL asks school librarians and other educators to promote an awareness of how overly restrictive filtering affects student learning.

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Nat wrote, "It's censorship, plain and simple, when you can't access more than a handful of news sites and some purely educational, not opinion-based sites."

Most students agreed with that sentiment.

Gheff wrote: "Just recently I was doing a project on Super Smash Bros. and its history for web design. I could not even get to the REAL website which gives information from the creator and what will happen next with the game. For this I had to change my topic to something I was not really wanting to learn more on."

Olivia added, "The other day I was researching birth control for my health class and it took me way longer than it should have to complete my essay because the web filter wouldn't let me open any websites including Planned Parenthood."

Tyler wrote, "It's too much when I can't even go on an informal website talking about breast cancer or sexual abuse because they have the words 'breast' or 'sexual'."

In a statement about Banned Websites Awareness Day, the American Association of School Librarians, a division of the American Library Association, includes the following background:

Usually the public thinks of censorship in relation to books, however there is a growing censorship issue in schools and school libraries - overly restrictive filtering of educational websites reaching far beyond the requirements of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Students, teachers, and school librarians in many schools are frustrated daily when they discover legitimate educational websites blocked by filtering software installed by their school.

Filtering websites does the next generation of digital citizens a disservice. Students must develop skills to evaluate information from all types of sources in multiple formats, including the Internet. Relying solely on filters does not teach young citizens how to be savvy searchers or how to evaluate the accuracy of information.

Over extensive filtering also extends to the use of online social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, etc. In order to make school more relevant to students and enhance their learning experiences, educators need to be able to incorporate those same social interactions that are successful outside of school into authentic assignments in the school setting. Unfortunately, filters implemented by school districts also block many of the social networking sites.

Students: We want to hear what you think. Tell us:

- What internet sites are blocked in your school and why?

- How have web filters affected teaching and learning at your school? How have they affected your experience as a student?

- Do you agree with the American Library Association that overly restrictive filtering of educational websites "does the next generation of digital citizens a disservice"? Why? If so, what would you say to your principal or school board if asked to argue for making your school's filters less restrictive?

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Are the Web Filters at Your School Too Restrictive?

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Nat wrote, "It's censorship, plain and simple, when you can't access more than a handful of news sites and some purely educational, not opinion-based sites." Most students agreed with that sentiment. Gheff wrote: "Just recently I was doing a project on Super Smash Bros. and its history for web design.

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Solution #1:
Acceptable Use Policies: Jeff Johnson, technology coordinator for the Glendale-River Hills School District, in Glendale, Wisconsin, prefers to call these "Responsible Use Policies" because he "expects students (and staff) to be responsible school citizens." Check out the links that follow to see some examples of both good and poor acceptable use policies. As Nancy Willard, Internet safety expert and writer of acceptable use policies for her school district, observed, "Be sure to include due process information in your policy. This is something that is blatantly missing from most policies." Consider, for example, the AUP (and other useful forms) for school districts in Indiana.

With regard to due process, it's no longer a good idea to punish students by denying them access to digital technology for irresponsible use. Here is what Alix Pleshette, coordinator for instructional technology and visual and performing arts at Placer County Office of Education, in Auburn, California, has to say on the subject: "What really needs to change is how administrators are trained to deal with digital infractions. The old way of looking at technology use as an optional activity is no longer valid. Punishing a student by restricting digital access is like taking away the textbook in a math, social studies, or English lit class. Technology access is now crucial to the daily school experience for students."

Solution #2
Discuss the Issues With Students: Nancy Willard is among the most recognized spokespersons for responsible use of the Internet; she has written a great deal on the subject. Her Web site, The Center for Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet is dedicated to promoting safe and responsible Internet use. Her recommendations include making children aware of "effective strategies for acquiring knowledge, decision-making skills, motivation, and self-control to behave in a safe, responsible, and legal manner when using the Internet and other information technologies." Early in the year, teachers should talk with their students about the need for responsible use of the resources available through the Web. A good idea would be to have students visit Cyberethics for Kids, at the Web site of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Solution #3
Be Proactive (i.e. vigilant) as a Teacher: Teachers are charged with maintaining a safe environment in their classroom. Students (and parents) expect the teacher to provide protection from exposure to danger of any kind. While students are working online in a classroom/lab environment, the teacher should be alert and always in a position to know what students are up to at their stations. Students won't try to get away with things if they know they're likely to get caught.

Solution #4
Filtering Software: Filtering, which involves blocking Web sites that have been deemed unacceptable for children, is not by any means a completely effective solution to the problem of objectionable material on the Web. Not only are filters vulnerable to being circumvented -- accidentally or on purpose "got around" -- filters also too often block Web sites that are perfectly acceptable, leaving teachers frustrated when they plan to use such sites for learning purposes. Filtering software should be taken with a grain of salt; however, depending on how the software is set up, managed, and used, it can be useful to a degree. Check out the links that follow to see some examples of filtering software, as well as filtering Web search tools.

Net Nanny and Cyber Patrol are industry leaders in filtering software for home, school, and business.

Altavista's multimedia and general Web search engine includes a password protected Family Filter that can be turned on or off for multimedia materials for all searches conducted using Altavista. The same is true for Google.

Yahoo Kids is Yahoo's Web search guide for kids.

AskKids is Ask.coms neat, and safe, search tool for kids.

KidsNet delivers a Web browser thats safe for kids.It filters out adult content and presents children with child-safe sites.

Clean Surf is FamilyConnect.com's Internet filter.

Risk #2
CyberBullying: According to www.cyberbully.org, "Cyberbullying is sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices." Cyberbully.org is devoted to mobilizing educators, parents, students, and others to combat online social cruelty. For more information, check out http://www.cyberbullying.ca and https://cyberbullying.org/.

Risk #3
Online Predators: Here's what Donna Rice Hughes has to say about this problem: "One of the attractions of the Internet is the anonymity of the user, and this is why it can be so dangerous. A child doesn't always know with whom he or she is interacting. Children may think they know, but unless it's a school friend or a relative, they really can't be sure. Often we think of pedophiles as having access to children on the playground and other [physical] places, but because of the way the Internet works, children actually can be interacting on their home computers with adults who pretend to be children." Visit Donna's Web site ProtectKids.com to learn more about this and other dangers faced by children online.

Risk #4
Invasion of Privacy: Cookies are not as innocent as they sound. Plus, anyone can read your e-mail or your chat or your instant messages, as well as track everything you download from, or upload to, the Web. Check out PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) Tutorials for Beginners.

Risk # 5
Inaccurate or Biased Information: There are plenty of Questionable Sites on the Web. Information literacy helps one develop a "nose" for dubious or downright false information.

Risk #6
Information Overload: Read this interesting article on how young people are relatively immune to information overload due to a few key adaptive behaviors.

Risk #7
Garbage: Not objectionable material, just useless content, which contributes to....

Risk #8
Wasted Time: Teachers who are not well prepared to integrate the Internet into instruction, sometimes allow students to roam the Web at will. Nancy Willard points out that that can lead to an "excessive amount of time spent on entertainment and other popular culture sites compared to a significant lack of time spent on high quality sites." When it comes to children and learning, well-trained teachers should be "bundled" with the Web, as Dr. Netiva Caftori, professor of computer science at North Eastern Illinois University likes to put it. Teachers should be guides at the side, preparing quality learning experiences for the children in their care.

About the Author

Bernie Poole, an associate professor of education and instructional technology at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, has been a teacher since 1966. For the first 15 years of his career, he taught English, history, French, or English as a foreign language primarily to middle school children in England, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia.

Poole has published several books related to instructional technology. Two of the latest editions are available free of charge online at http://www.pitt.edu/~poole/.

Article by Bernie Poole
Education World®
Copyright © Education World

Links Updated 09/12/2011

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Integrating the Internet: Risks and Solutions | Education World

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Solution #1: Acceptable Use Policies: Jeff Johnson, technology coordinator for the Glendale-River Hills School District, in Glendale, Wisconsin, prefers to call these "Responsible Use Policies" because he "expects students (and staff) to be responsible school citizens." Check out the links that follow to see some examples of both good and poor acceptable use policies.

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Filtering Software: The Educators Speak Out

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) passed in 1999, requires schools qualifying for federal E-rate funding to use filtering technology to block access to materials that are "obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors." This month, we asked members of the Education World Tech Team to tell us about their experiences with filtering technology and to discuss whether they believe the software is good or bad for education. Included: Educators discuss the plusses and minuses of the filtering software they use.

In 1999, Congress passed the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), requiring schools qualifying for federal E-rate funding to use filtering technology to block access to materials that are "obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors." That law generated a great deal of controversy.

Critics of the law claimed that filtering technology is inconsistent and unreliable, that it blocks student access to legitimate educational resources, and that it denies students the opportunity to learn to properly evaluate online resources. Proponents said that the disadvantages of filtering are overstated and that any disadvantages are more than overshadowed by the need to protect students from inappropriate online materials and the need to protect educators from the possible consequences of unlimited student access to such materials.

Recently, the Kaiser Family Foundation released the results of a study on the effects of filtering software on student access to online health information. According to See No Evil: How Internet Filters Affect the Search for Online Health Information, "Internet filters most frequently used by schools and libraries can effectively block pornography without significantly impeding access to online health information -- but only if they aren't set at their most restrictive levels. At the least restrictive level, the filters incorrectly block an average of just 1.4 percent of health sites.... The amount of pornographic content blocked was found to increase only marginally, from 87 percent at the least restrictive configuration to 91 percent at the most restrictive level."

The report, which served to re-ignite the smoldering debate on the use of filtering software in schools, made us wonder how educators feel about filtering software today -- now that they have had a chance to use it. Who better to tell us than the Education World Tech Team?

A TOUGH QUESTION

"Is filtering software in schools necessary? Is it desirable? That is a very hard question to answer," Jayme Swinford told Education World. "As a parent, my first instinct is to say yes; I want my children protected from all of the evils of the world. As an educator, my instinct is to say no. I have a responsibility to produce active, media-literate members of society who are able to deal with any kind of information and who possess the ability to make sound decisions based on knowledge and understanding.

"The Education Service Center I work at provides the Secure Computing filtering service to any district in the region at no cost. The disadvantage to using that service is that districts give up the flexibility of being able to customize the filtering. For example, if games are filtered because one participating district wants it, then all districts must filter games. Often, decisions on what should be allowed are made at the regional level and not by participating districts. Each district does have an override password. Most teachers are unaware of this, because the password is given to the technology coordinator who decides, often with administrative advice, whether or not to distribute the password. N2H2 does offer the option at the bottom of every page it blocks to have the page reviewed. Sometimes the review results in a page being unblocked; sometimes it doesn't.

"Does filtering really work? It may be that filtering software or services provide a false sense of security to teachers and administrators. No filtering system is 100 percent fail proof. A diligent student will be successful at locating inappropriate material if it is out there. At the same time, a student with a legitimate request for information may be unsuccessful. Unfortunately, many valid research sites are blocked along with the undesirable sites.

"No level of exposure to objectionable material is acceptable. However, filtering options may be influenced by the age of the student. Stronger filtering may be appropriate for elementary students, as they are learning to discern and disaggregate information, while secondary students may need some flexibility to perform research pertinent to their education.

"One reason for filtering is to limit liability to the school district and to individual employees. With filtering in place, a district can at least demonstrate that it is taking positive action toward protecting students from objectionable information.

"Ultimately, responsibility for content control in the classroom lies with the educator. Young children should not be allowed to surf the Internet unsupervised; neither should older students. The teacher or adult with the students should be aware of what is going on at all times. Too often, a lab design places the teacher at the front of the room unable or unwilling to monitor the kids. A partial solution to this problem could be adequate technology training and support for teachers from district administrators. Many times, teachers are not aware of what the district's Acceptable Use Policy says. Another possibility is improved facility design and better management tools. Something as simple as software that allows teachers to chat with students and to share, supervise, or remotely control students' computers could prove invaluable.

"Educators should care for their students as a parent would, offering education and guidance in making appropriate decisions during computer use. The decision to filter should not be made by one or two individuals. The question should be discussed with teachers, parents, and students to reach a balance between educational values and community expectations."

A WELCOME ADDITION

"Internet filters, if used wisely, provide a welcome addition to the protection of schools," said Fred Holmes. "With the horror stories about the Internet that the media puts out, a school's use of filters can be one way to ease parents' fears about their children's safety on the Internet.

"The layout of many computer labs does not allow teachers to look over every student's shoulder when students are using the Internet. A filter allows teachers and districts some control over what students are accessing. That is a plus because of the possibility of complaints by parents if inappropriate material is viewed or downloaded by students. Yes, a school should teach students what is acceptable, but -- students being students -- some will access inappropriate sites if no filter is used. An Internet filter, along with a clear Acceptable Use Policy, can help a school police what students are accessing and viewing. That way the school is protected from complaints or even lawsuits.

"Our service unit area, which also provides our Internet access, uses the Bess Internet Filtering Service by Secure Computing. Each school district is allowed to create its own restrictions within certain categories. Some schools have very restrictive policies; others have less restrictive policies. Our technology committee, along with the administration, determined what categories would be blocked. The administration, along with the three LAN managers, have an override password, so restrictions can be bypassed if a need arises. If a teacher or student can justify overriding a block, then it will be overridden. The site still needs to monitored, of course, to make sure the material is educational in nature. Supervision is important, but a filter helps with that supervision.

"So, is an Internet filter system necessary in a school setting? I think so -- with some thought on what should be restricted."

A FACT OF LIFE

"I personally oppose filtering," Sith Nip said. "Due to legal issues and concerns about parental reaction, however, filtering is a fact of life for most educators. Schools and districts cannot afford to face legal action brought by parents or city officials; it wastes time and money. My school, for example, although using district filtering software, still requires all students and parents to sign a legal form releasing the school from liability for anything a student might encounter while using the Internet.

"I oppose filtering because filters prevent students from accessing information they need. For example, working at home, I have found some great Web sites for teaching students to use cognitive thinking and quicken their motor skills. When I tried to access the sites at school, however, they were blocked! It's very frustrating, both for me and for my students.

"Another problem I have with filtering software is that it is not foolproof. There are ways to bypass some filtering. Certain links also bypass filtering software.

"Due to legal issues, local solutions to the filtering problem must be developed by school boards. Board members should decide what should be filtered, or they should set up a filtering committee to make those decisions. Webmasters who feel their sites were unfairly blocked could submit the sites to the filtering committee for review."

A FIREWALL SOLUTION

"Our local protection is a firewall -- divided in "half" with a city side and a school side, Julia Timmons told Education World. "The firewall is Symantec Enterprise Firewall and the integrated filtering software is WebNot Content Filtering Software. Our firewall protects us from outsiders coming into the system and hacking information.

"Firewall software is basically a man-made database of 'bad' sites, so any URL in the content filter's restricted list is not allowed and the user receives a Forbidden message. The content filter is constantly being updated by the vendor; we also have the ability locally to add blocked sites or to unblock sites. My experience, however, is that inappropriate sites still make it through the firewall. Unfortunately, every day more negative sites are created than the blocking software can keep up with.

"I have had numerous experiences in which students have accidentally (occasionally on purpose!) accessed inappropriate Web sites. I have found only two sites that teachers needed that were blocked.

"My opinion is that we need blocking software, accompanied by a strict policy that is enforced with consistency. I like our system because it is based on a database, rather than on blocking sites by individual words. I feel it allows the best possible use of the Internet and provides us with the ability to reach the resources we need."

A LEGAL NECESSITY

"I think legally it is in the best interests of schools to provide filtering," agreed Robin Smith. "Students can easily end up on sites that are not what you want an elementary child to view. Teachers can't hold every child's hand constantly. If students accidentally end up somewhere inappropriate, parents could blame the school for allowing their children to view the material. Schools open themselves up to lawsuits if they fail to provide some type of filtering.

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't also educate children to do their own filtering. The ethical use of computers should be taught in elementary school and continually reinforced. Education is key to providing students with the skills they need to use computers and the Internet outside of the school setting. Many parents do not have filtering at home, but they want to be sure their child is not exposed to anything inappropriate at school. That is sort of a double standard, but that's the way it is.

"We use the Bess Internet Filtering Service. Last year, I was not pleased with the system -- mostly because it slowed our network down and blocked too many educational sites. (Our computer coordinator at the time had the level of filtering at the max.) Since then, we have upgraded our network and installed the newest version. It now runs smoothly, and we have not had any problems with slowness. We have also removed many restrictions; now we are filtering at a much more appropriate level for education.

"Now, if an educational site is blocked, teachers submit a written request to the principal asking that the site be unblocked. We unblock the site so the principal can review it. If he approves its use, we unblock the site for everyone. We have 280 teachers and 4,000 students using the filtering and, so far this year, we have had only two requests for sites to be unblocked. Both went through the procedure and both sites were unblocked.

"Several years ago, when I was a classroom teacher, I found the blocking to be very frustrating. There was no system in place for unblocking, and teachers were at the mercy of the computer coordinator -- who rarely, if ever, unblocked a site. Most teachers are happy with the current system, however. Teachers can't be everywhere at once, and they don't have eyes in the backs of their heads. Most are relieved that some filtering is in place -- for their protection as well as for the protection of their students.

"Teachers here know that if a site is blocked, we will promptly unblock it if it is needed for educational purposes. We don't ask a million questions or give them a hard time. In the course of this year, students have gotten to four sites (that we know of) that should have been blocked. Those sites were reported and promptly added to the list of blocked sites."

PREVENT PORN

"Having worked in several labs, some that used filtering and some that did not," said Linda George, "I can say that I believe there should be some filtering. The online porn market uses the simplest typos to divert innocent searchers to its sites! I also believe, however, that computer users need to learn to fine-tune their searches, so the results include more relevant content and less inappropriate material, and that the filtering folks need to spend more time fine-tuning their products.

AN UNFORTUNATE NECESSITY

"Is filtering software necessary? Unfortunately, yes -- but I think it should be used after teaching students how to use their judgment, discretion, and common sense when using the Internet," noted Jennifer Wagner.

"Our school uses the Cybersitter Internet filter, and we have been quite pleased with it. I have to remember, though, that while a filter protects my students at school, probably more than 90 percent of them don't have filters at home. So I have to teach them the 'brain tools' and not just the filter tool.

"My students are first taught how to evaluate sites for content, how to conduct searches that bring up the information they are searching for, how to hit the home button to return to our safe home page, how to use the back button, how to recognize that they have not 'won a prize' or 'received an urgent message,' and how to shut off the monitor if they get stuck in an unacceptable area. Once they understand those tools, then we utilize the Internet under the safety of a filter -- not as a protection, but as a backup tool to keep students safe.

"My school is a K-8 school and we are blessed with students who (at school!) follow the AUP [Acceptable Use Policy] guidelines. If it had not been for the CIPA requirements, I honestly don't think we would have installed a filter."

For information on some resources to use when teaching students to evaluate online information, see the Education World article Fact, Fiction, or Opinion? Evaluating Online Information

MORE TROUBLE THAN IT'S WORTH

"I'm glad to have the opportunity to respond to this month's question," Michael Hutchinson told Education World.. "As a social studies teacher, I've always had a concern about whether Internet filtering provides someone (and since filtering is a requirement of Federal law, that someone would be the U.S. Government) with an opportunity to censor (allow for prior restraint of) online materials.

"I'd also assert that filtering keeps me as an educator from doing legitimate educational research online and, in some instances, keeps me from downloading legitimate software for my school computers.

"My district has used Bess Internet Filtering Service from N2H2 for approximately six years. There have been instances where sites were blocked for, in my view, less than legitimate reasons. For example, the Discovery Channel's School site has hosted a message board for some time, and I had been a regular contributor. One day, I tried to access the message board, and found it blocked. I sent a request to N2H2 to unblock it, and they refused. Their view was that the message board wasn't moderated, therefore it was open to obscenity and pornography. I immediately replied that this was a legitimate site (after all, it was a Discovery Channel site), but they refused to unblock it. My local information systems department finally unblocked the site for me.

"In another instance, the software blocked most pages for Online Class's North American Quilt Project. Our district had paid a subscription fee to participate in the project, so of course I was concerned that our students couldn't access the pages. I still am not sure why N2H2 decided to block those pages...the only suggestion my assistant superintendent could give was that perhaps they had confused "North American Quilt" with the "AIDS quilt." I did make a request to unblock the site and, in that case, N2H2 did so.

"Bess also routinely blocks sites such as download.com, which I could legitimately use to download newer versions of Web browsers and other software that could be used on my classroom machines. In addition, it's been my experience that it blocks nearly any page created on a public Web server (such as Geocities, Tripod, AOL, etc.). I recognize that some pages on those sites might be objectionable, however, I believe the great majority are legitimate. To simply block them because of their domain name seems to me to be a little heavy handed.

"In projects I create for my classes, I frequently find that sites I have found on my home machine are not accessible on school machines. The sites include those that might be politically sensitive (for example, sites on the Holocaust). I've found Bess to be pretty restrictive in other instances as well. I once had students do projects on major league baseball in conjunction with a Turner Broadcasting electronic field trip we were participating in. When my students tried to access sites on Babe Ruth, they were blocked (because of the word 'Babe'). On the other hand, if they found sites for George Herman Ruth, they access the materials. To me, that's an unreasonable restriction on a legitimate research request.

'As a curriculum developer who has created lessons for various companies, and done most of it on a home computer that is NOT blocked, I have no idea whether teachers who want to use those lessons in a school setting can actually access the resources I suggest. I don't really have much information on filtering software other than Bess, so I don't know how easy or difficult it would be for other teachers using other filtering software to override an 'objectionable' site.

"I do know that on several occasions when I have requested that N2H2 unblock a site, they have told me that the blocking is because of our local settings. N2H2 does allow for an appeal to have a site unblocked, but the procedure takes some time. N2H2 has to review the site before it can be unblocked and generally that cannot be done until the next day. That leads me to another issue regarding filtering software. As a classroom teacher, I must rely on either my local district administration or N2H2 to unblock sites. That is a process that may take some time to accomplish. No one in my building has the ability to immediately override a block. (In other words, no one has the password to access a site BESS has blocked.)

"Personally think Nancy Willard's idea that 'Kids need to learn to use the filters sitting on their shoulders,' is a great one. I'd like to go one step further, though. As a classroom teacher, it is my responsibility to keep kids on task, to make sure they aren't accessing those sites that might be objectionable. Isn't this the same as making sure, for example, that kids aren't reading comic books during history class?

"Most of us take care of classroom management by providing students (and parents) with a set of guidelines the first day of class. Why can't we do the same when we have kids work online by providing a reasonably crafted Acceptable Use Policy? If I have a reasonable AUP, that should work as well as any filter to ensure that students know what is an acceptable site or an acceptable use of equipment -- and what is unacceptable -- and it should protect the teacher as well. (One AUP clause I heard of that I thought was really interesting was one that stated that if a teacher felt a student had gone to an unacceptable site, the teacher, student, and the student's parents would review the site together to determine whether the site violated the teacher's AUP. I'd recommend a school administrator be present, also.)

"In a personal case, for example, a student who was submitting information to a Web site for a class project accidentally submitted a rather obscene e-mail instead. The Web site immediately forwarded the e-mail to me, and I notified school officials. The student was suspended. The parents came to school for a conference, but we had an AUP with the student's and parents' signatures on it, and that carried enough weight to have the suspension stick.

"I'm not sure if anyone can effectively filter. I consider myself fairly liberal, and if I ran an Internet filter, I'm sure there would be those who felt I let too much slip by -- and an equal number who felt I was too restrictive. To me, any sort of outside filtering constitutes 'prior restraint.' While I'm aware that a school setting is somewhat different than a print publication, I think filtering overly restricts legitimate Internet use and research, and it just isn't worth the trouble or the expense."

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Article by Linda Starr
Education WorldÂ®
Copyright Â© 2003 Education World

01/15/2003
Updated links 04/30/2007

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Filtering Software: The Educators Speak Out | Education World

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The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) passed in 1999, requires schools qualifying for federal E-rate funding to use filtering technology to block access to materials that are "obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors."

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Resistance is FUTILE! Lawmakers wont back down!

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Resistance is FUTILE! Lawmakers wont back down!

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Zealously blocking their access to certain websites can end up undermining learning.

Giving all children access to the Internet and computing became a rallying cry for educators and elected leaders in the 1990s. In March 1996, President Clinton and Vice President Gore led 20,000 volunteers in a one-day effort to connect thousands of California public schools to the " brave new world of mouse clicking and web surfing." Yet that brave new world remains unconquered for many students and schools, especially in rural and high-poverty communities. Some have coined the term " digital redlining " to describe how advanced technology has been deliberately denied from certain areas based on geography as well as the race, ethnicity, and income of residents.

In the intervening years, the spotlight has pivoted to the so-called " connectivity gap"-which hurts schools without high-speed Internet connections-and the homework gap-which hurts students unable to access wireless and broadband connections from home. And like his predecessor, the president is using his bully pulpit to push for change. In 2013, the Obama administration launched the ConnectED initiative with the goal to connect 99 percent of schools to broadband Internet in five years; it also unveiled ConnectHome last year as a pilot project to bring high-speed broadband to over 275,000 low-income households in 27 communities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Oklahoma's Choctaw Tribal Nation.

Still, even as supporters work to promote equitable access through connectivity, deep-rooted disparities linger. And a more nuanced digital divide seems to have surfaced, thanks to the pernicious practice by school districts of overzealous Internet censorship on in-school computer networks and on school-issued laptops and tablets that are carried home with students. In turn, educators, academics, and advocacy groups have renewed calls to revisit school Internet policies, which, despite some progress, continue to deprive children from becoming knowledgeable digital consumers-with the hardest hit apparently being the most disadvantaged students.
"Ultimately they live in an unfiltered world."
At the core of the ongoing debate is a law passed by Congress in 2000 that mandates all public libraries and schools that receive federal funds for Internet access install blocking software. The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) specifically requires schools and libraries to block or filter Internet access to pictures and material that are "obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors" on computers that are used by students under 17 years of age. The fundamental question has been how schools are interpreting the law-and whether districts are acting in the best interests of children or simply functioning as online overlords.

"If you were to take one word that has driven the use of technology in education over the last two decades, [it's] safety," said Keith Krueger, the CEO of the Consortium for School Networking, a professional group for school-district technology directors. According to Krueger, safety is typically policymakers' and administrators' primary concern when it comes to technology in education.

The ACLU elevated another concern in 2011 when the national organization and its regional chapters in several states issued letters demanding public high schools remove web-filtering software that blocked items related to LGBT issues and support groups for LGBT youth. The ACLU discovered from students that web filters were routinely blocking access to groups such as GLSEN and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, along with LGBT anti-bullying resources like It Gets Better and the National Day of Silence. Joshua Block, the senior staff attorney for ACLU's LGBT Project, credits the organization's campaign, " Don't Filter Me," with changing minds and policies.

A separate LGBT category was eliminated in the filtering software that major companies sell to schools, Block said, and websites with resources for LGBT people are no longer sorted out. He notes that some problems with censorship persist, but not to the same degree. Krueger, representing school technology officers, said the key is balancing safety and access. "Without question, students need to become digitally literate (having the knowledge and ability to use information and technology for varied purposes) because ultimately they live in an unfiltered world. School systems need to ensure that we create a safe environment [but] if we believe any technical solution like filtering will keep us totally safe, that is misplaced."

This common-sense viewpoint, however, has yet to trickle down to many schools, where over-filtering-filtering beyond the requirements of CIPA-is common. One of the most ardent and active opponents of over-filtering to date has been the American Library Association, which for many years has championed the need to protect students' access to "legal, constitutionally protected information that is necessary for their school studies [and] personal well-being," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the deputy director for ALA's office for intellectual freedom. Stone said in some cases, the problem is as simple as school staff failing to adjust the pre-set maximum settings on filtering software, though much of the difficulty resides with school personnel who misunderstand the federal law and the requirements necessary to be in compliance. As an example, she said both the Federal Communications Commission and representatives from the Department of Education have issued guidance stating that Facebook, YouTube, and other platforms do not need to be filtered, but school districts often block these websites "on the grounds that students might access content barred by CIPA."

Maria Salmeron, a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School just outside Washington, D.C., uses Facebook in student organizing as a leader in the Minority Scholars Program, a youth-led group working to increase the academic success of students of color in Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools. Up until this school year, the district blocked Facebook, effectively cutting Salmeron off from a critical mobilization tool. "Facebook is one of the sites that connects you with everyone the most ... it's kept me in contact with people and groups from all over the world," she said.

Likewise, Caldwell-Stone points to contradictions: students in AP biology classes blocked from accessing information needed to prepare for the AP exam; debate-team members unable to research controversial topics on school computers; and filters that routinely block websites for the National Organization for Women, the Quakers, and other "perfectly innocuous, legal, and informative content." The ALA report " Fencing Out Knowledge"-an analysis of CIPA 10 years after its enactment-found that schools' overreach with filtering software was putting children's education at risk, particularly children in poverty who depend on school-provided Internet access the most. "Other children are likely to have unfiltered internet access at home or through their own mobile devices," ALA wrote.

This finding is confirmed by anecdotal and empirical evidence. In Maine, Portland Public Schools in April 2012 installed filters on high-school students' school-issued laptops that banned access to social networks, games, and video-streaming sites. At the time, Portland was among the first districts in the state to authorize such stringent filtering on take-home school devices. As the Press Herald reported, Portland High School students had very different responses to the new policy, based on their access to another computer at home: "...those from middle-class families expressed various degrees of annoyance when told of the new filtering measures. A group of immigrant students reacted with anger."

New research released this past February echoes these students' sentiments. A team from Sesame Workshop's Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a nonprofit research lab, and Rutgers University conducted interviews on digital equity with 170 Mexican-heritage parents and children in three states-California, Colorado, and Arizona. All of the youngsters were enrolled in high-poverty school districts. Vikki Katz, an associate professor of communication at Rutgers and the study's co-author, said school-supplied laptops were usually not the only digital device in these families' homes, but emphasized that "the poorest families are least likely to have other devices. Districts filtering content means that those children and families don't get the same Internet as their more privileged counterparts."
"We sometimes think too much about the content that we block, and we ... limit their opportunities to succeed, explore their passions, and discover their strengths and talents."
What's more, in-depth conversations with the families revealed that districts blocked YouTube at school, as well as on school-supplied devices, because some content was deemed inappropriate. And the consequences were steep. "Parents and children depended on YouTube to support homework time, including tutorials to solve math problems and to learn more about historical characters. The problem is that these platforms are multi-use, and those uses change too quickly for district [filtering] policies to easily keep up."

This opinion is shared by Mary Beth Hertz, the art/tech teacher and technology coordinator at Science Leadership Academy at Beeber, a public high school in West Philadelphia. In her role as a technology teacher leader, Hertz has watched the district's filtering process evolve since 2006, with teachers now able to request that sites be unblocked and requests "reviewed by actual human beings instead of an algorithm." Hertz said what many districts get wrong is listening too closely to lawyers. CIPA leaves a lot of room for interpretation, she said, and some districts opt to choose a strict interpretation to protect themselves rather than engage families, parents, teachers, and students in these digital-access decisions. "We should be blocking what the law requires, but unfortunately the phrase 'harmful to minors' to some districts means everything and anything that could offend or embarrass kids and their families," Hertz said, adding that blocking content doesn't teach kids how to "effectively, respectfully, and responsibly use the Internet."

At the start of each school year Hertz asks her freshmen "Is the Internet a basic right?"-eliciting responses from a dismissive "no" to an enthusiastic "yes" and prompting comparisons to China, where access to the Internet is restricted. A room of 14-year-olds is able to grasp what some school leaders seem to overlook.

"They understand that this connection is not a life-or-death situation, but that it affords opportunity. They also have a basic understanding of oppression and the idea that limiting access to the Internet limits people from opportunity," said Hertz. "We sometimes think too much about the content that we block, and we forget [that] when we cut kids off [from social media] we limit their opportunities to succeed, explore their passions, and discover their strengths and talents."

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The Problem With Filtering Kids' Internet Access at School

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Zealously blocking their access to certain websites can end up undermining learning.

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Staff at Dr Frank J. Hayden Secondary School in Burlington, ON, Canada are opposed to a proposal to install Internet filters at HDSB schools. They sent a copy of their letter to school trustees to a local newspaper for parents to understand their viewpoint. Their letter highlights the ongoing issue that educators face - should schools have Internet Filters?

When I read the letter, I was surprised with how conflicted I felt about the issue. I agreed with all the arguments made by the HDSB teachers. Yes, students need to learn digital citizenship. Yes, students can circumvent Internet Filters using proxy servers. Yes, Internet Filters cost lots of money to maintain. Yes, Internet Filters mistakenly block content that students should be able to access.

Should schools restrict the Internet?

So if I agree with the HDSB teachers, why do I like the fact that the school where I teach has an Internet filter?

Don't get me wrong. There are things I DON'T like about the school's Internet filter. For example, I cannot stand that YouTube is blocked. I have begged the IT Committee to approve joining YouTube for Schools so that students can have access to videos that have educational value. However, so far I have made little progress (still not giving up!).

I also really dislike it when there is a perfect site that I want students to visit and for some unknown reason it is blocked. Yes, I can make a request for it to be unblocked, but this tends to take a few days. Typically, this means that I need to plan ahead if I know there is a site I want my students to access.

I also have found that from time to time, some of the Grade 8 students will find a way to circumvent the Internet Filter to access a social media or gaming site. This always highlights the imperfect nature of the Internet Filter.

Despite these complaints I still like the Internet Filter. What do I like about it? I like that it removes some of the worry.

Top 3 Reasons I Like the School's Internet Filter

1. Prevents Inappropriate Thumbnails
When students are searching for images, often thumbnails will appear in the search results that are inappropriate. The Internet Filter is really great at making sure pictures of nude women or men never appear. I like that my students don't have to be exposed to pornographic images when researching a topic at school.

2. Provides a Level of Security
In the ideal world there would always be a teacher in the computer lab. However, often students are in the computer lab before or after school, during recess, or at lunch time. During those times, a teacher may not always be present or they may be engaged in another task that prevents them from closely monitoring student activities. It is comforting to know that the Internet Filter is there to maintain some level of security.

3. Enforces Digital Citizenship
Some people argue that students need to learn how to become responsible digital citizens and an Internet Filter prevents them taking ownership for their behavior. I disagree. Everyone knows that the Internet Filter is imperfect. However, it tends to protect the students from innocently stumbling on inappropriate content. However, for those students who intentionally want to seek out banned content such as pornography or gaming sites it forces them to engage willfully to circumvent the filter. This activity is a breach of the Internet AUP and it highlights students who are NOT behaving as responsible digital citizens. I find the Internet Filter does not negate digital citizenship - instead it highlights the students who are engaging in ethical, safe, and responsible behavior and those students who are not.

TechnoInternet is a TechnoKids project designed to teach students to apply search strategies, access digital resources, practice Internet safety, and communicate electronically.

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Should Schools Have an Internet Filter? - TechnoKids Blog

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Staff at Dr Frank J. Hayden Secondary School in Burlington, ON, Canada are opposed to a proposal to install Internet filters at HDSB schools. They sent a copy of their letter to school trustees to a local newspaper for parents to understand their viewpoint.

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The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted by Congress in 2000 to address concerns about children's access to obscene or harmful content over the Internet. CIPA imposes certain requirements on schools or libraries that receive discounts for Internet access or internal connections through the E-rate program - a program that makes certain communications services and products more affordable for eligible schools and libraries. In early 2001, the FCC issued rules implementing CIPA and provided updates to those rules in 2011.

What CIPA requires

Schools and libraries subject to CIPA may not receive the discounts offered by the E-rate program unless they certify that they have an Internet safety policy that includes technology protection measures. The protection measures must block or filter Internet access to pictures that are: (a) obscene; (b) child pornography; or (c) harmful to minors (for computers that are accessed by minors). Before adopting this Internet safety policy, schools and libraries must provide reasonable notice and hold at least one public hearing or meeting to address the proposal.

Schools subject to CIPA have two additional certification requirements: 1) their Internet safety policies must include monitoring the online activities of minors; and 2) as required by the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, they must provide for educating minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response.

Schools and libraries subject to CIPA are required to adopt and implement an Internet safety policy addressing:

Access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet;

The safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms and other forms of direct electronic communications;

Unauthorized access, including so-called "hacking," and other unlawful activities by minors online;

Unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors; and

Measures restricting minors' access to materials harmful to them.

Schools and libraries must certify they are in compliance with CIPA before they can receive E-rate funding.

CIPA does not apply to schools and libraries receiving discounts only for telecommunications service only;

An authorized person may disable the blocking or filtering measure during use by an adult to enable access for bona fide research or other lawful purposes.

CIPA does not require the tracking of Internet use by minors or adults.

You can find out more about CIPA or apply for E-rate funding by contacting the Universal Service Administrative Company's (USAC) Schools and Libraries Division (SLD). SLD also operates a client service bureau to answer questions at 1-888-203-8100 or via email through the SLD website.

Printable Version

Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) (pdf)

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Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)

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The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted by Congress in 2000 to address concerns about children's access to obscene or harmful content over the Internet.

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