1	School District Options for Providing Access to Appropriate Internet Content Prepared by the Consortium for School Networking Copyright 2001
2	Development of These Materials Is Supported by
3	The Internet is like “a vast library including millions of readily available and indexed publications” and content “as diverse as human thought.” --U.S. Supreme Court, 1997
4	How the Internet Is Different From a Library Anyone can be a publisher No one is reviewing and purchasing books the way a librarian would Links provide easy access to materials created by others It’s easy to choose the wrong book off the shelf (typographical errors, similar names)
5	That’s Why It Can Be Easy to Access a Site You Did Not Intend to And that’s why many schools adopt strategies to try to manage what their students can access
6	So Far, Filtering Laws Declared Unconstitutional Communications Decency Act (1996) Children’s Online Protection Act (1998) Both tried to restrict the kind of information that could be distributed through the Internet Both rejected on 1st Amendment grounds
7	Children’s Internet Protection Act Passed in December 2000 Affects schools and libraries that will receive future E-rate discounts for Internet access or internal connections Also applies to recipients of certain federal education technology funding Basic requirements Must adopt “Internet safety policy” after holding public hearing Must operate a “technology protection measure” on computers that access the Internet Must block or filter “visual depictions” that are “obscene, child pornography or harmful to minors”
8	CIPA Requirements for E-rate Recipients Final FCC rules issued on April 5, 2001 Certification will be made on Form 486 application Applies to those who receive support for Internet access or internal connections in 4^th funding year (2001-2002) In first year, school must certify only that it is “undertaking compliance” Consortium must collect new Form 499 from members
9	Compliance Deadlines If services have started and school has received funding commitment, Form 486 is due by Oct. 28, 2001 If funding commitment is not received until after that date, or services don’t start until later, Form 486 is due within 120 days of whichever date is later “First year” of compliance set by first year (Year 4 or later) that SLD data enters a Form 486 for pertinent services
10	Other CIPA Requirements Also will apply to schools that use new grants under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to purchase computers that access the Internet or to purchase Internet access Education Department responsible for issuing regulations These funding programs may change
11	Acceptable Use Policies Most online schools have them (NCES: 98%) “Internet safety policy” required by CIPA AUPs should address issues beyond simply content controls and online safety May need to address staff use, too Should meld with overall discipline policies Should require acknowledgement of student and parent Should involve continual re-education Many good resources are available to help
12	Approaches Schools Could Choose to Take Assumption of this presentation: That they are not required by law to do anything District may decide to use a combination of approaches to meet the needs of different schools and different groups of students
13	Monitoring Involves tracking Internet logs to determine if students (and, in some cases, staff) are accessing inappropriate sites Rules for appropriate Internet use should be clear—and the consequences if not followed Will require commitment of staff time to be effective If system is not really monitored, may convey a false sense of security that could be worse than no controls
14	Filtering Limiting access to pre-selected sites or blocking access to sites believed to be inappropriate Someone must maintain the list (in-house or third party) Most products use a combination of automated flagging of potentially problematic sites with human review Some products can customize what is filtered and for whom
15	Proxy Server Ideal place to install filtering software Can be used to control access to approved sites or limit access to inappropriate sites Can also be configured to recognize rating systems
16	What About Rating Systems? Internet Content Rating Association’s is most well known Evolution of an early system developed by the Recreational Software Advisory Council Now uses “PICS” standard developed by World Wide Web Consortium Relies on Web sites to rate themselves Limitation is that not many sites are currently rated Could be set to provide access to the limited number of sites that have rated themselves
17	Application Service Providers Some companies that provide filtering software also provide filtering services on their own servers Some ASPs may provide filtering as one of several applications they offer schools Vendor is responsible for management of hardware and software
18	Filtered Internet Access Many state networks and Internet service providers already offer a filtered service May provide a choice of level of control But ability to modify modification for individual class or teacher’s needs may be limited
19	Portals and Search Engines Provide child-friendly access to Internet Degree of content control can vary May be free for fee-based Sometimes services provided for free are in exchange for viewing ads or getting marketing information In some cases, may permit “backdoor” access to inappropriate sites through links, etc.
20	“Green Spaces” Intranet for children Some solutions may not be available for servers Sometimes an ISP’s content controls function in the same way
21	Do You Want to Manage Internet Content? A Checklist for Decision-Making
22	How Will Students Use the Internet? All technology planning should address this issue How closely will students be supervised? To what extent will Internet access be managed by a teacher? How many students will be using the Internet simultaneously in a classroom, computer lab or media center? To what degree will staff be expected to supervise them?
23	Who Is in Charge of the Learning Experience? To what extent are students considered to be independent learners? To what extent does the teacher need to be “in charge?” Does this vary depending on the age of the student?
24	Should Different Standards Apply to Different Age Groups? Should children of different ages be able to access different kinds of materials? Will older children be given greater freedom to “surf the Web” independently? Would you like to set different standards for different schools or programs?
25	Should Employees Be Subject to the Same Rules as Students? Or, is it more appropriate to adopt separate policies for adult employees? Should distinctions be made during school hours and after-school hours? Are there financial implications to the use of Internet resources outside of school hours?
26	Would You Prefer to Simply Monitor Students’ and Staff’s Access? Does your staff have the time to monitor logs and respond to apparent abuses? Children’s Internet Protection Act requires that safety policies “include monitoring the online activities of minors”
27	Are There Other Issues You Want to Address? Some content management solutions also address security concerns How do they address such issues as advertising and protecting student privacy? Under CIPA, Internet safety policies must address other online issues
28	Have You Developed an Acceptable Use Policy? Should address the expectations for online behavior, methods of policing, and consequences if rules are not followed Most policies cover broader range of issues than just access to inappropriate materials How it will interface with general discipline policy? Will it address off-campus online activities that impact school life?
29	CIPA Requirements for E-rate Recipients “Internet Safety Policies” must address: Access to inappropriate materials Safety and security of minors using e-mail and chat rooms “hacking” and other unlawful activities Unauthorized disclosure of personal information Public notice and at least one public hearing required before adoption May be asked to produce
30	How Will You Teach “Information Literacy?” Content management should not take place in a vacuum Students should be taught: “Rules of the road” to follow when they go online Techniques for finding appropriate materials How to evaluate Web sites Even if a school decides to filter, students should be taught how to work in environments that may not be filtered
31	One Framework: ALA’s “Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning” Nine standards related to information literacy, independent learning and social responsibility, including: The student who is information literate accesses information efficiently and effectively The student who is information literate evaluates information critically and competently The student who contributes positively to the learning community and to society is information literate and practices ethical behavior in regard to information and technology See http://www.ala.org/aasl/ip_nine.html
32	A Review of the Checklist How will students use the Internet? Who is in charge of the learning experience? Should different rules apply to different age groups? What rules will apply to staff? Should you simply monitor access? Do other issues need to be addressed? Have you developed an AUP? How will you teach information literacy?
33	Questions to Consider If Evaluating Content Management Products
34	Who Should Decide Which Sites Are Accessed? If managed by school personnel: How will they handle updates? How frequently will they be able to update? Will they have time to manage the task? If managed by a third party: What criteria do they use? Do they have an inherent bias? How easy is to override their decisions? How frequently (and easily) do they provide updates?
35	What Kinds of Web Content Are a Concern? Just pornography and obscenity? Topics such as hate groups, weapons, alternative lifestyles? Advertising? Other subjects? CIPA requires blocking of “visual depictions that are child pornography, obscene or harmful to minors”
36	What Has Been the Experience with the Proposed Solution? Have staff members tested it? Are children able to access inappropriate sites indirectly (through search engines or other links)? Does the product “overblock?” How much “fine-tuning” will be required to serve the needs of your users?
37	Are Users Notified When They Access a Blocked Site? Is it important for staff and students to know when they have been blocked? Does your solution allow this message to be tailored to your specific needs, if any? Can directions be provided on where to turn if site should not be blocked?
38	Does Your Solution Address Other Forms of Content Beyond Web Sites? What is your position on e-mail directed out of the district or coming in? Chat rooms? Instant Messaging?
39	How Easy Would It Be for Hackers to Disable the Solution? Tools are harder to disable when installed on a server rather than a desktop How secure are your own servers? If filtering is provided by an Internet Service Provider or Application Service Provider, how secure are their servers?
40	Does the Solution Incorporate Ads or Gather Data? Are ads part of the product? Will information be gathered about users, either individually or in aggregate? How is that information used? Are you familiar with requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act?
41	What About Non-English Speakers? Do you need to address the needs of these students? Can children subvert controls by making requests in foreign languages?
42	Will Your Solution Serve Your Future Needs? Can it accommodate a larger network and more computers? What future enhancements are planned? If students will use other devices to access the Internet, how will you deal with them?
43	A Review of Questions to Consider Who will decide what kinds of sites will be blocked? What kinds of content are a concern? What has the experience been with the solution? Are users notified when they try to access a blocked site? Does the solution manage other kinds of content besides Web sites? How easy would it be for hackers to disable the solution? Does the solution incorporate ads or gather data? What about non-English speakers? Will the solution serve your future needs?
44	Where to Turn for More Information Safeguarding the Wired Schoolhouse www.safewiredschools.org Created by the Consortium for School Networking (www.cosn.org) CoSN’s CIPA Compliance Guide available at http://www.cosn.org/members/cipa.htm For more information on E-rate CIPA requirements, see www.sl.universalservice.org