Why do we BLOCK? Web filters in Independent Schools (Some Preliminary Thoughts)

Enthusiasm for the transformational power of the internet on our society and education has been, not surprisingly, matched by fear of what our children and students might find, or how they might be found, in this electronic environment.

Since 2000, the Children's Internet Protection Act has mandated that all K-12 schools must filter internet content to protect children from harms way on the internet.  This filtering is a condition of federal funding.  There have been a number of attempts to change this law, most notably the American Library Association vs. the Unitied States, which was filed in 2001 and settled by the Supreme Court in 2003.  In this suit, the ALA fought to defend the notion of the first amendment in public and school libraries.  Central to their argument was the concern about a digital divide among those children who had access to information from computers in their homes and those (primarily of lower socioeconomic status) who did not have access to that same information. 

The US Supreme Court upheld the law but emphasized that adult patrons of the libraries could have the filter lifted for "bona fide" research purposes.  However, it does not define that term well.  Essentially, users have to justify their unfiltered search to a librarian and then librarian, if they see fit, should have the ability to lift the filter in a timely fashion. 

In 2006 there was an additional effort at legislation to block all social media sites called the "Deleting Online Predators Act".  This Act has been bouncing around the US House of Representatives and the Senate since it's introduction.  There is consensus that online predators are a danger to children, but there is lack of agreement on the tools that should be employed to limit their access to kids without having a detrimental impact on children's' education.  Predictably, the ALA has taken a strong stance against this bill. 

In independent schools, there has always been a spirit of liberty from many of the regulations and procedures that Public Schools are obliged to follow based on their receipt of federal funding.  Still, in an increasingly litigious society, independent schools are often compelled to look at questions such as these with an eye towards risk management and "What would they say if X happened?"  In this scenario, X is the legal counsel of one of our students and the folks making the decisions are often lawyers, business officers and insurance company  representatives. 

Consequently, independent school teachers and even school curricular leadership are often left out of the discussion causing frustration or confusion about why we filter the internet content of our students. While (with good reason) we tend to trust in the expertise of people in these roles, we also owe it to our students and the future to ask good questions about our practice in limiting their access to content online.  

(This is the first page or so of a conference proposal I am preparing for teachers-- I don't want it to be "How to piss off your IT department, but rather, "How to Ask Informed Questions About What We Do".  Any thoughts would be rewarded with deep admiration.)

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