Recommendations+Report+-+Internet+Safety


 * The following report cites the present status of HEB ISD's compliance with CIPA standards and offers brief recommendations to ensure the district's continued compliance.**



=Recommendations Report:= =//Federal CIPA Guidelines and HEB Student Internet Safety Policies//=  In 2001, the FCC implemented CIPA, or the Children’s Internet Protection Act, federal legislation enacted in response to concerns about student access to offensive content on school or library computers. (Federal Communications Commission, 2009)  CIPA policies are directly related to the distribution of E-Rate funds, which districts receive as part of the universal service initiative of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. (Federal Communications Commission, 2004)  Districts that accept an e-rate discount must comply with CIPA measures. (2009)  These measures fall into three major domains: 1) protection measures to block or filter Internet access to inappropriate pictures; 2) a policy to monitor online activities of minors; and 3) adopt and implement an Internet safety policy. (2009)    <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For compliance in the first domain, districts must have in place filter software that blocks content deemed to be 1) obscene, 2) child pornography, or 3) harmful to minors. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(2009) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Currently HEB ISD utilizes McAfee’s SmartFilter Version 4 as its Internet filtering software, and has configured the software to block sites tagged in 29 different categories; while some categories are blocked for all users, some categories are available to administrators. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Moore, 2007) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> McAfee offers specific information concerning the nature of the different categories, and examples of sights blocked in those categories. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(McAfee/Secure Computing Corporation, 2003) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> However, CIPA guidelines allow an authorized user the ability to unblock a website for a staff member if that site is to be used for a legitimate research purpose by the staff member. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Federal Communications Commission, 2009) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Teachers should be made aware of the process by which they may apply for access to a blocked site. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The second and third domains of the CIPA regulations involve implementation of policies to monitor the online conduct of minors and promote Internet safety <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Federal Communications Commission, 2009) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. HEB ISD complies with these mandates through its district technology policies, and the district website provides links to a variety of Internet safety resources for teachers and parents, including NetSmartz, OnGuard Online, and SafeKids.com. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(HEB Instructional Technology Department, 2010) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> However, Internet safety is not specifically addressed in district curriculum. Also, no district-wide program exists to educate elementary students about cyber-bullying, online predators, information protection, or unauthorized use of the Internet (‘hacking’). While the very highly qualified teachers of HEB ISD use classroom management techniques to monitor the online activities of students, the Elementary and Junior High Professional Development Frameworks do not include in their ‘Best Practices’ categories any courses pertaining to Internet safety <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(HEB ISD, 2007) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">HEB works diligently to maintain the safety of the learning environment for all students; however, as Continuous Improvement district, we must continue to look at the data to respond to student need. According to the YISS-2 study conducted by the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, while the overall percentage of children reporting an unwelcome sexual solicitation online decreased between 2000 and 2005, there was not a significant decline among Black youth, Hispanic youth, or youth from economically disadvantaged households. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Mitchell, Wolak, & Finkelhor, 2007, p. 121) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> As a Title I district with a significant minority population, these sobering statistics compel us to remain vigilant. <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"> =Works Cited<span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> = Federal Communications Commission. (2004, January 8). //E-rate.// Retrieved June 17, 2010, from FCC.gov: http://www.fcc.gov/learnnet/ Federal Communications Commission. (2009, September 9). //FCC Consumer Facts: Children's Internet Protection Act.// Retrieved June 17, 2010, from FCC.gov: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html HEB Instructional Technology Department. (2010). //Cyber Safety.// Retrieved June 18, 2010, from hebisd.edu: http://schoolctr.hebisd.edu/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=43076& HEB ISD. (2007, October 7). //Professional Development Framework.// Retrieved June 18, 2010, from blackboard.hebisd.edu: http://blackboard.hebisd.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_13_1 McAfee/Secure Computing Corporation. (2003). //SmartFilter Product Overview.// Retrieved June 17, 2010, from kc.McAfee.com: https://kc.mcafee.com/resources/sites/MCAFEE/content/live/PRODUCT_DOCUMENTATION/21000/PD21287/en_US/SF32ProductOverview.pdf Mitchell, K., Wolak, J., & Finkelhor, D. (2007). Trends in Youth Reports of Sexual Solicitations, Harassment, and Unwanted Exposure to Pornography on the Internet. //Journal of Adolescent Health//, 116-126. Moore, K. (2007, February). //Document Manager: Internet Filtering Information.// Retrieved June 17, 2010, from hebisd.edu: http://schoolctr.hebisd.edu/education/components/docmgr/default.php?sectiondetailid=42026&fileitem=47640