WEB PAGE SUPERVISION AND ENFORCEMENT
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Protecting students, staff and schools from the hazards of the Internet

Top Stories

Court: Schools Must Let Parents View Internet-Use Logs (eSchool News, 11/2000)
Teachers Don't Want the Blame when Kids Misuse School Computers (eSchool News, 9/2000)
What's Too Much What's Too Little? See How Libraries are Caught in the Crossfire over Internet Filtering (eSchool News, 3/99)
Pause in the Rush to Get Online Might Prevent a Law Suit (eSchool News, 3/99)
Ethics & Law: Internet filtering: It's OK but NOT the Panacea (eSchool News, 8/98)
Ethics & Law: Use Old-Fashioned Vigilance to Fight High-Tech Indecency (eSchool News, 3/98)

 

Internet, E-Mail, and Computer use Enforcement

There is no "perfect" solution to the challenges students ncounter n the Internet. Content Filtering addresses only a small number of problems in certain domains. Even in the domains on which it focuses (i.e. pornography) it is not a perfect tool. School's can be lulled into a false sense of security or overuse these tools to subjectively filter content that crosses the line into censorship.

Acceptable Use Policies (AUP's) by themselves provide some protection; but if there is inadequate supervision and enforcement these policies become less valid. Education of students, staff, and parents is a key component of an effective risk management strategy Another area where AUP's lose their effectiveness is if the daily practice of the school does not follow the policy. The further the school's practices stray from the written policy the more vulnerable the school is in litigation situations.

Enforcement - What to do when someone violates the policy?

Due Process
If the Internet is declared an important instructional tool in the school's AUP then it should not be revoked without due process. (Note: You may temporarily suspend student accounts pending a hearing.) Due process does not have to complicated:

1. Provide notice to the student of the alleged violation.
2. Provide an opportunity for the student to respond at a hearing attended by a parent or guardian.
3. Do not suspend or expel the student in advance of a hearing.

The following links are examples of districts that acted without considering the students 14th and 1st Amendment rights:

Case Where A School Has Been Upheld in their Actions:
  • PA District Within Rights Expelling Student Over Web Site (eSchool News 9/99)

    In most cases when parents are made aware of the student's infractions they will voluntarily take down the student web site. There are also cases where the school offers to drop criminal charges if the parents make restitution for the damage done to the school's computer system. Regardless of the nature of the incident, the school should handle all disciplinary matters with a formal process which is documented.

Take Enforcement Seriously
Many teachers observe violations of the school's AUP and turn their heads or "wink" at the behavior as harmless pranks. If the employees in charge of supervising and monitoring the use of the school's electronic systems do not consistently enforce the policy, it calls into question whether the policy is valid. In many schools today there is a double standard when it comes to vandalism. If a student breaks into the school and destroys thousands of dollars of school property there is no hesitation in bringing charges against the student. If the same student were to break into the school's computer system and place a virus on it that caused thousands of dollars of damage it is looked upon differently.

One school has created its own disciplinary approach. Read:

Students when confronted with their actions in disciplinary hearings often reveal that it was "just a joke". This is true in cases of e-mail threats to the President, e-mails threatening classmates and teachers, Internet bomb threats, and vandalizing the school's web site or administrative system. It is important to remember that often these are serious crimes. The following are just a few of the charges brought against students and/or administrators in our local schools:

  • 1st Degree Computer Tampering - Felony
  • 3rd Degree Computer Tampering - Felony
  • 1st Degree Attempt to Distribute Indecent Materials to Minors - Felony
  • 2nd Degree Aggravated Harassment - Misdemeanor

Serious computer crime is on the rise. The FBI Innocent Images Task Force is charged with protecting minors from online pedophiles. Fifteen of the 58 FBI offices in the country have Innocent Images Task Forces. They report that there were 700 cases involving pedophiles in 1998 and that these cases increased to 1,500 cases in 1999. The Westchester County Computer Crimes office has prosecuted (28) offenders in the last 18 months with a 100% conviction rate.

Plan Your Response
In addition to dealing with due process procedures for students, schools should prepare an incident response procedure. It is interesting that in a recent survey by the FBI only 17% of parents could name a specific authority to report an online offense. In the event of an incident the school should have a procedure in place with the correct phone numbers that deals with the following:

  • Who should you call?
  • When should you escalate the issue?
  • How should you contain the damage or secure the evidence?
  • What kind of long-term response should be taken?

The Westchester County DA's office has provided some basic guidelines to local schools on reporting Internet threats:

-Westchester Letter

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Site Last Updated: May 29, 2001.
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