Committee2

July 14, 2015

Superintendent Bednar,

As members of the Bloomingtown Technological Committee, we have formulated a proposal to address our expanding need for Internet filtering. As a group, we have decided upon a few key points that we believe are essential to keeping our children safe on the internet, district wide.

In a survey conducted by the American Association of School Librarians, 4,299 participants were asked about how filters helped learning: "50% indicated filtering decreased the number of potential distractions, 34% indicated filtering decreased the need for direct supervision, and 23% indicated that filtering allowed research curriculum to yield more appropriate results." (Source: [] )

The Children's Protection Internet Act requires schools (and libraries) to have internet filtering that does the following: -block/filter obscene pictures, child pornography, and pictures harmful to minors -monitor online activities of minors -educate minors about appropriate online behavior Since the school would have an Internet filter system, they would be qualified for E-rated funding. E-rated schools receive discounted communication technologies from federal authorities.

With a sound, thorough program, we can ensure our children are safe from obscene, pornographic pictures and inappropriate materials, while monitoring online activities and educating minors about appropriate online behavior. We have researched several web-filtering programs and have concluded that Secure Web Gateway or SWG would be our best option. SWG by Smoothwall is an Internet filtering system that filters not only URLs but also filters based on content. Most filtering programs that block material based solely on URL’s can also unreasonably block useful educational material. We want the students to have access to as much material as possible without compromising their safety. Content filtering scans the pages for inappropriate material and blocks based on the school's filtering preferences. Teachers have the freedom to block and allow access to certain material as needed. In addition, SWG allows for filtering benefits to extend to personal devices, meaning families of students could utilize the software on home computers, enabling students to continue research outside of the school.

For accountability purposes, we have found an Internet safety contract that would be beneficial for parents, students and teachers to read and sign as a team. We have also included two websites below that may be valuable to you and the board during your decision making process: [] []

In conclusion, we reiterate that SWG is the best option for the suggested Internet filtering system. While protecting students from the inappropriate aspects of Internet use, SWG does not hinder students from accessing solid, educational content. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tiera Stoll Brook Fraley Rebekah Bosh Sara DeDona