Update on New CIPA Law Implementation
June 16, 2011
Background: In October 2008, Congress passed the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act," which contained a provision requiring schools' Internet Safety Policies to include "... educating minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response." Essentially this means that schools will be required to teach online safety to students as a prerequisite to receiving E-rate funding. Although the law is more than 2 1/2 years old, the FCC has not yet released the official Order that will implement the new requirements and set deadlines for compliance.
Update: It was generally assumed that the FCC Order would be released in Spring 2011 and the new requirements would take effect July 1, 2011. But the Order has not yet gone on circulation at the FCC, which means it will not be approved by July 1. We also have learned that the Form 486 will need to be revised to modify the CIPA certifications -- a process which typically takes at least 4 months to complete. Therefore we can safely assume that the new provisions will not become effective July 1. We do not know if they will be effective in the middle of the 2011 funding year or if the FCC will make them effective July 1, 2012.
What will the new requirements be? Since the FCC Order has not yet been released, we cannot speculate as to the specific implementation requirements. But we do know that at a minimum, the law requires that schools' Internet Safety Policies must include provisions to educate minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chatrooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response. Therefore I recommend that you should begin updating your your Internet Safety Policy to include this new provision (if you haven't done so already). Be sure that your revised Internet Safety Policy is available for public comment at a public hearing (or public meeting) before it is adopted by your governing board (we have received informal advice from E-rate officials that this may be a requirement). In addition, your school should be thinking about how you will actually implement the new law when it does become effective, if you aren't providing such online behavior education already. (Libraries are exempt from the new provision.)
When the Order is released, we will develop a full FAQ for PA applicants.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact me at jtschell@comcast.net.
-- Julie
Julie Tritt Schell
PA E-rate Coordinator
717-730-7133 - o
717-730-9060 - f
jtschell@comcast.net
www.e-ratepa.org
Penn*link
| 
Back to 2011 Archives Main