CIPA Language and Resources for Schools
February 10, 2012
~ CTCs Addressed Below ~
In September 2011 the FCC released the new CIPA rules which require schools' Internet Safety Policies to include by July 1, 2012 - "... 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 are required to teach online safety to ALL students as a prerequisite to receiving E-rate funding beginning with the 2012 school year.
In December 2011 I asked E-rate PA listserve members for copies of school Internet Safety Policies that had been updated to reflect the new requirement and several dozen schools sent me their policies (thank you!). In searching for the best examples to share with you, I discovered that some policies had been updated, but many policies were not CIPA compliant because while the policies included language prohibiting cyberbullying, the policies hadn't been updated to reflect that the school is educating (or will educate) students with respect to appropriate online safety, cyberbullying, et al. Some policies said the school "may" educate students about online safety (the term 'may' isn't CIPA compliant because CIPA isn't a choice).
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR ISP OR AUP IS CIPA COMPLIANT?
It's very easy. If your school's Internet Safety Policy (or Acceptable Use Policy) doesn't contain at least this minimal language, you need to revise your policy before July 1, 2012: "The school district will educate all students about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response."
SAMPLE POLICIES
1) The Erie City School District's revised Student AUP Policy (http://www.eriesd.org/ecsd/media/files/pdf/AUP_Student.pdf) is particularly good because it includes this language:
"Students are required to complete an Internet safety course. The curriculum focuses on educating students about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response. The course consists of an interactive presentation and will be completed prior to the end of the first semester of the school year. Students enrolling after the first semester are required to participate individually with a designated presenter. All students in grades 3‐12 will sign a verification form indicating they have participated in the course. Students in grades K‐2 will not be required to sign off, but the designated presenter will list the names of those who complete the K‐2 instruction.”
2) The Butler Area School District's ISP is also very good: http://www.psba.org/districts_policies/b/80/POLBUTL815.pdf.
3) The Penn Manor School District's 1-page Internet Safety Policy is a great model for a concise, compliant policy: http://www.pennmanor.net/techblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/iSafetyPolicy2010.pdf.
ONLINE SAFETY EDUCATION OUTLINES BY GRADE
Just as important as having your ISP updated to be CIPA compliant is the actual cyber safety training that must begin with the 2012 school year. Attached are two resources that may be of assistance as you begin your implementation planning (please note that this is not an exhaustive list, nor is it a PDE-approved list):
-- The Northern York County School District has developed an Internet Safety and Cyberbullying Implementation Plan for each grade which is particularly well done and is attached to this message.
-- West Virginia also has developed a Cyber Safety Curriculum example for each grade which is attached for your review.
ONLINE SAFETY EDUCATION ONLINE RESOURCES
(please note that this is not an exhaustive list, nor is it a PDE-approved list):
-- iSafe online safety lesson plans and videos are free to all public schools (as well as nonpublic schools on PAIUnet) from June 2011 - July 2012, and will be offered at a significantly reduced rate to PAIUnet members in the 2012 and 2013 school years. If you are not taking advantage of this free resource this year, contact your Intermediate Unit for more information.
-- Common Sense Media has a wide array of free online curriculum materials for Digital Literacy and Citizenship: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum.
-- National PTA Association's website contains valuable free resources: http://www.pta.org/topic_internet_safety.asp.
-- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website contains online games and resources: http://www.nsteens.org/TeachingMaterials and http://www.netsmartz.org/Educators.
-- The National Criminal Justice Reference Service's website is filled with great resources: https://www.ncjrs.gov/internetsafety.
CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER GUIDANCE
I have received several inquiries from CTCs asking whether they ALSO have to provide the online safety training to students when the students are receiving the training from their 'sending districts' already. After discussing the issue with E-rate program officials, I believe that if your CTC has an agreement with the 'sending district' to provide such online safety education (similar to what you may have already for math or English classes) then you may accurately certify on your E-rate applications that you are CIPA compliant with respect to the online training. However, please be sure to update your ISP to reflect this fact.
1-HOUR CIPA WORKSHOP AT PETE&C
For those attending the PETE&C Technology Conference in Hershey next week, I will be presenting a CIPA workshop entitled "The New CIPA Law: Are You Ready?" The session will be held on Wednesday, February 15, from 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
This message and the attached resources will be posted to the PA E-rate website in the near future and will be updated periodically as other CIPA resources are identified.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to 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
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