School Based Discrimination
Tennessee Schools Blocking Access to LGBT Based Sites
First Article
As many as 107 Tennessee public school districts could be illegally preventing students from accessing online information about LGBT issues by activating the Internet filtering category designated “LGBT,” says a letter from the ACLU to school officials at Knox County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative.
As a result of using the Educational Networks of America (ENA) filtering software students using school computers cannot view political and educational information about LGBT issues and well-known nationals organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and the Human Rights Campaign.
The filter, however, lets students access sites that encourage “reparative therapy” for changing sexual orientation, a practice that has been denounced as dangerous by the American Medical & Psychiatric Associations
ACLU Asks Tennessee Schools to Stop Banning Gay Educational Sites
By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 4/19/2009 9:12:00 PM
A school librarian and two high school students from Tennessee have sought the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, saying that their school district has blocked access to online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues.
As many as 107 Tennessee public school districts could be illegally preventing students from accessing online information about LGBT issues by activating the Internet filtering category designated “LGBT,” says a letter from the ACLU to school officials at Knox County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative.
As a result of using the Educational Networks of America (ENA) filtering software students using school computers cannot view political and educational information about LGBT issues and well-known nationals organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and the Human Rights Campaign.
The filter, however, lets students access sites that encourage “reparative therapy” for changing sexual orientation, a practice that has been denounced as dangerous by the American Medical & Psychiatric Associations.
Karyn Storts-Brinks, a librarian at Fulton High School in Knoxville tried to no avail to unblock LGBT sites for her students in August 2007 by contacting the filtering company and individuals in her district.
“One of the problems with this software is that it only allows students access to one side of information about topics that are part of the public debate right now,” says Storts-Brinks, pointing out that the software blocks access to organizations that support marriage for same-sex couples like the Religious Coalition for Freedom to Marry or the Interfaith Working Group, while allowing access to organizations that oppose marriage equality. “Students who need to do research for assignments on current events can only get one viewpoint, keeping them from being able to cover both sides of the issue.”
Storts-Brinks, along with Andrew Emitt, 17, of Knoxville Central High School, and Eric Austin, a senior at Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville, all separately contacted the ACLU.
“When I found out about this web filtering software, I wasn’t looking for anything sexual or inappropriate - I was looking for information about scholarships for LGBT students, and I couldn’t get to it because of this software,” Emitt says. “Our schools shouldn’t be keeping students in the dark about LGBT organizations and resources.”
The ACLU of Tennessee, along with the national ACLU LGBT Project, and the national ACLU First Amendment Project, is asking the school districts to respond by April 29 whether they will “end this unlawful censorship or we will have no choice but to seek other remedies, including filing a lawsuit.”
The letter goes on to say that the computer filter “not only violates the law but does a disservice to the education of your students.”
Noelle Mashburn, a spokesman for the Nashville Schools told School Library Journal that the letter was received and “We are reviewing everything and deciding where to go.” No federal or state law requires school districts to block access to LGBT sites. Tennessee law only requires schools to implement filtering software to restrict information that’s deemed obscene or harmful to minors. About 80 percent of Tennessee public schools, including those in the Knox County and Metro Nashville districts, use filtering software provided by ENA, and the software’s default setting blocks sites ENA categorizes as LGBT.
The Tennessee Association of School Librarians supports Storts-Brinks and the students. “Our organization upholds the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights which supports that students have a variety of points of views available to them,” says Bruce Hester, the organization’s president and a middle school librarian.
Tennessee students, teachers, or school librarians whose schools use the ENA Web filtering software and find that their access to LGBT sites are restricted are encouraged to contact the ACLU of Tennessee calling 615-320-7142 or emailing the at aclutn@aclu-tn.org.
Schools in other states that are being denied access to these sites should contact the LGBT Project at the ACLU or call 212-549-2673.
Its interesting how specific sites are now being blocked. I remember keyword blocks from my days in high school where "Chicken Breast" would be blocked but not other less reputable searches. Now, it seems schools are taking more and more of a proactive stance in how children should be raised and 'protected'. This is on the heels of the Supreme Court case today about school's rights to strip search students.
First Article
As many as 107 Tennessee public school districts could be illegally preventing students from accessing online information about LGBT issues by activating the Internet filtering category designated “LGBT,” says a letter from the ACLU to school officials at Knox County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative.
As a result of using the Educational Networks of America (ENA) filtering software students using school computers cannot view political and educational information about LGBT issues and well-known nationals organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and the Human Rights Campaign.
The filter, however, lets students access sites that encourage “reparative therapy” for changing sexual orientation, a practice that has been denounced as dangerous by the American Medical & Psychiatric Associations
ACLU Asks Tennessee Schools to Stop Banning Gay Educational Sites
By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 4/19/2009 9:12:00 PM
A school librarian and two high school students from Tennessee have sought the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, saying that their school district has blocked access to online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues.
As many as 107 Tennessee public school districts could be illegally preventing students from accessing online information about LGBT issues by activating the Internet filtering category designated “LGBT,” says a letter from the ACLU to school officials at Knox County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative.
As a result of using the Educational Networks of America (ENA) filtering software students using school computers cannot view political and educational information about LGBT issues and well-known nationals organizations such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and the Human Rights Campaign.
The filter, however, lets students access sites that encourage “reparative therapy” for changing sexual orientation, a practice that has been denounced as dangerous by the American Medical & Psychiatric Associations.
Karyn Storts-Brinks, a librarian at Fulton High School in Knoxville tried to no avail to unblock LGBT sites for her students in August 2007 by contacting the filtering company and individuals in her district.
“One of the problems with this software is that it only allows students access to one side of information about topics that are part of the public debate right now,” says Storts-Brinks, pointing out that the software blocks access to organizations that support marriage for same-sex couples like the Religious Coalition for Freedom to Marry or the Interfaith Working Group, while allowing access to organizations that oppose marriage equality. “Students who need to do research for assignments on current events can only get one viewpoint, keeping them from being able to cover both sides of the issue.”
Storts-Brinks, along with Andrew Emitt, 17, of Knoxville Central High School, and Eric Austin, a senior at Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville, all separately contacted the ACLU.
“When I found out about this web filtering software, I wasn’t looking for anything sexual or inappropriate - I was looking for information about scholarships for LGBT students, and I couldn’t get to it because of this software,” Emitt says. “Our schools shouldn’t be keeping students in the dark about LGBT organizations and resources.”
The ACLU of Tennessee, along with the national ACLU LGBT Project, and the national ACLU First Amendment Project, is asking the school districts to respond by April 29 whether they will “end this unlawful censorship or we will have no choice but to seek other remedies, including filing a lawsuit.”
The letter goes on to say that the computer filter “not only violates the law but does a disservice to the education of your students.”
Noelle Mashburn, a spokesman for the Nashville Schools told School Library Journal that the letter was received and “We are reviewing everything and deciding where to go.” No federal or state law requires school districts to block access to LGBT sites. Tennessee law only requires schools to implement filtering software to restrict information that’s deemed obscene or harmful to minors. About 80 percent of Tennessee public schools, including those in the Knox County and Metro Nashville districts, use filtering software provided by ENA, and the software’s default setting blocks sites ENA categorizes as LGBT.
The Tennessee Association of School Librarians supports Storts-Brinks and the students. “Our organization upholds the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights which supports that students have a variety of points of views available to them,” says Bruce Hester, the organization’s president and a middle school librarian.
Tennessee students, teachers, or school librarians whose schools use the ENA Web filtering software and find that their access to LGBT sites are restricted are encouraged to contact the ACLU of Tennessee calling 615-320-7142 or emailing the at aclutn@aclu-tn.org.
Schools in other states that are being denied access to these sites should contact the LGBT Project at the ACLU or call 212-549-2673.
Its interesting how specific sites are now being blocked. I remember keyword blocks from my days in high school where "Chicken Breast" would be blocked but not other less reputable searches. Now, it seems schools are taking more and more of a proactive stance in how children should be raised and 'protected'. This is on the heels of the Supreme Court case today about school's rights to strip search students.