When trying to access a website blocked by Portland Public Schools, Franklin students are met with this screen. The district does not outline their process for restricting access. Photo credit: Oscar Ponteri
Portland Public Schools (PPS) is required by federal law to maintain an internet safety policy, but where is the line drawn when it comes to censoring content? The district has blocked a confusing array of websites ranging from Sports Illustrated (si.com) to Cool Math Games (coolmathgames.com). Furthermore, the district’s technology policy does not disclose the process for restricting a website, nor do they cite specific guidelines to determine standards for blocking beyond reiterating the language of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
In 2000, Congress passed CIPA, which requires schools to block Internet access to pictures that are obscene, pornographic, or harmful to minors. Following the directive, PPS implemented a monitoring program called Securly in 2021 to filter content. The program allows the district to customize what content and websites users can access. With very little explanation of when content crosses a line, students often find themselves perplexed when landing on the ‘blocked screen.’ PPS was unable to provide further information regarding their technology-use policy and process by the time of publishing.
Franklin senior Lev Michaels recently tried to access an Esquire article titled “EPA Moves to Protect Bristol Bay Salmon from Pebble Mine,” when he was blocked by PPS due to “Other Adult Content.” “I was confused and frustrated that it was blocked because I was trying to deepen my knowledge on a completely school-appropriate topic only to find I could not,” he remarked.
In another instance, a Franklin student was bothered to see a non-explicit song about homosexuality, Boys in Kaleidosphere by Mili, blocked on Youtube. Two lines from the song read “Let’s escape to somewhere we can be ourselves again / Where happily ever after is not only for queens and kings,” implying the singer’s love interest is of the same gender. The song does include an allusion to self-harm saying, “I held your head and ran towards the edge.” However, other songs from the same artist that include similarly explicit references to violence like “I pulled the trigger bang bang… let me finish you bang bang bang” are not blocked.
The invisible line of restriction causes confusion among students and staff alike. “I think there are some high-quality educational websites that are being blocked without review,” said Franklin librarian Ayn Frazee; “I’ve had poetry websites that are blocked because maybe they had some keywords that those internet filters are looking for.” Securly provides little description of why websites are blocked besides citing that they must fit into one of their 14 categories including pornography, drugs, gambling, social media, hate, games, and social networking.
In addition to restricting websites, Securly allows PPS to monitor browser history, the amount of time spent on a device, and gives parents the ability to block websites on their child’s device. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows parents to request a student’s records from the district. However, as stated by Baron Rodriguez, the director of the U.S Department of Education’s Privacy Technical Assistance Center, “FERPA is very unclear around the protection of electronic student records.”
This can be dangerous: “If you were researching a particularly sensitive topic and a parent had access to that browsing history, it could potentially be a sticking point for the parent-kid relationship,” said Frazee. She went on to cite the possibility of LGBTQIA+ students being outed as a potential consequence of the monitoring.
Confidentiality is not part of PPS policy: according to the Student and Staff Acceptable Use of District Technology Policy, anyone using the district network “should have no expectation of privacy regarding their use of District property, network and/or Internet access, files, and other District systems including e-mail.”
Students have found workarounds to restrictions in several situations. For example, with blocked content on Youtube, inserting a hyphen between the “t” and “u” in the site address allows students to watch restricted videos. Teachers and students can also request for permissions to be changed by clicking “Ask for permission” and filing a report when Securly redirects them from a site. In addition, once 18 years old, students have a right to request the termination of Securly which operates under the umbrella of FERPA and CIPA, expiring when a student reaches adulthood.
Frazee believes blocking certain websites on public devices is necessary in many scenarios, but ultimately, “taking away the right to choose from educators and students adds another stumbling block in the pursuit of knowledge.” The future of PPS’ technology policy is unclear; however, bound by federal law, monitoring and content filtering is certain to stick around no matter what software the district adopts.
