Core components of a comprehensive strategy to empower young people to independently use the Internet in a safe and responsible manner.

Focus on the Educational Purpose

• Internet use should be directed to those activities which support education, enrichment, and career development, with the option of limited "open access" times.

• Support such educational use through professional development, technical and instructional support, Internet-based lesson plans, and an educational web site.

Safe Places for Elementary Students

• Primary focus on maintaining a safe and secure environment.

• Restrict access to sites that have been previewed to determine their educational appropriateness and use electronic communications in an open, moderated environment.

Education and Supervision for Secondary Students

• Primary focus on strategies that will help students learn to independently make safe and responsible choices and will ensure accountability through adequate supervision and monitoring.

Clear Policy that is Well-Communicated to Students, Staff, and Parents

• District policy should address:

• Restrictions on use related to the educational purpose of the system.

• The due process and limited privacy rights of students and staff.

• The kinds of material and activities that are considered inappropriate, including the types of material that is never appropriate, material that may be appropriate to meet a specific learning goal, and material that may be accessed during "open access" periods.

• Safety and security of students using electronic communications, including restrictions related to educational use . District should seek to protect students from receiving inappropriate spam messages.

• Illegal, inappropriate, and unauthorized activities, including network and computer security issues, copyright, plagiarism, and harmful speech.

• Protection of personal information and privacy of students, including provisions addressing student disclosure, posting of information on district web sites, and relationships with commercial and other Internet sites that may be requesting student information.

• District web management policies that address requirements related to posting of student information and work, disability access, management of concerns related to copyright infringement and harmful speech.

Education About the Safe and Responsible Use

• Students, staff, and parents should receive instruction related to the safe and responsible use of the Internet.

• Safety issues: avoiding and dealing with the inadvertent access of inappropriate material and receipt of inappropriate messages, protection of personal privacy, responding to online harassment, victimization, and predation, and addiction.

• Responsible use issues: online harmful speech, computer security violations, copyright, and plagiarism.

Supervision and Monitoring

• Student use of the Internet should be supervised by teachers in a manner that is appropriate for the age of the students and circumstances of use.

• Supervision and monitoring must be sufficient to establish the expectation that there is a high probability that instances of misuse will be detected and result in appropriate discipline.

• Students should be aware that they have a very limited expectation of privacy when they use the Internet at school, how monitoring will occur, and the circumstances under which a specific investigation of their online activities will occur.

• Parents should know that they have the right to access records of their child's Internet use to determine whether their child is acting in accord with family values.

Discipline

• Misuse of the Internet by students should be addressed in a manner that makes use of the "teachable moment."

• Instances of misuse should be evaluated to determine cause and remediation.

Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D., is affiliated with the Center for Advanced Technology in Education at the University of Oregon College of Education <http://netizen.uoregon.edu> and is director of the Responsible Netizen Institute <http://responsiblenetizen.org>. Ms. Willard testified before the NRC Committee and reviewed the draft report. She is author of Computer Ethics, Etiquette, and Safety for the 21st Century Student, published by the International Society for Technology in Education. Her report, Analysis of the Constitutionality of the Use of Commercial Filtering Software in Public Schools, is available on both of the above web sites. Her new book, Supporting the Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet by Students: A Guide for Schools, is available through the Responsible Netizen Institute web site.