Georgia Public Schools Blocking LGBT Websites?

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Georgia have written to Gwinnett County Public Schools to highlight that a new web filtering system the district is running is improperly configured to block many LGBT support related sites.

The ACLU first sent letters to school administrators back in May reminding that this is in fact illegal, violating both the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the federal Equal Access Act which calls for equal access to school resources.

The ACLU feels the problem originates from a newly implemented filtering software and that schools may not even realize this content is being restricted. They warn, however, that the problem must be addressed in order to ensure LGBT students can access vital support materials.

From the ACLU press release:

“The administration at Brookwood High School has always been really supportive, but a few weeks ago the web filter system at our school was changed, and suddenly websites that I’d been using all year to plan activities for our gay-straight alliance club started being blocked,” said Nowmee Shehab, a senior and the president of the GSA. “Students need to be able to find information about their rights and about suicide and bullying prevention, and now they’re not able to get to information that’s really important for them.”

“There could be school districts throughout Georgia that have activated anti-LGBT filters without realizing it,” said Chara Jackson, Legal Director for the ACLU of Georgia. “Schools need to make sure that their filtering software is properly configured to provide viewpoint-neutral access to important educational resources.”

Blue Coat’s filtering software includes a category called “LGBT” that blocked access to educational LGBT-related websites that are not sexually explicit in any way. The ACLU discovered that public schools across the country had improperly activated the “LGBT” filter and blocked access to sites such as the Gay Straight Alliance Network; the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and the It Gets Better Project, which provides resources for students who experience anti-LGBT bullying. Many schools activated the filter in the mistaken belief that it blocked sexually explicit content.

Last week, one of Blue Coat’s competitors, Lightspeed Systems, announced that it would remove a similar filter from its software, which blocked access to educational LGBT websites. Blue Coat is one of five filtering companies identified by the ACLU that continue to use a specialized filter designed to target LGBT content that is not pornographic or sexually explicit.

“We hope that Blue Coat follows Lightspeed’s lead and its ‘LGBT’ filter, which is designed to discriminate against LGBT viewpoints,” said Joshua Block, staff attorney with the ACLU LGBT Project. “The vast majority of school districts have no desire to discriminate against LGBT-related content and are simply trying to protect their students from pornographic or sexually explicit materials. Why should a software company include a feature that could be mistakenly activated and cause the school to violate the Constitution? By failing to step in to remove its ‘LGBT’ feature, Blue Coat is doing a disservice to its customers and the students they serve.”

School administrators have said the matter is under investigation, with Sloan Roach, a spokeswoman for the school system, quoted in the Advocate as saying that children are allowed to challenge the software if they believe material is being improperly filtered and that such blocks can be removed on that basis, however she also said “I don’t know the extent that there are categories or certain words that the filter picks up on.”

As part of its “Don’t Filter Me” campaign, the ACLU is asking school students across America to check if their school is illegally blocking access to LGBT-friendly websites. You can find out more by clicking here, where there is an instructional video from the ACLU on just how to do a check and how to report cases to the ACLU if you find your school is blocking these sites.

Photo used under the Creative Commons Attribution License with thanks to NotionsCapital.com

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Martha E.

8:33PM PDT on Jul 31, 2011

I am so sick of "authorities" trying to make us all the same. Let all people be themselves.

send a green star

KrassiAWAY B.

8:57AM PDT on Jun 10, 2011

Interesting.

Norma V.

3:15AM PDT on Jun 10, 2011

What should be banned and what is appropriate for the students? We are heading back to the days of burning books and crosses on lawns, supporting slavery, and keeping the good old boys in power.

Marie W.

11:11PM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

Sure block the Internet, tear up all the books, magazines and newspapers and lock the kids in a closet until 18 that will fix it.

Barbara S.

12:09PM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

Well, what do you expect from religious, white-controlled, southern states? But I wonder what they expect should be said when a child has two mothers or two fathers who love their children just as much as the rest of us love ours? Those children are usually younger than the 8th grade...

Lucy D.

11:27AM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

The TN state legislature has just made it illegal to use the word "gay" in K-8 classrooms. I wonder if the ACLU can intervene here? It gets more embarrassing every day to admit one is a Tennessean. The amendment barring gay marriage and civil union a few years ago passed by an overwhelming majority.

Glen P.

10:26AM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

Well it depends on the sites.

Many LGBT sites are fine, but others that you would THINK should be fine, also display banner ads and such featuring provocative shirtless or otherwise sexually suggestive men, for dating sites (or worse).

Any decent site promoting the values of gay rights, equality, inclusiveness, anti-defamation, health, and generally helpful news and information, should NOT feature any such advertisements, or other overtly sexually suggestive imagery.

And that's coming from ME, one of the most ardent gay rights supporters you'll ever meet.

Amanda M.

8:11AM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

Good for the ACLU! Censorship such as this is wrong, and it needs to be stopped so that students can access truly educational sites such as this! It's still hard enough growing up LGBT in today's world with all the close-minded religious homophobic bigots around without being able to find websites that truly educate you about who you are, not brainwash you into thinking you're a "freak" and "perverted" and persona non grata in the mainstream world!

Kenny W.

6:56AM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

Not surprising for a state that use to support slavery.

Wayne M.

6:19AM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

I fully agree that sites offering erotic sexual material should be blocked, but sites offering LGBT positive information that will help LGBT youth accept their sexuality, learn to live it in ways that are healthy and responsible and seek fulfilling, meaningful information need to be encouraged. Furthermore, sites that help LGBT youth and all youth who are dealing with homophobic bullying also need to be encouraged.

It is the responsibility of schools to help youth prepare for the challenges of life-- even when dealing with controversial topics.