Compliance with Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
and E-Rate Funding 

OVERVIEW OF CHILDREN'S INTERNET PROTECTION ACT (CIPA)

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted by Congress in December 2000. It mandates the use of filtering or blocking technology by public libraries and elementary and secondary schools that receive specified federal funding for Internet connectivity or hardware. These filtering requirements affect the ESEA program, the LSTA grant program and Universal Service E-rate discounts. The ESEA and LSTA amendments state that no grant funds may be used to access the Internet, or to pay for direct costs associated with accessing the Internet, unless the school or library has an Internet safety policy for minors (under age 17) that includes filtering for any computer with Internet access. The E-rate provision applies to discounts received for Internet access only and also requires filtering. The filters must protect against access to visual depictions that are-

• Obscene
• Child pornography; or
• Harmful to minors.

All computers that connected to the Internet must be filtered, although the law does allow the filter to be turned off for persons doing bona fide research.

The Internet safety policy required under this law must be passed after a public hearing and must address:

• access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and World Wide Web;
• the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications;
• unauthorized access, including so-called 'hacking', and other unlawful activities by minors on line;
• unauthorized disclosure, use and dissemination of personal identification information regarding minors; and
• measures designed to restrict minors' access to materials harmful to minors.

The law states the first year after it goes into effect a school corporation must certify that it either has an Internet Safety Policy that includes filtering or is undertaking actions to put such a policy in place. In the second year a corporation must be using filters or lose funding. Corporations are advised to only certify that they are taking action and studying the issue in the first year since that is allowed. That will give more time for the final impact of the law to be assessed.

Since the funding the Intelenet Commission provides for Internet connections depends on e-rate discounts to cover all schools, if the law is still in effect in 2002, schools will be required to filter all computers or pay the previously discounted portion of their monthly bill.