The ACLU Sues School Districts for Blocking Students’ Access to Certain Websites
May 20, 2009
As many as 100 school districts in Tennessee are using special software that blocks public school students from accessing certain websites containing inappropriate content through the Internet. While this practice makes sense, it inevitably raises issues about what content is appropriate and what is not.
Earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned school districts in Tennessee that the blocking software they were using was inappropriately denying students online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues. The ACLU warned that if this practice contuse, they would take appropriate legal action.
On May 19, the ACLU sued Metro Nashville and Knox County schools in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The group filed its lawsuit on behalf of two high school students in Nashville, one student in Knoxville, and a high school librarian in Knoxville who is the advisor of the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA).
This may become a landmark case that could have a dramatic impact on what online material public school students can see. An ACLU spokesperson expressed hope this issue can be resolved, at least in Tennessee, in time for the 2009-2010 school year.
