Re: Filtering Mandates in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill (H.R. 4577)

Dear Conferee:

On behalf of millions of parents, teachers, librarians, school administrators, school board members and educators, we write to express our strong opposition to sweeping mandatory Internet filtering requirements for schools and libraries in the Labor Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill (H.R. 4577) currently in conference. Please, send the President a bill that respects local control and trusts local decision making.

When H.R. 4577 was first passed, House and Senate versions included two such requirements, one sponsored by Senator John McCain and one by Representative Ernest Istook. The Senate version also included language sponsored by Senator Santorum that provided a more flexible requirement for local schools and libraries to develop comprehensive Internet use policies OR install filtering software on their E-rate funded computers. The undersigned organizations opposed both the McCain and Istook amendments.

The principal sponsors of these provisions have come to an agreement that in no way represents genuine compromise. Instead, the current language that is expected to emerge from the conference puts unprecedented federal mandates on technology, curriculum and collection decisions made by local schools and libraries, far beyond anything passed by the entire House or Senate.

The new language requires libraries receiving either E-rate or LSTA funding, and schools receiving such funding or Title III funding, towards the cost of computers or Internet connectivity to install and use technology which filters or blocks material that is obscene, child pornography, and material that is harmful to minors. These filters would have to be installed and used on all Internet-connected computers.

This broad reach raises significant constitutional concerns, particularly about the rights of adults to gain access to constitutionally protected material that is blocked by filtering software. In November 1998, a federal district court in Virginia found this type of library policy in violation of the First Amendment. (Mainstream Loudoun vs Loudoun County Library Board of Trustees) The new requirement that librarians and teachers review adult Internet use "for bona fide research or other lawful purposes" before filtering or blocking software can be turned off imposes an unprecedented level of interference with the privacy and First Amendment rights of adults and older minors.

New language also requires schools to monitor the online activities of minors through supervisory or technological means. While nearly every school in the United States already supervises minors¹ online activity, promoting the use of technological monitoring software raises serious privacy and security concerns that have not been examined by Congress.

Across the nation, communities are already working to assure that children's Internet access is properly guided. Internet use policies, innovative family educational programs, and contracts with children and families are only a few of the protective measures besides filtering software that some schools and libraries have implemented. Some schools and libraries have chosen to use technological content controls, while many others have found them useful in some but not all settings. Many other libraries and schools have reviewed available software and determined that they are not a good solution for their local institutions. All have made the decision based on local norms and educational philosophies, and at the direction of local parents and their school and library boards, and in at least one case, even a local ballot initiative.

Federal filtering mandates disregard local policymaking prerogatives. Instead they require local decisionmakers to select among a few marketable national norms developed as business plans by filtering software companies. Federal filtering mandates also impose financial and administrative burdens on schools and libraries, and increase the risk of liability for the technical and constitutional shortcomings of filtering technology. Purchasing, installing, and maintaining this software can be an expensive proposition at a time when many schools and libraries are struggling to connect to the Internet. Allowing "E-rate" discounts to be used to purchase blocking and filtering technology provides little relief from this financial burden and prevents schools and libraries from using these discounts where the need is greatest.

We share Congress¹ desire for children to have age-appropriate, safe and educational online experiences in the classroom and library. However, we believe that imposition of a complex federal "one-size-fits-all" mandate for achieving that goal is wrong and tramples unwisely on local decision-making. There is absolutely no evidence that blocking and filtering technology is the best or only way to guide Internet activities, or that local school and library bodies cannot be trusted to assure that children's Internet behavior in these institutions is responsibly and carefully guided. A federal mandate for filtering software would usurp that local role and mandate a costly and burdensome "solution" while adding little to the protection of our children.

We urge you to drop the sweeping mandatory filtering and monitoring requirements from H.R. 4577, Appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and instead to send the President a bill that respects local control and trusts local decisionmaking.

Sincerely,

American Association of School Administrators
American Association of University Women
American Library Association
Association of Educational Service Agencies
Council of Chief State School Officers
Council of the Great City Schools
Consortium for School Networking
International Society for Technology in Education
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Independent Schools
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Education Association
National PTA
National Rural Education Association
National School Boards Association
People for the American Way
Rural School and Community Trust

cc: Senator Trent Lott, Senate Majority Leader
Senator Thomas Daschle, Minority Leader
Representative Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House
Representative Richard Gephardt - House Minority Leader
John Podesta, White House Chief of Staff
Richard Riley, Secretary of Education

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