Wake school board approves new internet filtering, monitoring technology :: WRAL.com

The Wake County Board of Education approved a new contract Tuesday night for filtering and monitoring students’ internet activities.

Students, staff and families have raised concerns in recent years about the effectiveness of the Wake County Public School System’s current internet filtering tools, namely that websites are inconsistently blocked, that students are distracted by YouTube videos, and that teachers have a limited ability to view students’ online activities.

The board approved 8-0 a more than $330,000, one-year contract with Howard Technology Solutions, following a pilot program with the company’s Lightspeed Internet Content Filter and Lightspeed Insights. Board Member Toshiba Rice was absent from the meeting, as she works through recent health challenges.

District Information Security Office Eric Hoth said he’d heard from a parent as recently as Monday, concerned about the district’s web filtering system.

The district’s web filtering tool might flag a teacher’s biology video but allow students to access gaming websites, Hoth said. It also doesn’t allow the district to limit YouTube displays or scour student web activity to see if they are sharing links that are blocked, he said.

The new technology more consistently filters the correct pages and allows the district to block any links on YouTube other than a single video, such as the video a classroom teacher has shared with students. That means no recommended videos, which have been a huge distraction for students, Hoth said.

Board members thanked the school system for finding a solution to the problem, which they’ve been hearing about from parents.

“I’ve gotten several calls over the years from parents about filters…. different ways their children or children’s classmates have worked to circumvent the system,” Board Member Chris Heagarty said.

The district tested the new technology and found it was more accurate at filtering websites and provided more information on students’ internet use. Officials will continue to monitor its use and adjust filters as needed.

The district plans to implement the technology later this spring, with schools starting to use it anytime between Feb. 13 and March 20, expecting all schools and district departments to be using it by April 1.