What Is CIPA Compliance?

The Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted by Congress in 2000 to meet concerns about children’s access to obscene or harmful content via the Internet.

To remain eligible for certain federal funding programs schools must create and enforce an Internet safety policy that includes a “technology protection measure.” This refers to content filtering, which can be done on the local level by school IT staff, or remotely by an Internet service provider.

Regardless of whether a school chooses to set up content filtering remotely or locally, its Internet safety policy must address the following to be considered CIPA compliant.

• Access by minors to inappropriate content on the Internet
• The safety of minors when using chat rooms, email, and other electronic communication
• Unauthorized access by minors including hacking and other illegal activities
• Unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors
• Measures designed to restrict minors access to harmful material

Added in 2012, CIPA compliance also requires schools to educate minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with others on social media networks and in chat rooms, cyberbullying awareness, and how to respond to cyberbullying.

According to USAC, a ‘technology prevention measure’ is defined as a specific technology that blocks or filters internet access.

For CIPA compliance Schools are required to enable this technology on computers used by students to access the Internet, but an administrator may disable the technology when being used by an adult.

Under CIPA rules, minors must not be allowed to access inappropriate or obscene content.

CIPA defaults to the Federal definition of obscene content, which is defined as: (i) taken as a whole and with respect to minors, appeals to a prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion; (ii) depicts, describes, or represents, in a patently offensive way with respect to what is suitable for minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals; and (iii) taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value as to minors.”

The definition of inappropriate content is defined by the local community that a school is located in. School boards, local education agencies, and libraries are the most common examples of which local entities have the power to determine this definition.

When applying for a CIPA certification the authority responsible for administrating the school must provide reasonable public notice and hold a minimum of one public meeting that addresses the proposed technology protection measure and Internet safety policy.

CIPA Compliance is required to remain eligible for E-Rate funding that is commonly used for popular solutions like school bus Wi-Fi. If your organization needs help earning or maintaining a CIPA certification, RCN can help.

Our team of 5G specialists are experts in helping educators, and our solutions can be fine tuned to meet CIPA regulations. When you trust us to support your school or library, you also gain access to our 5G Network Operations Center, which proactively monitors and supports your network, just like an in-house IT team would.

To learn more about how we can assist your organization with becoming CIPA compliant, please submit the form below.