Schools remove filters on gay, lesbian websites

A saluer, toutes les avancées sont importantes

Prince William County Public Schools has removed filters that block access to certain websites with content relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender is­sues.

In April, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia sent a letter to the school system asking officials to remove the software blocking the sites.

The ACLU learned of the blocking of LGBT sites through its “Don’t Filter Me” initiative, which shows students how to re­port that their school is filtering content.

At the time, ACLU spokesman Kent Willis said that it was clear that Prince William schools were blocking the LGBT sites while allowing anti-LGBT sites to be viewed.

The action violated the stu­dents’ First Amendment rights, Willis said.

School systems aren’t allowed to discriminate based on “view­point” and schools are legally bound to provide students with “viewpoint neutral” access to the Internet, Willis said.

In a Prince William Public Schools news release, Keith Imon, the associate superintendent for communications and technology services, said that the school system was able to remove the filters and still keep students safe from other content.


http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2011/may/27/schools-remove-filters-gay-lesbian-websites-ar-1069028/