Resources
SEAT - Students Engaged in Advancing Texas - is a student-led organization providing support and resources for students to create a better environment and guarantee their rights within the school context. If you face discrimination or envision progress, you can work with SEAT to achieve your community transformation goals. You can schedule a virtual meeting via Calendly on their Get Involved page to discuss an upcoming board meeting, inquire about community organizing and advocacy or simply seek support for a policy affecting students.
Don't assume school policy is justifiable or lawful - you should understand your rights so you know when to stand up to injustice. The Students Rights Hub is the result of a collaboration between SEAT and ACLU of Texas, and it provides a knowledge base and legal intake form to help K-12 students, parents, educators and advocates create inclusive schools where students are safe, supported and treated with dignity.
Children's Defense Fund Texas collaborated with students across Texas to develop the comprehensive Student Advocacy Guide. We recommend taking a peek to get started with youth advocacy, engage with policymakers, and form a sophisticated and sustainable movement for progress.
One of the best way to fight censorship is to call out as it happens. The National Coalition Against Censorship's Right to Read Network defends students’ rights and intellectual freedom - in its website you'll find a Reporting Form that you can use to submit instances of censorship you are faced with.
Book bans are sweeping across the nation, but so is civic organizing. The Guide for Communiy Response & Action on Book Bans is a result of a collaboration between SEAT and GLAAD to Accelerate Acceptance. Learn the steps for organizing a local social movement, applicable to confronting book bans or any policy affecting students in schools.
This declaration was developed by SEAT - Students Engaged in Advancing Texas -, and delivered to 1200+ Texas lawmakers, outlining the universal rights for students in the context of schools and education.
Access streamlined information about Texas school boards and student-led initiatives on this map produced by Students Engaged in Advancing Texas - SEAT.
Anyone affected by discrimination in schools can file a variety of complaint forms. Public schools in Texas have an FNG grievance policy in which a form may be requested and submitted, beginning the formal process of settling administrative policy issues with the district. The U.S. Department of Education allows the public to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) or Privacy Policy Office regarding violations of federal law.
PEN America has conducted leading research on the prevalence and trends of book banning nationwide. The Banned in the USA reports can be used to learn more about “Ed Scare” and reinforce claims when discussing the issues of censorship.
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This page has been developed with the help of SEAT - Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. You can learn more about their work and check the original Resources page on their website.
FAQs
Web filters (also known as content filters) are tools that regulate access to certain websites or applications online. Filters often work by creating a list of forbidden sites. This list is developed with the help of software that scans through the content and context of a web page in order to determine if students should be granted access. Web filters have been around for over two decades, and until recently, they were typically sold by themselves. However, today, these tools are increasingly packaged alongside other monitoring software which tracks a much broader set of student activities (i.e. student emails and homework assignments). Such software is often connected to an alert system which sends messages to teachers, administrators, and sometimes law enforcement if a student types in a keyword that triggers a red flag in the system.
Web filters can be found in most K-12 settings, thanks to a federal law called the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). According to CIPA, any public school or library which receives federal subsidies for Internet connection must take proactive measures to prevent children from accessing harmful or obscene content online. Web filters are the tools that most schools use to comply with this regulation.
Web filters present a number of challenges and risks regarding kids’ well-being and the quality of their education, such as:
Increased risk of punishment and exposure to law enforcement
Web filters are often connected to alerts systems, which inform educators and school administrators when a student has browsed the Internet for something that sets off a red flag in the system. These alerts systems are marketed as a means of identifying kids in crisis, so that administrators can connect them with the support they need. However, a national survey of teachers found that such software is more often used to pursue disciplinary action against students, rather than connect them with resources, such as a referral to a school counselor or social worker. In some districts, the data generated from student activity monitoring is shared with law enforcement, which can lead to additional tracking and profiling. Research has also shown that certain groups of young people, such as students with learning differences, LGBTQ+ youth and Black and Latine students, are disproportionately targeted for disciplinary action as a result of their activities on school issued devices and networks.
Diminished support for student mental health and well-being
Audits of content filters have found that such tools often block access to essential student support resources, such as information about reproductive health, suicide prevention, and LGBTQ+ affirming material. As a result, students have less resources at their disposal to manage challenging situations and maintain their physical and mental well-being. Low-income students are disproportionately impacted by such tools, as they are more likely to depend on school-issued devices for access to the Internet. Similarly, LGBTQ+ students are more likely to be adversely impacted by such policies. Research has shown that queer youth frequently rely on online communities to solidify a strong sense of identity and self-acceptance. Web filters disrupt such processes, in ways that perpetuate a culture of fear and isolation for queer youth.
Involuntary “outing” of LGBTQ+ students
One of the side effects of web filters and student activity monitoring is that they can be used to identify a student’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Such capabilities take on increased significance in Houston-area districts like Katy ISD, where school officials recently passed a policy requiring school staff to report to parents if their child identifies as transgender or uses pronouns that are different from the pronouns assigned to them at birth. The policy also mandates that teachers refer to students by the pronouns which correspond to the sex indicated on their birth certificate, unless the student obtains written parental consent to do otherwise.
At the state level, Texas lawmakers have also recently introduced bills which, if passed, would restrict discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in public and charter schools. Proponents of these bills say that such legislation is intended to preserve the rights of parents, who are in the best position to teach their children about such topics. However, LGBTQ+ advocates argue that such policies erase the presence of LGBTQ+ people from U.S. history books and perpetuate an environment where queer youth feel isolated and unsupported.
When combined with such policies, web filters increase the risk of LGBTQ+ youth being involuntarily “outed” to adults who do not support them. It also makes it harder for trusted adults, such as teachers and guidance counselors, to affirm the identities and choices of queer youth. As a result, it becomes more difficult for LGBTQ+ youth to carve out spaces where they can safely express themselves and develop a strong sense of belonging at school and beyond.
Diminished access to educational materials and experiences
Web filters have been criticized for limiting students’ access to essential educational resources, such as news sites discussing current events (i.e. pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, women’s rights in Iran) and historical resources (i.e. landmark rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court). In many cases, the censorship of such material is the result of a technical flaw in the system — a filter mis-identifies certain pages as inappropriate due to a key word that has been coded as a red flag. However, increasingly web filters have become entangled in larger ideological debates about what kinds of topics students should be taught at school.
For example, school districts across the Houston area have recently banned books that touch on controversial topics, such as LGBTQ+ issues, the history of race and racism in America, and the Holocaust. At the state level, Texas lawmakers recently passed a law which prohibits educators from assigning the 1619 Project, a Pulitzer-prize winning series of essays about race in America, as required reading, and removed key civil rights leaders, such as Cesar Chavez, from the compulsory curriculum. These developments are representative of broader national trends. In recent years, lawmakers in forty-four states have taken measures to limit how public school teachers discuss racism, sexism, and systemic inequality in the classroom. Content filters increase the potential impact and reach of such policies, by making it possible for administrators to deny access to websites which touch on these topics.
Moreover, old school content filters are now being packaged alongside other surveillance and alerts systems which track what students do on their school issued devices. Such trends increase the enforceability of new laws which seek to limit discussion of certain “divisive concepts” in the classroom, opening up the possibility for both students and educators to be tracked and punished for what they write and say at school. The significance of such technologies has only grown in recent years, as a greater proportion of student learning takes place online and through digital devices. Low-income students are likely to be the most impacted, as they often have a greater reliance on school-issued devices and school Internet connectivity to access content online.
