Out of Line On-Line : District Tightens Policies on Computer Use After Some Students Sneak Into Risque Web Sites

When officials at the Capistrano Unified School District allowed students to surf the Internet, it was with education in mind--not nude women or waves of dirty talk.

But computers can provide temptation for curious teen-agers whose parents may have only had the chance to get in trouble during their school days for smoking in the bathroom or squealing tires in the parking lot.

Today, going on-line can mean a trip to the vice principal’s office.

Four students at Aliso Niguel High School lost their computer privileges last school year for straying in cyberspace. One was caught attempting to download a photograph from Playboy magazine. The other three were talking trash in a computer chat room.

Administrators responded as they have since the first school was built and the first rule was broken--they clamped down, or in this case, they wrote their own program.

School officials have drafted a set of guidelines that regulates students, teachers and staff who access the Internet on school computers.

Officials plan to rely on the same technology that helped snare three of the four students, according to Patrick Levens, director of secondary instructional support services. Hardware that tracks all computer use will be installed, giving administrators a record of every keystroke.

“We can block addresses [web sites],” Levens said. “We will also have the ability to monitor where people are trying to go.”

By October, the district should be able to track all student computer use.

But first, parental permission will be required for students to sign on. Passwords also will be issued for students and staff, and computer-use records will be reviewed.

“We will monitor those and spot-check them,” Levens said. “We hope that the vast, vast majority of students will treat computer use as a privilege, and in a responsible manner.”

A policy outlining computer rules was reviewed by school district trustees Monday night. The board is expected to approve the policy next month.

Violations could result in loss of a password, suspension, expulsion or even--if necessary--a referral to police.

Levens said the policy is to ensure that a few students don’t spoil things for all others.

The district has about 60 computers with access to the Internet, but that number will grow to 140 by the end of the fall.

Susanna Prentice, coordinator of instructional technology for the County Office of Education, said that most Orange County school districts either have computer policies or are close to adopting them.

Prentice said that improper use of school computers has been rare.

“I haven’t heard that many instances of it happening in schools,” Prentice said, adding that policies to regulate students’ time on computers is “something that has been looked at very early on.”

Prentice estimated that between 300 and 400 computers in Orange County schools provide a pathway to the Internet. A committee of district officials has been meeting in the past year to focus on how burgeoning computer technology can enhance education through research.

But along with the good can also come the bad.

Linda Smith, technology specialist for the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, which has a policy banning non-academic use of computers, said that new computer web sites pop up everyday, making administrators’ jobs difficult.

Saddleback Valley Unified School District requires parental permission for students to use computers and does its best to supervise students, Smith said. Students are supposed to use the Internet only for education. The district has about 250 computers with access to the Internet.

“To block every objectionable address is just about impossible,” Smith said. “We would have to hire five people to do nothing but look at new addresses.”

The district is testing the best ways to block addresses while keeping a close watch on students, Smith said.

Capistrano Unified, meanwhile, is taking a similar approach but going one step further.

Levens said that the district plans to subscribe to monthly “blocking” software from a Alameda County-based company that tracks lewd computer addresses.

“It’s in order to deal with that small faction of students who do what they shouldn’t do,” Levens said.