I am sure that you are aware that the filtering of Internet content has been the topic of much discussion and criticism in the past months with objections both in areas on constitutionality as well as functionality. But apart from those general objections to Internet filtering, any law or regulation requiring the use of such software in schools has consequences beyond the mere trapping of content between the Internet and the user. The access subsidies that were written into the Telecommunications Act of 1996 were intended to make the Internet more affordable. Adding filters adds a cost. Many schools today are providing computer training and network access on a knowledge shoe-string.
Few schools have the funding to hire technical staff.
Studies done on the use of filtering programs in libraries have clearly shown that these programs can be a challenge to install and configure. As the Internet matures, the need to block undesirable materials may well become obsolete as new technologies allow us to work better within this information space. Given the rapid rate of change of our networking communications, a requirement to block some content as part of school funding could quickly become an anachronism. All of this is in addition to the fact that filtering programs have been shown to do a poor job of filtering out the intended material and often block access to desired materials. This places teachers in a position of trying to alter their lesson plans to compensate for areas erroneously filtered by this software.