Students who attend Boston Public School have been prohibited from checking their email using school computers.
School officials placed blocks on Yahoo, Hotmail, and other personal email sites, saying that there were four instances in which students had used school computers to email threats, hit lists, and pornography to other students and teachers.
The Internet ban comes on the heels of the school officials’ recent ban on cell phones, and follows the trend of an increasing number of school systems that have also placed similar prohibitions on personal email sites.
School officials maintain that the reasoning behind the block stems primarily from emailed threats, adding that it is impossible to trace the source of such bullying because sites like Yahoo and Hotmail do not require users to provide their real names. Blocks were initially implemented in 2000 for the same reason, but a technical glitch in the school’s computer system prevented the block from sticking. It has since been repaired, and the order was given by superintendent Thomas W. Payzant to resume blocking access to personal email sites in March. Students and parents were not notified, though headmasters and school staff were.
Other schools that have recently placed similar bans include Lake Charles, La., and Plano, Texas. Internet safety education center i-SAFE has reported that nearly half of students in grades four through eight have been bullied online. Just last month, parents of a 15-year-old high school student sued private Harvard-Westlake School for $100 million after their son was forced to transfer to a different school following death threats made to him via email. “Students are now seeing an increase in hateful emails,” says Kevin Storr, communications director for i-SAFE. “Banning Yahoo and Hotmail gives them one less avenue.”
Of course, students have not taken the ban in stride. Some have reported missing important education-related emails and job opportunities because they do not have email access at home and can no longer check mail at school. “They’re taking it too seriously,” says Dominique Duarte, a junior at Another Course to College, one of the high schools in Boston’s public school district. “It’s not like we’re getting emails of porn sites. It’s normal work stuff we’re doing on the computer.”
School officials have pledged to provide students with district email accounts so that they can still use email for educational matters (users must provide their identity upon establishing an account) – and also make sure that no other students will be bullied over the computer.
“You can’t take the chance with the small percentage who are not using it appropriately,” Payzant recently told reporters.
