Illinois Attorney General supports online predator education bill

3 May 2007

Summary

The Illinois Senate is reviewing a bill backed by the State Attorney General Lisa Madigan to urge schools to teach online safety to K-12 students. The bill stops short of requiring schools to teach safety, but does create a standard method for teaching that schools can follow. Read the article.

Things to think about when reading this article

Legislation has been proposed in many states (and already adopted in several like Virginia, and California) to address the issue of online safety education in schools. However, this legislation will fall short unless it ensures a full Internet safety curriculum, not simply lessons about online sexual predators. (It would be particularly detrimental if this curriculum were built, as suggested, around alerting students to "stranger danger," when most victims of sexual abuse—online or in the real world—know the perpetrator.)

The focus of Internet safety lessons cannot be about building fear; instead we need to provide factual information about potential problems and teach practical solutions. We will also fail our children if parents, schools, or politicians believe the solution is to block access to the Internet.

Given the central place of the Internet in our society and its importance at work, curriculum ensuring that children and young people are fully prepared to use the Internet safely is as critical as reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic.

To teach a full suite of Internet skills and online safety:

• Schools need funding to ensure that they have the computers and staff to give students the solid technology training they need.
• Teachers need training in computer skills and Internet safety.
• The curriculum needs to be broad enough to cover all the issues. Students must learn a full complement of Internet safety skills including how to protect their identities, be savvy researchers, purchase and bank safely, understand the ethical issues involved in their online social interactions, and learn how to spot sexual, financial, or emotional predators.

Additionally, to make the curricula truly effective, companies must build safer Internet products and services, elected officials must drive meaningful minimum safety standards, and fund law enforcement to counter the increasing online crime.