Content Filtering
Welcome to our Content Filtering Information Page
In-School Filtering
Overview
Swampscott Public Schools models its Responsible Use Policy based on our requirement by CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) to ensure that our protection measures block and filter internet access to obscene pictures and sites that are harmful to minors. In addition, our internet safety policy must include the monitoring of online activities of minors, we must provide education to students regarding appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response (CIPA, 2017).
Firewall
During the school day, only inside SPS buildings, internet access for all student devices is filtered by the district’s firewall.
GoGuardian
Students in grades 3-12 also have an additional layer of security during the school day. The GoGuardian extension is installed on all student Chromebooks. GoGuardian is an additional layer of security that includes a filtering system that provides web filtering for educational organizations. It is enabled 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, no matter the location of your child’s Chromebook. It will monitor Google files, documents, and websites that students are accessing. It also provides security in blocking sites that students should not be on.
Home Filtering
GoGuardian at Home Filtering
During after-school hours, all Chromebooks issued to students in grades 3-12 are filtered the GoGuardian content filtering tool regardless of which network students are on (home, friend, family, hotspot).
Google at Home Filtering
If a student is logged into their school-issued Chromebook, their internet access is filtered using Google’s built-in Safe Search mode. Safe Search is an automated filter of pornography, objectionable, and other offensive content that is built into search engines such as Google. If your students enter a suggestive or inappropriate phrase, then no results will be returned that may be considered unsafe and problematic.
Parental Controls
Parental Controls
Parents, guardians, and caregivers can implement additional parental controls and filtering on their child’s school-issued device while at home. We encourage caregivers to read this article from Common Sense Media about filtering pros and cons.
There are a number of approaches available for parents who wish to implement parental controls on their child's devices. However, in order to prevent conflicts with the District's management system and to prevent required functionality from being unintentionally disabled during the school day, no parental controls may be used that require installation on the device itself. Remember, the Google Chromebook only works when there is internet access. Be aware that home filtering only works if your child is connected to your home WiFi network. If your child is connected to a hotspot or another WiFi network within range, parental controls will not work.
There are three main approaches to filter internet access on your home network- you may choose the approach that works best for your family. Please note: Swampscott Public Schools does not evaluate, endorse, or support the products listed or linked on this page. This information is being presented as a convenience for parents in their efforts to filter their home networks.
Use your router's built-in parental controls - Setting up parental controls here will allow you to perform web filtering for all the devices on your network — computers, smartphones, tablets, and even game consoles with built-in browsers. This is generally the lowest-cost method and is built into most routers. However, in some cases setup may be involved. Please see the link for the manufacturer of your home router for more information:
Use a web-based service such as OpenDNS. This may be an effective option if your router does not have built-in parental controls. Depending on the plan you choose, there may be a cost involved.
Purchase a standalone product that plugs into your network, such as Gryphon Guardian or Circle by Disney. This may be the easiest option to implement, however, depending upon the product chosen, there may be a cost involved. When choosing a product, please ensure that the product does not require installation onto your child's device directly.
Monitoring your Home Apple Products
For families wishing to monitor the Apple products more closely, there are also other options that are built into Apple devices such as Apple Parental Controls.
Sites to Allow
The following sites are used by common school-related apps and websites. If you are blocking and filtering at home, please make sure these websites are allowed.
swampscott.k12.ma.us
assistments.org
googleapis.com
google.com
clever.com
classroom.google.com
ma-swampscott.myfollett.com
Contact your student’s teacher for a list of any additional educational websites that your student may need access to for at-home learning.