PRINTER'S NO. 2534
No. 4 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY EGOLF, TRUE, THOMAS, FLEAGLE, HUTCHINSON, FARGO,
ARMSTRONG, READSHAW, SOLOBAY, GEORGE, ROHRER, BUNT, SEYFERT,
YOUNGBLOOD, SCHRODER, HENNESSEY, ADOLPH, E. Z. TAYLOR, BLAUM,
GORDNER, HESS, MASLAND, HERSHEY, PISTELLA, WOJNAROSKI,
S. H. SMITH, WOGAN, STERN, CORRIGAN, HARHAI, WILT,
McNAUGHTON, YEWCIC, FORCIER, BENNINGHOFF, SAYLOR, METCALFE,
BIRMELIN, BARRAR, LYNCH, CLARK, CLYMER, ZUG, GEIST, MARSICO,
PLATTS, BROWNE, FLICK AND BAKER, OCTOBER 26, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, OCTOBER 26, 1999
AN ACT
1 Providing for protection of children from obscene material,
2 child pornography and other unsuitable material on the
3 Internet in public schools and public libraries.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Child
8 Internet Protection Act.
9 Section 2. Declaration of policy.
10 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
11 (1) The Commonwealth has a compelling interest and duty
12 to protect children from exposure to illegal obscenity, child
13 pornography, and material harmful to minors.
14 (2) The Commonwealth has a compelling interest in
15 preventing any user from accessing obscene material and child
1 pornography within a public school or public library setting.
2 (3) There is a need to balance the goal of providing
3 free access to educationally suitable information sources on
4 the Internet against the compelling need and duty to protect
5 children from contact with sexual predators and access to
6 obscene material, child pornography, and material harmful to
7 children.
8 (4) Pornography in a public library or school setting
9 can create a hostile environment constituting sexual
10 harassment.
11 (5) The Commonwealth has compelling interest and duty to
12 take reasonable steps to prevent the creation of a hostile
13 public library and school environment, and to prevent the
14 sexual harassment of students, library patrons, and other
15 persons.
16 Section 3. Definitions.
17 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
18 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
19 context clearly indicates otherwise:
20 "Acceptable-use policy." A policy for Internet usage which
21 is acceptable to and adopted by:
22 (1) A school board.
23 (2) A governing body of a public library.
24 "Aggrieved parent or guardian." The parent or guardian of:
25 (1) A student who attends a public school within the
26 school district which is the subject of an enforcement
27 action.
28 (2) A child under 17 years of age who has library
29 privileges at a public library which is the subject of an
30 enforcement action.
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1 "Child pornography." As described in 18 Pa.C.S. § 6312
2 (relating to sexual abuse of children).
3 "Court of common pleas." The court of common pleas of the
4 county in which the school district or public library, which is
5 the subject of the enforcement action, is situated.
6 "Department." The Department of Education of the
7 Commonwealth.
8 "District attorney." The district attorney of the county in
9 which the school district or public library, which is the
10 subject of the enforcement action, is situated.
11 "Harmful to minors." As defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5903
12 (relating to obscene and other sexual materials and
13 performances).
14 "Obscene." As defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5903 (relating to
15 obscene and other sexual materials and performances).
16 "Public library." A library, other than a public school
17 district library, which is established or maintained by the
18 Commonwealth, a political subdivision or an authority or which
19 receives State aid pursuant to Article III of the act of June
20 14, 1961 (P.L.324, No.188), known as The Library Code.
21 "School board." The board of directors of a school district.
22 "Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth.
23 Section 4. School district Internet policies.
24 (a) Acceptable-use policy.--Within 180 days after the
25 effective date of the section, each school board shall establish
26 an acceptable-use policy for the international network of
27 computer systems commonly known as the Internet. At a minimum,
28 the policy shall contain provisions which:
29 (1) Reasonably prevent students of the school district
30 or any other person from using any computer equipment and
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1 communications services owned or leased by the school
2 district for sending, receiving, viewing or downloading
3 material, the character of which is such that it is
4 reasonably believed to be obscene or child pornography or
5 harmful to minors, and which prohibit the use of such
6 equipment and services for those purposes.
7 (2) Establish appropriate measures to be taken against
8 students and other persons who willfully violate the school
9 district's acceptable-use policy.
10 (3) Provide for expedited review and resolution of a
11 claim that the policy is denying a student or other person
12 access to material that is not within the prohibition of the
13 acceptable-use policy.
14 (b) Implementation and enforcement.--The school board shall
15 take such steps as it deems appropriate to implement and enforce
16 the school district policy, which shall include, but need not be
17 limited to:
18 (1) use of software programs reasonably designed to
19 block access to material, the character of which is such that
20 it is reasonably believed to be obscene or child pornography
21 or harmful to minors; or
22 (2) selection of on-line servers that block access to
23 material, the character of which is such that it is
24 reasonably believed to be obscene or child pornography or
25 harmful to minors.
26 (c) Adoption of policy.--A school board may adopt a policy
27 that seeks to prevent student access to Internet material which
28 is pervasively indecent and vulgar or which is not reasonably
29 related to legitimate pedagogical concerns, as specifically
30 defined by the policy.
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1 (d) Copy of policy for parents or guardians.--Each school
2 district shall annually provide the parent or guardian of each
3 student with a copy of the acceptable-use policy it has adopted
4 under this section.
5 Section 5. Public library Internet policies.
6 (a) Acceptable-use policy.--Within 180 days after the
7 effective date of this section, the governing body of every
8 public library shall establish an acceptable-use policy for the
9 international network of computer systems commonly known as the
10 Internet. At a minimum, the policy shall contain provisions
11 which:
12 (1) Are reasonably designed to prevent and prohibit any
13 child under 17 years of age from using the library's computer
14 equipment and communications services for sending, receiving,
15 viewing or downloading material, the character of which is
16 such that it is reasonably believed to be obscene or child
17 pornography or harmful to minors.
18 (2) Prohibit any person from using the library's
19 computer equipment and communications services for sending,
20 receiving, viewing or downloading material, the character of
21 which is such that it is reasonably believed to be obscene or
22 child pornography or harmful to minors.
23 (3) Establish appropriate measures to be taken against
24 persons who willfully violate the policy.
25 (b) Implementation and enforcement of policy.--The governing
26 body of the public library shall take such steps as it deems
27 appropriate to implement and enforce the public library's
28 policy. These steps shall include, but need not be limited to,
29 the following:
30 (1) either:
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1 (i) use of software programs designed to block
2 access by persons under 17 years of age to material, the
3 character of which is such that it is reasonably believed
4 to be obscene or child pornography or harmful to minors
5 and to block access by any person to material, the
6 character of which is reasonably believed to be obscene
7 or child pornography; or
8 (ii) selection of on-line servers that block access
9 by any person to material, the character of which is such
10 that it is reasonably believed to be obscene or child
11 pornography and to block access to any child under 17
12 years of age to material, the character of which is such
13 that it is reasonably believed to be obscene or child
14 pornography or harmful to minors; and
15 (2) placement of computers for use only by persons 17
16 years of age or older at locations that are restricted to
17 such persons.
18 (c) Expedited review procedure.--Each public library shall
19 establish an expedited procedure for the review and resolution,
20 by personnel designated for this purpose, of any claim that a
21 software program or other policy of the public library is
22 denying a user access to material that is not within the
23 prohibition of the acceptable-use policy adopted under this act
24 for that user. This subsection shall not apply to the selection
25 of an on-line server by the public library.
26 (d) Appeal.--A person aggrieved by an adverse decision of a
27 public library regarding access to Internet material or by
28 failure of a public library to make a decision within two
29 business days after making a request for Internet access may
30 file an appeal with the court of common pleas. The court shall
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1 hold a de novo hearing within three business days after the
2 appeal is filed and shall issue a final decree within 24 hours
3 after the close of the hearing. The public library shall have
4 the burden of proof in the judicial proceeding.
5 Section 6. Powers and duties of Attorney General and
6 department.
7 The Attorney General and the secretary shall consult with and
8 assist any public library or school district that requests such
9 assistance in the development and implementation of an
10 acceptable Internet access policy under this act.
11 Section 7. Reports.
12 (a) Copy of policy to be filed.--Within 185 days after the
13 effective date of this act, the superintendent of each school
14 district and the chief administrative officer of each public
15 library shall file with the secretary a copy of the acceptable-
16 use policy of the school district and public library which have
17 been adopted under this act. Each revision to the acceptable-use
18 policy shall be transmitted to the secretary in accordance with
19 section 8.
20 (b) Report to General Assembly.--Within 90 days after the
21 deadline for initial filing under subsection (a) and in December
22 of each subsequent year, the secretary shall submit a report to
23 the chairman and the minority chairman of the Education
24 Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority chairman
25 of the Education Committee of the House of Representatives which
26 summarizes the acceptable-use policies and any revisions thereof
27 filed with the secretary under this act.
28 Section 8. Enforcement.
29 (a) Review of acceptable-use policy.--The secretary shall
30 review each acceptable-use policy filed under this act and each
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1 revision and shall disapprove any policy or revision that is not
2 reasonably designed to achieve the purposes of section 4(a), in
3 the case of school districts, or section 5(a), in the case of
4 public libraries.
5 (b) Revision of policy.--Except as otherwise provided in
6 subsection (c), no revision of an acceptable-use policy shall be
7 implemented until the revision is approved by the secretary. If
8 the secretary fails to disapprove the revision within 60 days
9 after submission, the public library or school district may
10 proceed with the implementation of the revision of its
11 acceptable-use policy.
12 (c) Constitutional defect.--A public library or school
13 district may cease to implement any portion of its acceptable-
14 use policy and implement a revised policy immediately upon the
15 submission of a revised policy to the secretary, together with a
16 written opinion from the solicitor or other legal counsel for
17 the public library or school district advising that the revision
18 is necessary to correct a constitutional defect in the
19 acceptable-use policy. The secretary shall approve or disapprove
20 review of a revised policy submitted under this subsection
21 within 60 days of submission.
22 (d) Withholding of funding.--The secretary shall withhold
23 State funding from any school district or public library that
24 fails to submit an acceptable-use policy within the time
25 prescribed in this act or which submits an acceptable-use policy
26 or any required revision that is not reasonably designed to
27 achieve the purposes of section 4(a), in the case of school
28 districts, or section 5(a), in the case of public libraries.
29 (e) Revising disapproved policy.--If the secretary
30 determines that an acceptable-use policy or any revision is not
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1 reasonably designed to achieve the purposes of section 4(a), in
2 the case of school districts, or section 5(a), in the case of
3 public libraries, the secretary shall afford the school district
4 or public library a 60-day period for developing and submitting
5 a revised policy before withholding any funds under this
6 section. The secretary may extend the time for submission of a
7 revised acceptable-use policy for good cause.
8 (f) Appeal.--If the secretary disapproves an acceptable-use
9 policy or revision under this section, the aggrieved public
10 library or school district may appeal the decision to the
11 Commonwealth Court. The secretary shall not withhold any funding
12 under this section during the course of the appeal.
13 (g) Enforcement.--The secretary, the district attorney or an
14 aggrieved parent or guardian shall have standing to seek a court
15 order directing the school board or public library to establish
16 and file an acceptable-use policy with the secretary or to
17 enforce an acceptable-use policy filed with the secretary. The
18 court shall issue an appropriate order if it determines that the
19 school board or public library has failed to file an acceptable-
20 use policy or if the school board or public library is not
21 enforcing or is substantially disregarding its policy.
22 Section 9. Construction.
23 This act does not authorize a school board or governing body
24 of a public library to adopt an acceptable-use policy which
25 violates the Constitution of the United States or the
26 Constitution of Pennsylvania.
27 Section 10. Disabling blocking technology for use by certain
28 persons.
29 Notwithstanding any other provision of this act to the
30 contrary, an administrator, supervisor or other personnel
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1 designated for this purpose may disable the blocking technology
2 during use by any person other than a student, in the case of a
3 school district, or a child under 17 years of age, in the case
4 of a public library, to enable unfiltered access for the purpose
5 of bona fide research or other lawful purpose.
6 Section 11. Severability.
7 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of
8 this act or its application to any person or circumstance is
9 held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions
10 or applications of this act which can be given effect without
11 the invalid provision or application.
12 Section 12. Repeal.
13 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are
14 inconsistent with this act.
15 Section 13. Effective date.
16 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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