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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
12/11/2024 12:06 PM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20210&cosponId=35209
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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

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House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 26, 2021 12:13 PM
From: Representative Tina M. Davis
To: All House members
Subject: Internet Safety Education Curriculum
 
In this electronic age, children have easy access to the Internet at home, school, and public places. The Internet can be used by sexual predators and other criminals to make initial contact with children and other vulnerable residents of Pennsylvania. With this in mind, it is essential that we provide education to our children as an effective method for preventing them from falling prey to online predators, identify theft, and other dangers. For this reason, I plan to re-introduce legislation that will have schools provide age-appropriate education for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade on keeping safe from online predators.

Under my bill, local school boards would be empowered to determine the scope and duration of the required unit of instruction, which would be taught at least once each school year to students in grades kindergarten through twelve. Such instruction could be incorporated into the current courses of study regularly taught in the district’s schools, as determined by the school board. Recommended topics to be covered include, but would not be limited to:

 
  1. Safe and responsible use of social networking websites, chat rooms, electronic mail, bulletin boards, instant messaging, and other means of communication on the Internet.
  2. Recognizing, avoiding, and reporting online solicitations of students, their classmates, and their friends by sexual predators.
  3. Risks of transmitting personal information on the Internet.
  4. Recognizing and avoiding unsolicited or deceptive communications received online.
  5. Recognizing and reporting online harassment and cyber-bullying.
  6. Reporting illegal activities and communications on the Internet.
  7. Copyright laws on written materials, photographs, music, and video.

In addition, any curricula devised may be submitted for review to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. This bill would also require the State Board of Education to make available on its Internet website resource materials for educating children regarding child online safety.

Please join me in sponsoring this legislation to ensure that students are taught how to be protected from those who would seek to take advantage of them and harm them through the utilization of the Internet or other method available via an electronic device.
 



Introduced as HB1460