The Sioux Falls School District is using internet filters that are not making some students very happy at the moment.

There are students within the district that believe the filters in question carry an anti-LGBT bias.

According to Briggs Warren, a senior at Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School, students are now blocked from certain resource sites that contain information on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Yet additional online sites that have a negative view of homosexuality are permitted on district devices.

Bob Jensen, Technology Director with the Sioux Falls School District says, the district currently uses two different companies that provide internet filters. These companies screen the various sites, divide them into categories, and then the district makes the determination on which sites to totally or partially block.

“It's rare that we run across a site that is blocked that shouldn’t have been blocked,” said Jensen. He added that the district chooses to err on the side of caution.

Heather Smith, the Executive Director of the ACLU in South Dakota said the sites that are blocked send a message that being gay, bisexual or transgender is somehow wrong or shameful.

Students like Tristen Bly, a sophomore at New Technology High School, said the districts policy on barring these types of sites "Makes you feel like you don't belong."

The district has unblocked some sites containing LGBT resources upon request, according to Jensen.

Source: The Washington Times


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