Indianapolis Public Schools censor Pagan web content as well as other groups

November 18, 5:39 PMIndianapolis Pagan Issues ExaminerAndrah Wyrdfire

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The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, you may remember them from the Green Bay Nativity case, is demanding that the Indianapolis Public School system change its current web access policy which bans access to “occult”, “Wiccan”, “Voodoo” and “mysticism”-boosting sites.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, responding to complaints from concerned Indianapolis taxpayers, has sent a letter of strong objection to the Indianapolis Public School system for its policy of censorship of web content that promotes or provides information about “atheistic views.” This policy, which also censors Wicca, Witchcraft, “voodoo rituals or any other for of mysticism,” is unlawful because it violates the Free Speech Clause as unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination, FFRF charges. This policy does not prohibit or even mention religious views such as Christianity.

You can read the school’s web filtering policy, here. You can read the FFRF’s letter to school Superintendent Eugene White, here. FFRF is asking people to write to the Superintendent, Dr. Eugene G. White, and the local school board members, urging them to drop this discriminatory web site blocking.

While I certainly support the individuals and groups working to remove these arbitrary web filters, one has to wonder if the policy was put in place because the school officials were anti-atheist and anti-Pagan, or if they were simply lazy. The open secret about content filters, besides the fact that they can be easily hacked, is that many of the site lists used in these filters had their genesis with conservative Christian organizations. These lists are copied around and often added to by the churches many filtering companies also service, so when a seemingly secular company “implementing technology in the classroom” (in this case Education Networks of America) comes along they may be instituting a site filter-list written by people with a inherent bias against minority religions. Something that the clients may not even know.

When local school officials select and implement a filtering product, they are provided only a list of potential categories to be blocked, with a short description of the types of material blocked in the categories. Filtering companies protect the actual list of blocked sites, searching and blocking key words, blocking criteria, and blocking processes as confidential, proprietary trade secret information. Therefore, local school officials have essentially delegated control to filtering companies to make decisions about the appropriateness of material for students when there is no vehicle to determine how such control is being exercised.

So who knows what “content filtering product” ENA is using, but at least some of it most likely had its genesis with groups that were decidedly not unbiased or secular. In fact, almost all of the most popular Internet filters block Pagan sites, something that doesn’t seem to bother the secular groups servicing government and government-funded groups and services, until they get in trouble of course. Because if a public school is blocking student access to some religions but not to others, that could be seen as bias, and that is a no-no according to the Supreme Court. So let's hope that Indianapolis Public Schools change their filtering policy ASAP instead of stonewalling and preparing for litigation, and let's also hope that ENA stops offering to block access to minority religions in public schools.

Just to go on record, Trina Hoaks, the Atheism Examiner, has also done an article about this issue and has included the fact that Atheist, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender sites are also being intentionally filtered out by Indianapolis Public Schools.

You will find contact information for the Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools in Trina's article.

Attempts have been made to contact both the Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools and the Freedom From Religion Foundation for further comments; however, they have been unsuccessful so far.  Another attempt will be made in one week and a follow-up article will be posted once contact has been made and questions have been answered.

Update:  See follow-up articles below for update on contacting IPS.  According to an attorney for Freedom From Religion Foundation, they have received no response yet from IPS on this matter but will send more information once it becomes available.  At that time, a follow-up article will be written regarding any new information.

Follow-Up Articles:

Questions to ask Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools

Response from Dr. Eugene White, Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent

ENA and content filtering categories for the Indianapolis Public Schools