Post by title1parent on Aug 22, 2008 5:59:42 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/1120877,6_1_NA22_STATE1_S1.article
Web safety will be part of school curriculum
August 22, 2008
Beacon News staff
Next year, Illinois students will study Internet safety in addition to their traditional subjects.
This curriculum change comes after Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday signed into law Senate Bill 2512, which was sponsored by House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego.
The legislation requires school districts, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, to incorporate an "age-appropriate Internet safety unit of instruction in the current course of study regularly taught in the district's schools."
The bill says students, grades three and above, should be taught how to navigate the Internet with caution.
"While our children are being introduced to computers and the Internet in the classroom, it makes sense for our schools as a component of computer education to provide basic instruction on how to remain safe while using the Internet," Cross said.
This new legislation also gives school boards the authority to determine the scope and time spent on Internet safety instruction. It requires the State Board of Education to make Internet safety resource materials available to school districts on its Web site, according to Cross' staff.
Cross, who was the bill's chief house sponsor, called the Internet a "wonderful tool and resource," but said, "this technology is also being utilized by adult predators seeking to gain access to unsuspecting children."
Cross has cited social networking Web sites in the past, which have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, as an easy avenue for predators to take when scoping out unsuspecting children as prey.
Senate Bill 2512 passed through the House on a vote of 106-8 and through the Senate on a vote of 48-8.
Sun-Times News Group
Web safety will be part of school curriculum
August 22, 2008
Beacon News staff
Next year, Illinois students will study Internet safety in addition to their traditional subjects.
This curriculum change comes after Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday signed into law Senate Bill 2512, which was sponsored by House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego.
The legislation requires school districts, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, to incorporate an "age-appropriate Internet safety unit of instruction in the current course of study regularly taught in the district's schools."
The bill says students, grades three and above, should be taught how to navigate the Internet with caution.
"While our children are being introduced to computers and the Internet in the classroom, it makes sense for our schools as a component of computer education to provide basic instruction on how to remain safe while using the Internet," Cross said.
This new legislation also gives school boards the authority to determine the scope and time spent on Internet safety instruction. It requires the State Board of Education to make Internet safety resource materials available to school districts on its Web site, according to Cross' staff.
Cross, who was the bill's chief house sponsor, called the Internet a "wonderful tool and resource," but said, "this technology is also being utilized by adult predators seeking to gain access to unsuspecting children."
Cross has cited social networking Web sites in the past, which have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, as an easy avenue for predators to take when scoping out unsuspecting children as prey.
Senate Bill 2512 passed through the House on a vote of 106-8 and through the Senate on a vote of 48-8.
Sun-Times News Group