A Little Censorship with Your Public Education

by Michael Jones · 2009-04-15 17:09:00 UTC
Topics:

computers

Turns out Amazon and the public school system in Nashville, Tennessee have a thing or two in common -- namely, both were caught this week censoring LGBT materials. Amazon has (apparently) worked their kinks out, but the Nashville Public School system scandal is just getting started.

According to the Nashville Scene, "Roughly 80 percent of Tennessee school districts, including Metro Nashville, use filtering software to bar students from viewing gay education and gay rights websites." What "scandalous" Web sites are Tennessee Public Schools barring their students from accessing?

Sites like the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to name a few.

What kind of sites are students allowed to access, however?  Sites that champion "rehabilitation" from homosexuality, and ex-gay ministry sites.

Nashville School System's internet provider, Education Networks of America, is denying any involvement in filtering content for the students, and is pointing the blame at local school districts, which decide on what content is appropriate for students and what should be banned.

This type of blatant censorship and discrimination is such an affront to students. The Human Rights Campaign has numerous resources on its Web site dedicated for young people struggling with coming out, questions about their sexual orientation, and youth activism. That type of lifeline could be critical for students. Instead, they hit a road block when trying to access the site.

But they can access a psychologically damning organization like Americans for Truth, which preaches conversion from homosexuality, something that has been roundly condemned by any mental health professional with a clue.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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