(2)

(c) Internet safety plan. (I) Each school district is encouraged to provide a comprehensive, age-appropriate curriculum that teaches safety in working and interacting on the internet in grades kindergarten through twelve. At a minimum, the curriculum may address the following topics:

• (A) Interaction with persons in the cybercommunity;

• (B) Personal safety in interacting with persons on the internet;

• (C) Recognition and avoidance of online bullying;

• (D) Technology, computer virus issues, and ways to avoid computer virus infection;

• (E) Predator identification;

• (F) Intellectual property, including education concerning plagiarism and techniques to avoid committing plagiarism and laws concerning downloading of copyrighted materials including music;

• (G) Privacy and the internet;

• (H) Online literacy, including instruction in how to identify credible, factual, trustworthy websites; and

• (I) Homeland security issues related to internet use.

• (II) Each school district is encouraged to structure the internet safety plan so as to incorporate the internet safety topics into the teaching of the regular classroom curricula, rather than isolating the topics as a separate class. Each school district is encouraged to use available internet safety curricula resources, including but not limited to materials available through nonprofit internet safety foundations that are endorsed by the federal government. Each school district is also encouraged to work with local law enforcement for the jurisdiction in which the school district is located in developing the internet safety curricula, especially with regard to topics that address personal safety on the internet, internet predator identification, privacy issues, and homeland security issues. Each school district is also encouraged to collaborate with parents and teachers in developing the internet safety curricula, including collaborating with district and statewide organizations that represent parents and teachers.

• (III) Each school district is encouraged to begin implementing the internet safety plan with the 2005-06 school year and to annually review and, as necessary, revise the plan. Each school district is encouraged to identify a person who is responsible for overseeing implementation of the internet safety plan within each public school of the school district to ensure that each public school complies with the requirements of the plan.

• (IV) If a school district chooses to adopt an internet safety plan and to identify a person who is responsible for overseeing implementation of the plan, the person is encouraged to annually submit an internet safety plan implementation report to the school district board of education specifying the level of implementation achieved by each public school of the school district and providing an overview of the internet safety curricula adopted and implemented in each public school of the school district. The school district board of education of each school district that chooses to adopt an internet safety plan is encouraged to submit to the department of education an annual report summarizing the internet safety plan implementation report and is encouraged to make the annual summary report available on the school district website.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Children's Internet Protection Act".

(1) The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

• (a) Use of the internet in the public schools of the state provides an extraordinary, unique, and unparalleled educational resource;

• (b) Reasonable measures must be adopted and implemented to protect the children who use internet services in public schools from access to material that is harmful to their beneficial development as responsible adults and citizens.

(2) It is the intent of the general assembly by enacting this article that public schools be required to adopt and enforce reasonable policies of internet safety that will protect children from access to harmful material without compromising either the use of the internet as an educational resource or responsible adult use of internet services in such schools.

(3) The general assembly favors the adoption by public libraries across the state of policies for children's internet protection that mirror the policies for public schools required to be adopted pursuant to the provisions of this article. Recognizing that limited state resources as of August 15, 2003, preclude an appropriation to expand the requirements of this article to include public libraries, the general assembly urges public libraries to, and hopes such libraries will, adopt the policies specified in this article on their own initiative.

As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

• (1) "Access to the internet" means, with reference to a particular technology device, that the technology device is connected to a network that provides access to the internet.

• (2) Repealed.

• (3) "District" means any public school district organized under the laws of Colorado, except a local college district.

• (4) "Harmful to minors" means any picture, image, graphic image file, or other visual depiction that:

  • (a) Taken as a whole and with respect to minors, appeals to a prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion;

  • (b) Depicts, describes, or represents, in a patently offensive way with respect to what is suitable for minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals; and

  • (c) Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value as to minors.

• (5) "Minor" means an individual who has not attained the age of seventeen.

• (6) "Sexual act" or "sexual contact" shall have the same meanings as set forth in 18 U.S.C. sec. 2246 (2) and (3).

• (6.5) "Technology device" means any computer, hardware, software, or other technology that is used for learning purposes and has the ability to connect with the internet.

• (7) Repealed.

(1) No later than December 31, 2013, the governing body of each district shall adopt and implement a policy of internet safety for minors.

(2) After the adoption and implementation of the policy of internet safety required by subsection (1) of this section, the governing body of each district shall continue to enforce the policy adopted.

Nothing in this article shall be construed as prohibiting a local board of education, or an elementary or secondary school, from blocking access to the internet on technology devices owned or operated by that board or school to material other than the material for which a technology protection measure is explicitly required in accordance with the requirements of this article.