The Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires all schools to create a safe online learning environment. Both the DCPS network and DCPS devices have content filters that protect students from online sites that contain obscene material, child pornography, and material deemed harmful to minors. To meet the CIPA requirement, DC Public Schools currently uses a filtering tool called iBoss. While iBoss meets the letter of CIPA, the iBoss filter is designed for large adult organizations and treats all users the same. CIPA acknowledges that what may be inappropriate for a 6-year-old, may not be inappropriate for a 16-year-old. Because of the way iBoss was created, the filter treats all users as if they were 6 years old. DCPS has decided to move to an internet filtering tool that is able to categorize and then individualize the internet content filter for groups and even individuals. This new filter is called LightSpeed. Lightspeed is a filtering tool that can be used by students at home and school and has some parent and teacher tools as an added benefit. We will be providing more information about what LightSpeed can do in the coming weeks. DCPS will be converting to LightSpeed over the February break, February 20-24. Students and staff do no need to do anything as the updates will be completed online and students and staff may continue using their devices while the update is taking place. Please feel free to reach out to David Thompson at david.thompson@k12.dc.gov if you have additional questions.