Wilmot to ban students from public Wi-Fi

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

When Wilmot Union High School officials announced its decision to terminate public WiFi access on Wednesday, the students opted to file an online petition with hopes the decision would get overturned. This is seen as controversial, especially as the internet is something that is a part of practically everyone’s lives nowadays, this can be seen as a risky move towards the students. Knowing the history of internet browsers and what they used to be and what they are used for now can really put something like this into perspective, as they have a whole myriad of uses that can be beneficial to students in school, so termination is something that they will fight against.

Termination is effective Feb. 6.

The school, which cited the Children’s Internet Protection Act, made the change to safeguard students from harmful materials and improve student engagement inside the classroom, according to a letter sent to parents by Principal John LaFleur.

However, this issue could likely have been tackled in a different way, rather than restricting access to the WiFi entirely. With one of the best best vpn for firefox, access to certain websites or platforms can be blocked for students, enabling only approved content to be accessed. However, this involves quite a bit of technicality which could prove to be complicated to implement across the school.

“At this time, we have determined that there are numerous issues related to the continued use of the wireless network our students access on their personal phones and devices,” the letter states.

Numerous issues include potential classroom distractions, exposure to harmful and/or illegal materials and puts the school at risk of noncompliance towards CIPA.

As an alternative, LaFleur pointed to the school’s stock of computers and other devices, and told parents there is a potential of increased data usage on their child’s cellular phones.

Meanwhile, for students, they launched a petition, which has garnered 1,043 supporters.

“Students were told by LaFleur that they will lose access to the internet and WiFi as a result of network misuse,” the petition states.

“Many students and others are very concerned with this decision…Internet access is large part of the learning environment.”

According to District Administrator Dan Kopp, he said there was no specific incident that led to the school’s decision, noting some safeguard vulnerabilities.

“With the advent of more internet based tools that allow a user of public Wi-Fi to circumvent our safeguards, we can no longer ensure the safety of our students if we allow public access to the Wi-Fi,” Kopp states in an email.

The large part includes a digital curriculum, consisting of textbooks, Google Classroom and the Project Lead The Way Learning Management System.

Before the school decided, LaFleur consulted with department chairpersons to gather feedback, Kopp states.

“They claimed there would no disruption to teaching and learning if we were to shut public access down,” he wrote.

Additionally, the petition states the library has an inadequate supply of computers, in which most of the respondents agreed.

Another concern expressed relates to student’s inability to access the internet when at home. While satellite internet can provide students with a fast web connection, those living in poverty may struggle to afford it.

“The district has over 500 wireless devices and another 500 plus personal computers that are available for student use,” Kopp states. “They can still get on the internet, it just has to be done through one of our devices.”


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