ACLU alleges anti-gay web censorship at North Shore school district

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By John P. Huston TribLocal reporter
Today at 1:22 p.m.

A North Shore elementary school district has come under fire for allegedly blocking student access to gay and lesbian advocacy websites.

A school official, however, said the district never made a decision to block the sites and criticized the American Civil Liberties Union for making its public accusation before giving it a chance to respond.

The ACLU says Wilmette-based Avoca School District 37 is unconstitutionally censoring websites “that advocate fair treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.” As part of a national campaign called “Don’t Filter Me,” the ACLU discovered that District 37 filters access to a category of websites called “education.lifestyles.”

By blocking the category, District 37 denies access to sites such as the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which offers materials about tolerance, and A Day of Silence, a campaign that encourages students to take a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT issues.

At the same time, the ACLU says, District 37’s web filter software allows access to sites like the Illinois Family Institute, a non-profit group that opposes gay marriage and promotes “the belief that homosexual behavior is against God’s will.”

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http://triblocal.com/wilmette-kenilworth/2011/05/12/aclu-alleges-anti-gay-web-censorship-at-north-shore-school-district/