HB 1886

Present law requires each LEA to adopt an internet acceptable use policy that includes provisions that: (1) Are designed to prohibit certain inappropriate use by school district employees and students of the school district's computers via the internet; (2) Seek to prevent access by students to material that the school district deems to be harmful to juveniles; (3) Select technology for the LEA's computers having internet access that prevent access to pornography, obscenity, and materials that are harmful to minors; (4) Establish appropriate measures to be taken against persons who violate the policy; (5) Include a component on internet safety for students that is integrated in a school district's instructional program; (6) Encourage communications with parents that raise awareness about internet safety using existing avenues of communication; (7) Limit the content accessible by students using internet access provided by the LEA to content that is age-appropriate; (8) Protect the safety and security of students accessing email, chat rooms, and other forms of direct, electronic communication using internet access provided by the LEA; and (9) Prevent students from using internet access provided by the LEA to access websites, web applications, or software that does not protect students against the disclosure, use, or dissemination of their personal information. This bill instead requires each LEA and public charter school to adopt an internet acceptable use policy that establishes: (1) Internet safety protocols for students that are integrated into the LEA's or public charter school's instructional program; (2) Guidelines for effective communication with parents to raise awareness of internet safety using existing avenues of communication, such as parent-teacher conferences; (3) Rules designed to protect the safety and security of students who use the internet access provided by the LEA or public charter school to access any form of direct, electronic communication online; (4) Safeguards to prevent students from using the internet access provided by the LEA or public charter school to access websites, web applications, or software that does not protect students against the disclosure, use, or dissemination of their person al information; and (5) Limitations on accessing websites through the internet provided by the LEA or public charter school by only allowing access to websites that are deemed by the LEA or public charter school as acceptable to access. The full text of this bill specifie s types of content that cannot be deemed acceptable. This bill maintains present law authorization to include other terms in an internet acceptable use policy and extends that authorization to policies adopted by public charter schools. This bill requires each LEA and public charter school to evaluate its internet acceptable use policy at least twice each year, and update the policy, if necessary. Present law requires a provider of digital or online resources, with which an LEA or a state agency contracts for the provision of digital or online materials created and marketed for K-12 school to abide by certain terms to prevent students from accessi ng prohibited material. This bill extends such requirements to providers that enter such contracts with public charter schools and adds a requirement that the provider filter, block, or otherwise prevent access through any provided digital or online mate ri als to: (1) Content that is violent or frightening for the age or maturity level of the student who may access the content, if the LEA, public charter school, or state agency, as applicable, determines that the content has no educational value; and (2) Content that promotes self-harm. Present law exempts medical resources and archival collections from the requirements for providers that contract with an LEA or state agency or the provision of digital or online materials created and marketed for K-12 school and the requirement that the contracting LEA or state agency implement a process to receive and review complaints. This bill extends the exemption for medical resources to applicable contracts in which a public charter school is a party and removes the exemption for archival collec ti ons. This bill authorizes an LEA or public charter school to create an email address for students in grades pre-K-5 for the purpose of using the email address as a data point to identify the student in security or grading software; provided, that the student must not be permitted to access such email address for the transmission or receipt of emails. This bill requires each local board of education and public charter school governing body to select, employ, or contract with a third party with experience monitoring acceptable internet use to conduct an annual audit of the LEA's or public charter schoo l's compliance with the LEA's or public charter school's internet acceptable use policy and to ensure that the policy complies with this bill. The LEA or public charter school is required to publish the results of the most recent audit on its website. If a student under 18 years of age accesses a website using the internet access provided by the LEA or public charter school in violation of the LEA's or public charter school's internet acceptable use policy, then this bill requires the LEA or public ch arter school to notify the student's parent or guardian of the prohibited access immediately upon notice to the LEA or public charter school. This bill specifies that its provisions do not impair contracts entered into before July 1, 2026. ON APRIL 21, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1886, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #2 replaces this bill's requirement that an LEA or public charter school's internet acceptable use policy include limitations on accessing websites through the internet provided by the LEA or public charter school. This amendment instead requi res that the selection of technology for the LEA's computers having internet access to prohibit and prevent access to harmful, obscene, or violent content, or content that promotes self-harm. This amendment specifies that an email address created by an LEA or public charter school for a K-5 student pursuant to this bill is to be used solely by the LEA or public charter school as a data point for identifying the student in security or grading software. This amendment removes this bill's requirement that LEAs and public charter school governing bodies contract with third parties for an annual audit of their compliance with the internet acceptable use policy, or perform an e-rate audit, This amendment changes this bill's effective date from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027. ON APRIL 22, 2026, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 1886 FOR SENATE BILL 1912, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #3, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1886, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #3 makes the following changes:  Requires public charter schools to ensure that their internet acceptable use policies select technology for computers having internet access that prohibits and prevents access to content that (i) is deemed harmful to students; (ii) is pornographic or obscene; (iii) is violent or frightening, and has no educational value; (iv) promotes self-harm; and (v) is harmful to minors.  Requires an internet acceptable use policy to include rules designed to prohibit and prevent access to the content described above by employees of an LEA or public charter school.  Requires an internet acceptable use policy to include appropriate measures to be taken against employees who violate the policy.