All District-supplied student devices, both chromebooks and iPads, are configured with web filters in place. These filters, which are applied whether the device is used on campus or at home, are intended to keep students safe from harmful, inappropriate, and dangerous content when browsing the web.


However, some families have expressed a need to filter their students' web access more stringently than the filtering provided by the District. This page describes several options for filtering which go beyond what the District provides.


Please bear in mind that strict web filtering can create problems with many websites and applications; these problems can be subtle and difficult to troubleshoot, and may interfere with your student's ability to access the resources expected by their teacher.


For more information about the web filters configured on District-owned devices, please see the article Web Filtering & Internet Safety.


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Additional Filtering on School Chromebooks

You may apply additional web filtering rules to your student's District-supplied chromebook by installing an extension named "Block Site". This extension requires a somewhat involved configuration process; see this document for instructions:


Configure Block Site - a web filter extension for chromebooks


Filtering for Personal Devices


Filtering on Your Home Network

If you are interested in filtering access for all of your student's personal devices, in addition to their school device, you might consider purchasing a filtering device or service for your home network instead.


For example, there is a device called Gryphon Guardian which connects to your existing home network, and allows you to apply individualized filtering rules to each of the devices on your network. Some network routers also offer parental controls, including models from Netgear and Firewalla.


There are also services which can apply filters to an existing home network without an additional device, although these may be more difficult to configure, and not offer the same level of control. Some examples include OpenDNS and SafeDNS.


Any of these would allow you to apply customized, stringent web filtering rules to your student's devices, including their school chromebook. Again, please bear in mind that any strict web filter is likely to cause problems with some websites and applications, and that these problems can be very difficult to identify and resolve.


Filtering Using Apps on Personal Devices

For other personal devices, built-in parental controls may be available. Apple provides some parental controls for iPads and iPhones through Screen Time and Content & Privacy Restrictions. Similarly, Android devices offer parental controls through Family Link, as well as restrictions for apps and media in the Google Play store.


There are also 3rd party app-based products which you can install on your student's personal device, such as an iPad or phone, which allow you to create web filtering and other rules for that device. There are many options for these products, including:


These controls would be managed on a device-by-device basis, and cannot be applied to a school device.


Filtering on Personal Chromebooks

If your student is using a personally owned Chromebook at home, you may be able to apply additional controls to their school (and personal) Google Accounts using Google for Families:


Note: The above techniques only apply on personal devices, not school-owned chromebooks.

You may also want to read these Google Support articles about applying SafeSearch to your home network and personal devices.