USA Today reports on the dangers of technology policies that lack nuance…

There’s a common complaint among high school students across the country, and it has nothing to do with curfews or allowances: Internet filters are preventing them from doing online research at school. Records obtained by The Markup from districts across the country show just how broadly schools block content, forcing students to jump through hoops to complete assignments and even keeping them from resources that could support their health and safety.

School districts must block obscene or harmful images to qualify for federally-subsidized internet access under the Children’s Internet Protection Act, passed by Congress nearly 25 years ago. But the records, from 16 districts across 11 states, show they go much further. Schools are limiting not only what images students can see, but what words they can read.

Some of the censorship inhibits students’ ability to do basic research on sites like Wikipedia and Quora. Students have also been blocked from visiting websites that web-filtering software categorizes as “education,” “news,” or “informational.” But even more concerning for some students are blocks against sex education, abortion information, and resources for LGBTQ+ teens—including suicide prevention.