K12 Teachers and Administrators have questions about some of the finer points regarding CIPA and their school district. It appears there is a misunderstanding: not all CIPA products are created equal and more importantly your District may actually have the wrong CIPA product installed.
From a technical point-of-view CIPA solutions range in flexibility like Tylenol: Extra Strength Tylenol, Regular Strength Tylenol, Tylenol 8 hour and Tylenol PM.
For a real-world overview of YouTube, K12 web filtering & CIPA: Click Here
Many CIPA related questions from teachers and administrators can be addressed by a single resource: District Technology Policy. If you do not have one — get one — following these easy steps:
1. Google “K12 district technology policy”
2. Read policies posted online by Districts around the country
2a. Find one that looks appealing for the needs of your District
2b. Don’t forget to acknowledge their efforts…send an email acknowledging their work
3. Copy/paste
4. Modify as needed WITH District-wide consensus
5. Publish your Policy under Creative Commons
In many respects the CIPA vendor you choose may limit your flexibility in unblocking webpages. Most robust CIPA products DO permit teachers/district coordinators to permit custom URLs to be available on the fly.