Tuesday, Jan 16, 2007    Text size: 

Bud Bowman, R-Cedar City, who said there currently is no law that punishes students for viewing adult material on school grounds, is the bill’s sponsor. According to Bowman, the school leaders he spoke to have been supportive of the bill.

Under HB 100, viewing adult material on school-owned computers would be a class B misdemeanor, which can include penalties of up to six months in jail and hefty fines. Students in violation of this proposed policy would be turned over to local juvenile authorities.

“Right now, they have school policies but no law — it needs a little teeth,” Bowman told the Deseret News. “The bill would give authorities a way to back it up.”

A spokesman for the Salt Lake City School District said his district uses filters that block adult entertainment websites, along with many blogs and chat rooms.

“We do a good job at keeping students away from [porn], but anything that can help encourage kids to stay away from that, especially in an education setting — we would be supportive of that,” Salt Lake City School District spokesman Jason Olsen said.