As part of a new federal mandate that requires schools to teach internet safety to obtain e-Rate funding, schools are reaching out to internet safety awareness groups to establish programs that will educate both teachers and students about secure and proper online behavior.

When the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act was passed last fall, it established an Online Safety and Technology Working Group that would evaluate online safety-education efforts. The law also requires schools receiving federal ed-tech funding to teach students about internet safety.

Although the law was scheduled to take effect this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not yet issued any regulations to implement the legislation.

Currently, the FCC is working on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the requirements in the act, according to a source who is familiar with the process. After that notice is issued, there will be a comment period for the public to respond. Once the comment period has closed and comments have been reviewed, the FCC will issue an order containing information about any new requirements or rule changes for e-Rate program participants.

A spokesman for the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC), the agency that administers the e-Rate, said USAC will not add any new e-Rate requirements until a formal FCC order has been issued.

Still, many schools aren't waiting and are taking a proactive approach instead.

Judi Westberg Warren, president of the internet safety-education group Web Wise Kids, said the organization has seen an increased number of schools reaching out to Web Wise Kids for guidance and information on how to properly educate students and teachers on responsible internet use.

Warren attributes that increase to a combination of the new internet-safety mandate and a general increased awareness surrounding the issue.

"There are no specific federal requirements yet, but we have an awful lot of schools and teachers asking about internet-safety programs--it's really on the increase," Warren said.

"We're really excited about that, because it means that schools are concerned about this issue and want to find good methods to educate their kids," she added.

Web Wise Kids uses computer games to educate students about safe and responsible online behavior, and Warren said using a format that children can relate to is an important step in making sure lessons are taken seriously.

Teachers are not exempt from online-safety education simply because they are adults, Warren noted.

"It is critically important to educate the educator, so we do internet training for educators and a full-day class for them to be educated not only for our program, but on the issue," she said.

Too often, educators are asked to implement internet-safety education programs before they are familiar with the topic themselves, Warren added. And parents, too, are important.