Delaware School Internet Safety Laws
Delaware does not add a separate filtering mandate for public schools. CIPA sets that rule. What Delaware does add is a 2026 phone policy law, a state library filter act and one of the earlier student data privacy laws for edtech operators.
CIPA
Filter, policy and monitoring for E-Rate schools and libraries.
SB 106
District and charter phone policies for instructional time.
Title 14, Ch. 81A
Student Data Privacy Protection Act for operators.
Title 29, Ch. 66C
Delaware Children's Internet Protection Act for public libraries.
What CIPA requires of Delaware schools
CIPA applies to schools and libraries that take E-Rate discounts for internet access or internal connections. It is certified every funding year on FCC Form 486, or Form 479 for consortium members.
Technology protection measure
Blocks or filters visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography or harmful to minors on computers minors use.
Internet safety policy
Covers inappropriate material, email and chat safety, hacking, disclosure of minors' data and restricting harmful materials.
Public notice and meeting
Reasonable notice and at least one public hearing or meeting before adoption.
Monitoring and education
Monitoring minors' online activities and teaching online behavior, social networking safety and cyberbullying.
Start with what CIPA is and who must comply, and see how it ties to E-Rate CIPA funding.
Give every Delaware school the same CIPA blocks, wherever the connection comes from
Delaware leaves the filtering duty to CIPA, so a district or charter has to make sure each path to the internet is covered. Our hosted CIPA filter is a DNS filter that we run for you, with one set of rules across all of your buildings.
- The CIPA preset blocks Adult and VPN/Proxy/Anonymizers from day one
- A charter school can keep its own settings in the same console as the district
- Take-home Chromebooks keep the rules through a private encrypted link
Does Delaware have its own school filter law?
Short answer: no, not for public schools. Title 14 of the Delaware Code, which covers education, has no separate duty for schools to filter beyond CIPA. Delaware's own filter act is written for public libraries.
The library act, Chapter 66C of Title 29, is called the Delaware Children's Internet Protection Act. It reaches public libraries funded by the state or local governments. It also mentions school libraries, in a way that tells you how Delaware thinks about school filtering.
Public libraries
- The chapter applies to public libraries that receive state or local funding
- It sets filtering expectations for library internet access
- Check the current chapter text for policy, adult access and reporting details
Public school libraries
- Exempt from the chapter
- The exemption holds so long as their internet access is filtered through the State's computer system
- In other words, the law assumes school internet is already filtered centrally
Separate user groups
Where a library serves both students and adults, give each its own filter policy on the network.
Adult research access
Under CIPA, a library taking E-Rate may disable the filter for an adult doing bona fide research or other lawful work.
Written agreement
Joint-use spaces should record which rules apply to whom, and who manages the filter.
Patron policy design is covered in web filtering for libraries.
SB 106: Delaware's 2026 school phone policy law
SB 106, sponsored by Sen. Buckson and Rep. K. Williams, amends Title 14 on cell phone use in school. It became Chapter 238 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware.
Local patchwork
All 19 Delaware school districts already limited phones in class in some way, but the rules varied widely.
Senate passes SB 106
The bill set out a statewide expectation that every district and charter adopt a phone policy.
House amends and passes
House amendments adjusted policy due dates and reporting details.
Signed into law
Governor Matt Meyer signed SB 106.
Policy required
Every school district and charter school adopts a policy limiting student cell phone use during instructional time.
Consequences
The policy sets out a system of appropriate consequences for violations.
Exceptions
The policy allows use in emergencies, and districts commonly add health and IEP or 504 needs.
Phones, Wi-Fi and school devices
SB 106 is a behavior rule, not a network rule. Still, IT settings can support it, and a few things are out of IT's reach entirely.
Student Wi-Fi
Keep personal phones off student Wi-Fi during instructional time if your local policy limits them.
School devices
School laptops and Chromebooks stay under the CIPA filter in class and at home.
Teacher use
Approved learning tools should run on school devices, not personal phones.
Cellular data
Phones on their own data plan never reach school filters. Classroom rules control them.
Lunch and recess
The state rule targets instructional time. Local policy decides the rest of the day.
Monitoring
CIPA monitoring applies to school networks and devices, not to personal phones on cellular.
For take-home devices, see how to enforce CIPA on off-campus student devices.
Closing the gap that a central network leaves open
The library exemption in Delaware assumes filtering happens centrally, but a laptop at home or a separate link never touches it. Our hosted CIPA filter keeps the same rules on those devices through a private encrypted link, and nothing is installed on the computer.
The Student Data Privacy Protection Act
Delaware passed its student data privacy law in 2015, modeled on California's operator law. It is Chapter 81A of Title 14 and was signed on August 7, 2015.
No targeted advertising
Operators may not knowingly target ads based on student data gathered through their K-12 service.
No outside profiles
Operators may not build student profiles from that data except for educational purposes.
No sale of student data
Operators may not sell or disclose student data, except under the exceptions listed in the law.
Security and deletion
Operators keep security procedures in line with state technology standards, and delete data on a school's request within a set period of no more than 45 days.
Filter and monitoring tools often store student identities with browsing records. Our guide to student data privacy and FERPA in filtering covers what to ask.
What Delaware law means for filtering and monitoring
Category settings in Delaware come from CIPA and local policy. The state laws shape phones and data rather than categories, so the table below shows where each duty lands in day-to-day settings.
| Need | Source | Filter setting | Process |
|---|---|---|---|
| Block obscene, child pornography and harmful to minors images | CIPA | Adult and related categories blocked for every student group | Policy after notice and a public meeting |
| Keep school library exemption sound | Title 29, Ch. 66C | School library traffic filtered like the rest of the school | Document how library internet is filtered |
| Limit phones during instruction | SB 106 | Student Wi-Fi closed to personal phones in class | Local policy, consequences, exceptions |
| Stop filter bypass | CIPA in practice | VPN / Proxy / Anonymizers blocked | Acceptable use policy and discipline |
| Monitor minors' online activity | CIPA | Category reports by school | Named reviewers, set schedule |
| Protect student data | CIPA, Ch. 81A | Malware / Phishing / Suspicious blocked | Operator terms, deletion requests handled |
Navy: CIPA core. Green: common local blocks. Blue: set by age band and teacher need. See the web filtering categories taxonomy and our guide to social media filtering in schools.
How our data labels the apps and proxies behind a phone policy
SB 106 limits phones in class, but students on school Wi-Fi still reach these names. The rows below come from our own category data.
| Domain | Categories in our data | Link to the Delaware rules |
|---|---|---|
| discord.com | Email and Messaging, Social Networking, Gaming | Chat that competes with class time on student Wi-Fi |
| snapchat.com | Social Networking | A typical phone distraction the SB 106 policy targets |
| roblox.com | Gaming | Lunch and recess are local policy, class time is not |
| protonvpn.com | VPN / Proxy / Anonymizers | A way around the filter on a school device |
| croxyproxy.com | VPN / Proxy / Anonymizers | A web proxy that needs no install, so a category block matters |
Common questions from Delaware IT teams
These come up when districts review filtering against the state rules. Short answers, in our own words.
Is state network filtering enough?
It can meet CIPA for traffic that passes through it. Take-home devices and separate connections need their own filtering.
Can we set our own categories?
Yes. CIPA sets the minimum, and local policy decides the rest, such as social media and gaming.
What about AI tools?
No Delaware law covers them, so decide by grade. Our AI tools set covers 11,800+ AI-tool domains in 18 categories, updated daily.
How current must the filter be?
New sites appear daily. We categorize about 300,000 newly registered domains every day.
Do charter schools follow SB 106?
Yes, the law names both districts and charter schools.
Is our filter vendor an operator?
It may be, depending on how the tool is used. Ask counsel, and require Chapter 81A style terms in the contract either way.
For AI tool control, see the AI tools blocklist for schools.
Monitoring that fits CIPA and Chapter 81A
CIPA asks the internet safety policy to provide for monitoring minors' online activities. Delaware's data law pushes the other way on keeping more student data than needed. Good practice sits between the two.
Report by category
Category and school level reports show trends and risks without storing every URL by name for long periods.
Alert on what matters
Raise alerts for self-harm signals, threats and repeated attempts to reach blocked adult or proxy sites.
Limit who sees names
Only staff with a safety role should open named student activity, and access should be logged.
Delete on schedule
Set a retention period for detailed logs and keep to it. Handle deletion requests promptly.
A setup order for a Delaware district or charter
If you are starting fresh or reviewing an older setup, this order puts the federal duties first and the local choices after.
Confirm E-Rate scope
List which schools and libraries take E-Rate for covered services, so you know where CIPA applies.
Map every path to the internet
State network, any separate links, guest Wi-Fi and take-home devices. Each path needs the same student policy.
Set the CIPA core
Block the required categories for every student group, including in the school library.
Add age bands
Give elementary, middle and high school their own category sets for social media, gaming and AI tools.
Align with SB 106
Match student Wi-Fi rules to the phone policy for instructional time.
Review vendor data terms
Check filter, monitoring and learning app contracts against Chapter 81A themes.
Test and record
Test sample devices at school and at home, and keep the results with your evidence file.
Repeat steps 2 and 7 whenever you add a new building, connection or device program, since each new path is a new place for gaps to appear.
Common myths about Delaware school internet rules
A small state with a central network invites a few shortcuts in thinking. These are the ones we hear most.
"The state filters, so we are done"
Central filtering covers what passes through it. Devices at home or on other links are still your job.
"SB 106 bans phones all day"
It requires a policy limiting phone use during instructional time. Stricter all-day rules are a local choice.
"Only E-Rate schools need a filter"
Legally CIPA is tied to E-Rate, but parents and boards expect protection on every school device.
"The data law is only for big edtech"
It covers operators of K-12 services generally. Smaller tools can fall under it too.
"Monitoring means reading every screen"
Category reports and alert review usually meet the CIPA monitoring duty.
"Blocking a few big sites is enough"
Proxies and copycat sites appear daily. Category data catches new ones as they appear.
Delaware school internet safety checklist
A yearly pass. For the federal side in more depth, use our CIPA compliance checklist.
Evidence to keep
These records answer most questions from an E-Rate reviewer, the Department of Education or a parent.
Internet safety policy
Current text, adoption date, notice and meeting minutes.
Board, when revisedFilter configuration
Export of blocked categories by student group, school library included.
IT, each termPhone policy
SB 106 policy, proof of publication and of submission to the Department.
District office, each yearMonitoring samples
Sample reports and the reviewer list.
Administrators, monthly or termlyOperator contracts
Data terms and deletion request records.
Procurement, at renewalE-Rate forms
Filed Form 486 or Form 479.
E-Rate lead, each funding yearNeed policy wording? See our CIPA internet safety policy guide.
The state network compared with a hosted filter for a Delaware district
This is how the two approaches differ on the jobs a Delaware tech team has to prove or maintain.
| Delaware task | Relying on the central network alone | Our hosted CIPA filter |
|---|---|---|
| Home and off-network Chromebooks | Only traffic that crosses the network is filtered | A private encrypted link keeps the same rules on laptops and phones away from school |
| Charter school settings | Shared rules for everyone | One console, separate settings per school or branch |
| Skipping the filter | Depends on how it is set up | VPN/Proxy blocked even with a staff PIN, and public encrypted DNS and browser settings that skip the filter are blocked by default |
| Fixing a wrong block | A request to a central team | Always-allow and always-block lists per site, applied in seconds |
| Monitoring evidence | Reports you ask for | Activity reports, a policy record and log export for your CIPA file |
| Category coverage | Depends on the system | 120M+ categorized domains, 99.99% of the active internet |
Delaware school internet safety FAQ
Does Delaware have a state law requiring school internet filters?
Not for public schools. CIPA applies to E-Rate schools. The Title 29 library act exempts school libraries as long as their internet is filtered through the State's computer system.
What does SB 106 require?
Every district and charter adopts a policy limiting phone use during instructional time, with consequences and exceptions such as emergencies. It was signed on March 12, 2026.
What is the Student Data Privacy Protection Act?
Chapter 81A of Title 14, from 2015. Operators may not target ads, build non-educational profiles or sell student data, and must secure and delete data on request.
Who enforces the student data privacy law?
The Consumer Protection Unit of the Department of Justice.
Does the phone law apply to lunch and recess?
The state rule focuses on instructional time. Local policy decides lunch and recess.
Other state guides
See all states on the school internet safety laws by state hub.
Not legal advice. This page summarizes federal and Delaware rules in our own words for general information. Statutes and deadlines change, so check the current Delaware Code and Department of Education guidance, and confirm your obligations with counsel.
Related guides
- CIPA Internet Safety Policy: What It Must Contain and How to Write One
- Student Data Privacy, FERPA and Web Filtering
- CIPA Compliance Checklist for Schools and Districts (8 Steps)
- New Jersey School Internet Safety Laws: CIPA and Phone-Free
- Maryland School Internet Safety Laws: Phone-Free Schools and CIPA
A quote reaches you within one business day and depends on how many schools and devices you run. If it helps to see the blocks and reports first, a pilot on a single Delaware site can come before any decision.
Talk to us about your Delaware district
Need filtering that covers take-home devices as well as the school network? We will show how our CIPA category data and the hosted CIPA filter pilot fit Delaware schools.
Talk to us about your district