Florida School Internet Safety Laws: What Districts Must Do Beyond CIPA
Florida is one of the few states that writes social media blocking straight into statute. This guide walks through HB 379, the 2025 phone rules and the student privacy law, then turns them into filter settings and records.
Florida in five lines
- CIPA still applies to every E-Rate school and library.
- HB 379 (2023): block student social media on district internet.
- HB 379: no TikTok on district devices, networks or channels.
- HB 1105 (2025): no phones all day in elementary and middle school.
- Section 1006.1494: limits on edtech use of student data.
Block social media and TikTok on every Florida district network without a hand-typed list
HB 379 asks a board to prevent student access to social media on the internet the district provides. Our hosted CIPA filter is run for you and turns that duty into a category switch for each school.
- Social Networking is a switch, so a new platform lands in the block when we categorize it
- A teacher-directed exception can be handled with a time-limited allow rule on one school
- Guest and BYOD Wi-Fi can point at the same DNS setting as the student network
What CIPA requires of every Florida school and library
Florida law does not replace the Children's Internet Protection Act. It stacks extra duties on top, so a district has to satisfy both at once.
A filter must block visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography or harmful to minors on computers that minors use. The first two must be blocked for adults too. Our plain-language guide to what CIPA is covers the definitions.
The policy must cover minors' access to inappropriate material, safety in email and chat, hacking and other unlawful activity, disclosure of minors' personal information and the filtering measures. It must be adopted after public notice and a hearing or meeting.
Schools must monitor minors' online activity and teach appropriate online behavior, including social networking safety and cyberbullying awareness. Compliance is certified on FCC Form 486, or Form 479 for consortium members.
On top of that floor, Florida names specific platforms and behaviours: social media on district internet, TikTok, phones in class, social media instruction and protection of student data held by online services.
Florida school internet safety timeline
Each step below is a separate law. Dates are the effective dates reported for each bill; check current Florida Department of Education guidance for implementation details.
CIPA and E-Rate certification
Every funding year, schools and libraries that receive E-Rate discounts for internet access certify that the filter, policy and monitoring are in place.
HB 379: social media safety in schools
Passed unanimously in both chambers (Senate 39 to 0, House 114 to 0) and signed by the Governor. It became Chapter 2023-36, Laws of Florida.
SB 662: Student Online Personal Information Protection
Created section 1006.1494 of the Florida Statutes, which sets rules for operators of online services used for K-12 school purposes. A State Board of Education rule, 6A-1.09550, covers district policies for online educational services.
HB 3: minors and social media accounts
A platform law, not a school law. It bars account creation for children under 14 on covered platforms and requires parental consent at 14 and 15. It has been in federal litigation; check its current status.
HB 1105: phones off for the whole day in K-8
Extended the phone restriction for elementary and middle school students from instructional time to the full school day. High schools kept the instructional-time rule, with a state pilot studying full-day limits.
HB 379 (2023): social media and TikTok rules for Florida schools
HB 379 is the reason Florida districts cannot treat social media as a purely local choice on their own networks. Its six school provisions are summarised below in our own words.
Block social media on district internet
Boards must prohibit and prevent student access to social media platforms through internet access the district provides.
The only exception is use a teacher expressly directs solely for educational purposes.
TikTok and successor platforms
TikTok, or any successor platform, may not be used on district-owned devices or through district internet access.
It also may not be used to communicate about or promote a district school, club, extracurricular group or athletic team.
Adopt an internet safety policy
Each board must provide and adopt an internet safety policy for student access to district-provided internet.
In practice this is the same document many districts already keep for CIPA, updated to reflect the Florida rules.
No phones during instruction
Students may not use wireless communication devices during instructional time unless a teacher directs it for learning.
Teachers must designate an area for devices during instructional time. HB 1105 later tightened this for K-8.
Social media safety instruction
Public schools must teach students in grades 6 through 12 about the social, emotional and physical effects of social media.
This sits neatly with the CIPA duty to educate minors about online behavior.
Materials and parent notice
The Department of Education makes social media safety materials available online, and district boards must tell parents those materials exist.
Keep a copy of the notice you sent; it is easy evidence.
Which categories the platforms behind HB 379 sit in
The statute says social media and names TikTok, so the useful question is how the data files each one. These lookups come from our own categories.
| Platform | Categories we list | Reading for a Florida block |
|---|---|---|
| tiktok.com | Social Networking, Streaming Media | The named app, caught under two switches |
| facebook.com | Social Networking | Plain social media for the board's prohibition |
| x.com | Social Networking | A short-post platform students reach from a browser |
| threads.net | Social Networking | A newer network that follows the same switch |
| bsky.app | Social Networking, Web-based Applications | A successor-style platform with a second label |
| tumblr.com | Blogs/Personal Sites, Social Networking | A blog host that also counts as social media |
Florida school phone rules after HB 1105
Phone rules are not filtering rules, but they decide how much traffic ends up on personal cellular data instead of the district network. That shapes how far your filter really reaches.
| School level | Rule in force | Source | What it means for IT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elementary | No student phone use during the whole school day | HB 1105 (2025) | School-issued devices carry nearly all student browsing, so filtering on those devices is where compliance lives. |
| Middle school | No student phone use during the whole school day | HB 1105 (2025) | Same as elementary. Expect fewer attempts to tether managed laptops to personal hotspots. |
| High school | No use during instructional time unless a teacher directs it | HB 379 (2023) | Phones on cellular data sit outside the district network between classes. Your filter covers district Wi-Fi and managed devices. |
| High school pilot | State study of full-day limits in selected districts | HB 1105 (2025) | A report with findings is due to the state; check current guidance for any later statewide change. |
| Exceptions | District rules must allow for students whose plans need a device | HB 1105 (2025) | If a medical or IEP device joins Wi-Fi, decide which filter policy it gets and record the decision. |
Florida student data privacy and your filter logs
Filtering and monitoring tools create records about named students. In Florida those records touch federal FERPA, the state student records statute and the student online privacy law.
Section 1006.1494 in brief
- Applies to operators of websites, online services and apps used primarily for K-12 school purposes.
- Restricts what operators may knowingly do with covered student information, including how it may be disclosed.
- Enforced by the Department of Legal Affairs under Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
- State Board of Education Rule 6A-1.09550 asks districts and charter boards to adopt policies for online educational services and to control vendor disclosure of student data.
What that means for filtering
- A cloud filter that logs browsing by student account is an online service handling student data. Put it through the same vendor review as any edtech tool.
- Ask where logs are stored, how long they are kept and who can see them.
- Keep the signed data agreement with the filter or monitoring vendor in your evidence folder.
- Prefer category-level reporting for routine oversight, and limit full URL history to staff who need it.
What Florida law means for web filtering and monitoring
CIPA sets the minimum categories. HB 379 adds a whole platform class, social media, plus one named app. Here is how that maps to a category-based filter.
Settings to put in place
- A student policy that blocks Social Networking on every district network and managed device, wired or wireless, on campus or off.
- An explicit TikTok block on student and staff devices, because the device rule covers district-owned devices whoever uses them.
- A teacher-directed exception path: a time-limited allow rule a teacher can request for a specific class and platform.
- VPN and proxy blocking, so the social media rule cannot be routed around.
- Safe search and restricted video modes on search engines and video sites.
Monitoring that stays proportionate
- Category-level reports showing blocked Social Networking attempts per school, reviewed on a set schedule.
- Alerts for bypass attempts and for harmful-to-minors categories, routed to a named person.
- A record of each approved teacher exception: who asked, which platform, which class, how long.
- A short annual review that checks new social apps have landed in the right category.
Off-campus devices and the TikTok device rule
HB 379 ties the TikTok rule to district-owned devices, not just the campus network. A laptop that goes home is still a district-owned device.
Filter follows the device
Use a filter agent, managed browser policy or DNS profile that applies the same rules on home Wi-Fi as on campus.
App installs, not only websites
Block the app in your device management console as well as its web domains, so a sideloaded app does not slip past.
Staff devices count
The device rule is not limited to students. Check staff laptops and district phones too.
School accounts
Close or avoid official school, club or team accounts on TikTok, since promoting school activities there is also covered.
Our guide to enforcing CIPA on off-campus student devices covers agents, DNS and managed browsers in more depth.
Keeping the TikTok rule on a district laptop that goes home
A district-owned device stays covered by HB 379 after the bell. Our hosted CIPA filter uses a private encrypted link so a laptop or phone away from the network keeps the same rules, with nothing installed on the computer.
Florida school internet safety compliance checklist
Use this alongside the federal CIPA compliance checklist. The items below are the Florida additions.
Update the internet safety policy
Name the social media rule, the TikTok rule and the teacher exception process. Re-adopt with public notice if your CIPA policy changes.
Block Social Networking for students
On every district network segment, including guest and BYOD Wi-Fi that students can join.
Block TikTok on all district devices
Web domains and the app, for student and staff devices, on and off campus.
Audit school social accounts
Confirm no school, club or team uses TikTok to communicate or promote activities.
Write the exception workflow
How a teacher requests educational access, who approves, and how long it lasts.
Align phone rules
Full-day rule for K-8, instructional-time rule for high school, with documented exceptions for plans that need a device.
Deliver grade 6 to 12 instruction
Schedule social media safety lessons and record which grades received them.
Notify parents
Tell families where to find the state social media safety materials and keep the notice.
Review filter and monitoring vendors
Check data agreements against section 1006.1494 and Rule 6A-1.09550 expectations.
Block bypass routes
VPN, proxy and anonymizer categories, plus extension controls on managed browsers.
Test the blocks
Sign in as a test student each term and confirm social sites and TikTok are blocked.
Certify CIPA
Complete Form 486 or Form 479 on time, with the evidence folder ready.
Evidence to keep for Florida and E-Rate reviews
One shared folder per funding year saves weeks if an auditor, board member or parent asks how the district complies.
Adopted policy
The internet safety policy, the board minutes that adopted it and the public notice of the meeting.
Filter configuration
Screenshots or exports showing Social Networking, TikTok and the CIPA categories blocked for each student group.
Block test results
Dated test logs from a student account on campus Wi-Fi and on a take-home device.
Exception log
Every teacher-directed social media exception with purpose, class and end date.
Monitoring reports
Periodic category reports and notes showing someone reviewed them.
Instruction records
Lesson plans or schedules for social media safety in grades 6 to 12 and for CIPA online behavior education.
Parent notice
The message telling parents about the state social media materials, with the date sent.
Vendor agreements
Data agreements for filtering, monitoring and classroom tools that handle student data.
E-Rate forms
Copies of Form 486 or Form 479 and confirmation of submission.
What a Florida district gets from a hosted filter versus a manual block list
Each row is a duty from the sections above and how the two ways of working handle it.
| Florida duty | Hand-kept block list | Our hosted CIPA filter |
|---|---|---|
| Social media on district internet | Someone adds each new platform | The Social Networking switch covers a platform once it is categorized |
| Teacher-directed use | An IT ticket to edit the list | Per-site always-allow lists, and a staff PIN bypass for 15, 30 or 60 minutes that switches back and is logged |
| Bypass through a proxy | Spotted after the fact | VPN/Proxy stays blocked even with the PIN |
| Devices at home | Depends on a device agent | A private encrypted link applies the same rules away from the network |
| Records for E-Rate reviews | Screenshots and spreadsheets | Activity reports, a policy record and log export |
| Many districts, many rules | One list copied around | One console with separate settings for each school or branch |
Florida school internet safety FAQ
Does Florida require schools to block social media?
Yes, on district-provided internet. HB 379 requires boards to prohibit and prevent student access to social media platforms through district internet access.
A teacher may expressly direct use solely for educational purposes, so build an exception process rather than an unbreakable block.
Is TikTok banned in Florida public schools?
Districts must prohibit TikTok, or any successor platform, on district-owned devices and through district internet access.
It also cannot be used as a channel to communicate about or promote district schools, clubs, extracurricular groups or teams.
Are phones banned all day in Florida schools?
For elementary and middle school students, yes, since HB 1105 took effect on 1 July 2025. High school students are under the instructional-time rule from HB 379.
District rules must allow for students whose medical or education plans require a device.
Does Florida's law apply to student phones on cellular data?
The HB 379 social media rule targets district-provided internet. A phone on its own cellular plan is outside the district network, which is one reason the phone-use rules exist.
Once a phone joins district Wi-Fi, it is on district-provided internet.
Does Florida law replace CIPA?
No. CIPA still governs any school or library taking E-Rate discounts for internet access. Florida adds platform-specific and instruction duties on top.
See how the money side works in our guide to E-Rate and CIPA funding.
Do Florida charter and private schools have to follow HB 379?
HB 379 is written around district school boards and public schools. How it reaches charter schools depends on Florida's charter statutes and the charter contract, so ask your sponsor or counsel.
Private schools taking E-Rate still follow CIPA.
Does HB 3 of 2024 apply to schools?
HB 3 regulates social media platforms and minors' accounts, not schools. It has been in federal litigation, so check its current status.
It does not change the school duties in HB 379.
What is Florida's student online privacy law?
Section 1006.1494, the Student Online Personal Information Protection Act from SB 662 of 2023. It limits what operators of K-12 online services may do with covered student information.
Is this page legal advice?
No. It is a plain-language summary for IT and compliance staff. Confirm details with district counsel, your E-Rate consultant and current Florida Department of Education guidance.
Related guides and state pages
See how Florida compares with 23 other states on our school internet safety laws by state page.
We price by the number of schools and devices in your district and send the quote within one business day. A pilot on one Florida school lets your team see the social media blocks and the reports before committing.
Talk to us about your Florida district
We can show how a category database handles social media, TikTok and CIPA categories across campus networks and take-home devices, and what the evidence looks like.
Not legal advice. This page summarises Florida and federal law as we understand it in October 2026 for school IT and compliance staff. Laws, rules and court rulings change; confirm with counsel, your E-Rate consultant and current state guidance before acting.
TikTok is a trademark of its owner. It is named here only to identify the platform the law discusses. CIPA Web Filtering is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by that owner.