Vermont School Internet Safety Laws
Vermont does not have its own school filtering statute, but it has moved fast on phones and social media. From the 2026 to 2027 school year, school days are phone-free, and schools may no longer reach students through social media.
This guide for Vermont technology coordinators, library media specialists and principals sets out the federal baseline, what Vermont adds and what it means for your filter. Planning guidance, not legal advice.
The plain answer on filtering
We found no Vermont statute that requires schools to filter the internet or that sets a filtering standard. Federal CIPA is the filtering rule for E-Rate schools and libraries. Vermont's own rules shape the environment around the filter: devices, social media and data. That makes a well-run CIPA program the part that protects students and your district.
The CIPA baseline in Vermont
Any Vermont school or library that takes E-Rate discounts for internet access or internal connections must meet the Children's Internet Protection Act. For the background, read what is CIPA.
Blocks or filters visual depictions that are obscene or child pornography for all users, and harmful to minors on computers that minors use.
Covers inappropriate material, email and chat safety, hacking, unauthorized disclosure of minors' personal data and the filter. Adopted after reasonable public notice and at least one hearing or meeting.
Schools monitor the online activities of minors. Supervision plus summary reports can meet this; CIPA does not require keeping every student's history.
Schools teach appropriate online behavior, including social networking safety and cyberbullying awareness and response.
FCC Form 486 each funding year, or Form 479 for consortium members. An authorized person may disable the filter for adults doing bona fide research. See the E-Rate and CIPA funding guide.
When CIPA is the only filtering rule, make it the strong one
Vermont has no filtering statute of its own, so what you block is set by CIPA and by your board. Our hosted CIPA filter is a DNS filter that we run for you, and with phones put away under Act 72 it covers the school devices that now carry the browsing.
- The CIPA preset blocks Adult and VPN/Proxy/Anonymizers, so devices on an exception cannot tunnel out
- A change to a category reaches every device in seconds, which helps in the first weeks when teachers ask for sites
- Separate settings per school suit a supervisory union with several buildings
What Vermont adds beyond CIPA
Vermont's additions are about devices, communication and data rather than blocked content. This table shows each rule and its status at our last check in October 2026.
| Rule | What it covers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Act 72 (2025), H.480, 16 V.S.A. 583 | Phone-free school day: a state model policy and local policies at least as strict | Signed June 2025; local policies required from the 2026 to 2027 school year |
| Act 72 social media provision | Schools may not communicate with students through social media or require student accounts for school activities | Reported as effective on signing in June 2025 |
| 9 V.S.A. 2443 to 2443f, student privacy | Duties for operators of PreK-12 websites, services and apps that handle student information | In force; added in 2020 |
| State Board of Education rules | Written school policies on electronic resources, acceptable internet use and complaint handling | In force; check the current rule text |
| State filtering statute | None found | CIPA is the filtering rule |
Act 72: the phone-free school day
Governor Phil Scott signed H.480 in June 2025, and it became Act 72. It is one of the broader phone laws in the country because it also covers smartwatches and other connected personal devices.
How the law works
- The Secretary of Education writes a model policy, in consultation with school board, independent school and parent coalition groups, and reviews it at least once a year.
- The model bars student use of cellphones and non-school-issued personal electronic devices that connect to cellular networks, the internet or wireless, from arrival to dismissal.
- From the 2026 to 2027 school year, each school board adopts and enforces a policy at least as strict as the model.
- A board that does not adopt one is presumed to have adopted the current model.
- Approved independent schools that accept publicly funded students have a parallel duty.
What it means for the filter
- Personal devices are put away, so school-issued devices carry nearly all student browsing.
- Your CIPA filter on those devices, on and off campus, becomes the main control. See filtering school devices off campus.
- Devices used under an exception may still join school Wi-Fi. Put them on the student rule set.
- Block VPN / Proxy / Anonymizers so connected devices cannot tunnel around the filter. Read blocking proxy sites in schools.
Health, IEP and 504 plans
Use required by a student's plan is allowed.
Administrator approval
Academic, athletic or cocurricular use an administrator approves.
McKinney-Vento
Use needed to meet homeless education requirements.
The school social media rule
Act 72 also limits how schools themselves use social media with students. It is a rare provision, and it shapes how you set the Social Networking category.
What schools may not do
- Communicate with students through social media platforms.
- Require students to hold social media accounts to take part in academic or extracurricular activities.
- Reports say this part applied from signing in June 2025. Check the statute for the exact definitions of platforms and communication.
Filtering choices that follow
- No class or club should depend on a social platform, so blocking Social Networking for students causes little disruption.
- Move team and club messages to the school's own communication tools.
- Staff may still need social media access for school pages aimed at parents and the public.
- Our social media filtering for schools page covers grade-band options.
How popular social sites and two school messaging tools are labelled
Act 72 stops schools from using social media to reach students, so the Social Networking category is easy to close. These lookups show which names it reaches and which school tools sit elsewhere.
| Domain | Categories in our data | What a Vermont school can do |
|---|---|---|
| facebook.com | Social Networking | Block for students; open for staff who run the public page |
| instagram.com | Social Networking | Same switch, so a club account has no need for it |
| snapchat.com | Social Networking | Closed for students under the same category |
| youtube.com | Streaming Media, Social Networking | Two categories, so a block on one has to be weighed against lessons |
| remind.com | Education/Reference, Web-based Applications | A school messaging tool that stays outside the social category |
| classdojo.com | Education/Reference, Community Sites | Labelled as education, so it is not caught by a social rule |
Student privacy: 9 V.S.A. 2443
Vermont's student privacy subchapter applies to operators of websites, online services, online apps and mobile apps used for PreK-12 school purposes. Filtering, monitoring and classroom tools that handle student data usually fall inside it.
Broad covered information
Includes records, contact details, grades, health data and geolocation that identify a student.
Reasonable security
Operators must protect student information with security suited to its sensitivity.
Limits on use
Use of student data for targeted advertising and other non-school purposes is restricted.
Consumer protection enforcement
Violations are treated as unfair and deceptive acts under the state consumer protection law.
Supervisory unions, libraries and schools without E-Rate
Vermont schools are organized into supervisory unions and districts, and many share technology staff. That shapes who owns the filter and the policies.
Shared technology teams
- Agree in writing which board adopts the internet safety policy for each school.
- Run one filter configuration across member schools where you can, with grade-band rule sets.
- Keep one evidence folder per funding year for the whole union, with a tab per school.
- If schools file E-Rate as a consortium, members certify on Form 479 to the lead applicant.
Libraries and non-E-Rate schools
- School library media centers follow the school's CIPA program and rule sets.
- Public libraries fall under CIPA when they take E-Rate or certain federal library grants for internet access. See web filtering for libraries.
- A school that takes no E-Rate is outside CIPA, and with no state filtering statute the choice is local.
- Almost all schools filter anyway, because an open network is a safety and liability risk.
One console, separate settings for each school
Shared technology teams can keep every member school in one console, with its own category settings and its own always-allow list. The policy record and a log export give the union one evidence folder with a tab for each building.
Rolling out Act 72 alongside your filter
The phone law and the filter work best when they are planned together. This sequence keeps the technology ready before devices go into pouches or lockers.
Read the current state model policy and compare it with your existing rules. Note anything stricter you want to keep.
Check that every student who needs a device for coursework has a school-issued one, so no class depends on personal phones.
Test the filter on school devices at home and on guest Wi-Fi. Fix gaps before personal devices disappear from the school day.
Watch unblock requests closely. Teachers who used phones for quick tasks may now need sites opened on school devices.
Review requests and incidents, adjust grade-band categories and record the changes for the spring policy review.
Common Vermont misreadings
Act 72 got national attention, so many summaries mix up what it does and does not do. These are the points we hear confused most.
Updating the acceptable use policy for Act 72
Most Vermont acceptable use policies were written when phones were allowed in class. These are the clauses that usually need new wording. Our acceptable use policy guide has more examples.
School devices only
State that school-issued devices are the way students go online during the school day, apart from listed exceptions.
Network access for exceptions
Explain that a personal device used under an exception connects only to the filtered student network.
No filter bypass
Ban VPNs, proxies, hotspots and extensions used to get around the filter, with clear consequences.
School communication channels
Name the school tools used for messages to students, now that social media is off the table.
AI tools
List which AI tools students may use for schoolwork and how use must be disclosed.
What is monitored
Tell families plainly what the filter records, who sees it and how long it is kept.
What it means for filtering and monitoring in Vermont
With CIPA as the filtering rule and Act 72 pushing browsing onto school devices, these settings give Vermont schools a clean, defensible setup.
| Area | Recommended setting | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| All users | Block Adult on every device and network | CIPA covers obscene imagery and child abuse material for adults too |
| Students | Block Gambling, Illegal Drugs, Weapons, Violence, Hate/Discrimination, Dating, Lingerie/Swimsuits/Intimate Apparel, File Sharing/P2P | A practical harmful to minors set, adjusted by grade band |
| Bypass | Block VPN / Proxy / Anonymizers and filter-evasion extensions | Keeps the protection measure working |
| Social Networking | Blocked for students; open for staff who manage school pages | Act 72 removes the need for student access at school |
| AI tools | Allow reviewed tools, block the rest | No Vermont statute requires an AI block; see the AI tools blocklist for schools |
| Logs | Category-level reports; short retention for named-student data | Meets CIPA and respects 9 V.S.A. 2443 |
Vermont checklist
Spread the work across the year. The federal items are explained in more depth in the CIPA compliance checklist.
Before the school year
During the year
Each spring
Evidence to keep
Keep one folder per school year. If a reviewer, parent or board member asks how you comply, these records answer it.
Internet safety policy and hearing record
Notice, minutes and the adopted text. Rule: CIPA.
Filter rule set exports
Staff and each grade band, dated. Rule: CIPA.
Filter test results
Devices, networks and dates tested. Rule: CIPA.
Online safety lesson records
Plans and dates by grade. Rule: CIPA.
Filed Form 486 or 479
With confirmation. Rule: CIPA.
Adopted phone policy and exception log
Adoption date and comparison with the model. Rule: Act 72.
Social media communication audit
Note showing school channels with students moved off social media. Rule: Act 72.
Vendor data agreements
Security and use terms for each tool. Rule: 9 V.S.A. 2443.
Preparing for a phone-free year: do it yourself or use the hosted filter
These are the jobs that land on a Vermont technology coordinator when personal devices disappear and school devices carry the load.
| Job for the coordinator | Local setup and manual lists | Hosted CIPA filter |
|---|---|---|
| Keep school-issued devices filtered at home | Depends on how each device is managed | A private encrypted link keeps the same rules off the network |
| Close the Social Networking category | Many sites to add and keep current | One category switch for each school |
| Handle teachers' new requests | Ticket, then a manual edit of a list | Always-allow entry that applies in seconds |
| Put exception devices on the student rules | A separate network profile | The same DNS setting and student categories on school Wi-Fi |
| Run several schools in one union | A configuration per building | One console with separate settings per school or branch |
| Keep records for the spring review | Screenshots and exports kept by hand | Activity reports, policy record and a log export |
Vermont school internet safety FAQ
Does Vermont have a state law that requires school internet filtering?
We found no Vermont statute that requires filtering. CIPA is the filtering rule for E-Rate schools and libraries. State Board rules expect written policies on electronic resources and acceptable use but set no filtering standard.
What does Act 72 require?
It added 16 V.S.A. 583. The Secretary of Education writes a model policy barring personal connected devices from arrival to dismissal, and from 2026 to 2027 boards adopt a policy at least as strict.
What are the exceptions?
Use required by a health plan, IEP or 504 plan; use an administrator approves for academic, athletic or cocurricular purposes; and use needed for McKinney-Vento compliance.
Can Vermont schools use social media to communicate with students?
Act 72 bars schools from communicating with students through social media and from requiring student accounts for school activities. Check the statute for exact definitions.
Does Act 72 apply to independent schools?
Approved independent schools that accept publicly funded students have a parallel duty to adopt a policy. Check the statute for your school.
Which Vermont law protects student data held by edtech vendors?
9 V.S.A. 2443 to 2443f covers operators of PreK-12 services. It requires reasonable security and limits use of student data, enforced under consumer protection law.
Does Vermont require schools to block AI tools?
We found no such statute. Allow reviewed tools and block the rest by category.
Other state school internet safety laws
Compare Vermont with other Northeast states, or browse every guide on the school internet safety laws by state hub.
Related guides
Our pricing follows the number of Vermont schools and devices, and a quote arrives within one business day. A pilot in a single school lets your coordinator see the blocks and reports before the union decides.
Talk to us about your district
We can show how CIPA category filtering on school devices, at school and at home, fits a phone-free Vermont school day.