Wyoming School Internet Safety Laws
Wyoming leaves most school technology choices to local boards. There is no state filtering statute, but since 2026 every board must have a policy on phones and smart devices.
This guide for Wyoming technology directors, school librarians and superintendents covers the federal baseline, what Wyoming adds and what it means for your filter. Planning guidance, not legal advice.
State filtering statute
CIPA is the filtering rule for E-Rate schools and libraries.
Phone and smart device policy
SF0035, Enrolled Act No. 46, amended W.S. 21-3-110(a).
Student data
Built on state data security guidelines under W.S. 21-2-202.
What does CIPA require of Wyoming schools?
The Children's Internet Protection Act applies to every Wyoming school or library that takes E-Rate discounts for internet access or internal connections. For a primer, read what is CIPA.
A filter
A technology protection measure that blocks visual depictions that are obscene or child pornography for all, and harmful to minors for minors.
A policy
An internet safety policy on inappropriate material, email and chat safety, hacking, minors' data and the filter, after public notice and a hearing or meeting.
Monitoring
Schools monitor minors' online activities. Supervision plus summary reports can meet this.
Education
Students learn appropriate online behavior, social networking safety and cyberbullying awareness.
A filter your Wyoming district does not have to run itself
With no state filtering law and long distances between schools, a rural technology team needs a filter it can set once and trust. Ours is a hosted CIPA filter, a DNS filter that we run for you, so there is no appliance to patch and nothing to install on student computers.
- The CIPA preset already blocks Adult and VPN/Proxy/Anonymizers in each school
- One console holds separate settings for every school or branch in the district
- Take-home laptops keep the same rules through a private encrypted link, even on a ranch's own internet
Does Wyoming add its own filtering law?
No, as far as we can find. We found no Wyoming statute that requires K-12 schools to filter the internet or sets its own content standard. Local district statements say the same: CIPA is the rule.
What that means in practice
- For E-Rate schools, CIPA sets the filtering duty and the policy process.
- Category choices are local. CIPA does not list categories, and neither does Wyoming law.
- A school with no E-Rate has no state statute telling it to filter, though nearly all do.
- The board's acceptable use policy is where Wyoming districts write their local rules.
- Board policy can go further than CIPA, for example by filtering staff devices for more categories or blocking AI tools for younger grades.
Why districts filter anyway
- Student safety and the district's duty of care.
- Security: Malware / Phishing / Suspicious sites target school accounts.
- Community expectations and board accountability.
- One-to-one devices go home, so the filter is often the only control there. See filtering school devices off campus.
What does the 2026 phone and smart device law require?
SF0035 passed in the 2026 budget session and became Enrolled Act No. 46. It added a new duty to the list of board of trustees duties in W.S. 21-3-110(a).
Ban proposed
A prior bill was framed as a ban on cell phone use in schools. Lawmakers moved to a local policy model, changing "prohibit" to "restrict" along the way.
Signed
Governor Mark Gordon signed SF0035. The act took effect on completion of the steps for a bill to become law.
Policies due
Every district board of trustees had to establish its policies by this date.
Resubmit on change
Boards send a copy to the state superintendent after adoption and again whenever the policy is substantially revised.
What the act says
- Boards adopt policies governing student possession and use of cellphones and smart devices in schools.
- A copy goes to the state superintendent; the Department of Education collects them through an online portal.
- Smart devices exclude wearables that can only tell time, monitor health information or track location.
- The act does not set the strictness. Each board decides, from bell to bell limits to classroom-only rules.
What it means for your network
- Phones and messaging watches that join school Wi-Fi should get the student rule set.
- Block VPN / Proxy / Anonymizers so devices cannot tunnel around the filter. See blocking proxy sites in schools.
- The stricter the phone policy, the more browsing moves to school devices.
- Match the acceptable use policy to the new device rules. Our acceptable use policy guide helps.
Which devices fall under which rule?
Wyoming's phone law and CIPA cover different devices. This matrix shows where each rule applies, so nothing falls between them.
| Device | CIPA filter | SF0035 board policy | Practical step |
|---|---|---|---|
| School-issued laptop or tablet | Yes, on and off campus if E-Rate funded | Not the target | Device-level filtering that travels home |
| Lab and library computers | Yes | Not the target | Grade-band rule sets; adult override for staff research |
| Student cellphone | Only if it joins school Wi-Fi | Yes | Student network for any personal device |
| Smartwatch that can message or browse | Only if it joins school Wi-Fi | Yes | Same rules as phones |
| Watch that only tells time, tracks health or location | No | Excluded by the act | No action needed |
| Staff devices | Yes, with adult rules | Not covered | Block Adult; keep research categories open |
What about student data?
W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxxvii) led the Wyoming Department of Education to work with other state agencies and districts on student data security guidelines. Districts build their own data security and privacy policies on that framework.
Access
Decide who can see filter and monitoring data that names a student.
Breach notice
Know what your vendor must tell you after a breach, and how fast.
Retention
Set how long browsing logs are kept. Shorter is easier to defend.
Encryption
Confirm logs are encrypted in transit and at rest.
What does this mean for filtering and monitoring?
With CIPA as the only filtering rule and local boards in charge, these settings give a Wyoming district a clear, defensible setup.
| Decision | Recommended setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 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, Alcohol, Tobacco, Lingerie/Swimsuits/Intimate Apparel | A practical harmful to minors set, adjusted by grade band |
| Bypass | Block VPN / Proxy / Anonymizers and File Sharing/P2P for students | Keeps the protection measure working |
| Security | Block Malware / Phishing / Suspicious for everyone | Protects accounts and student records |
| AI tools | Allow reviewed tools; block the rest | No Wyoming statute requires an AI block; see the AI tools blocklist for schools |
| Monitoring | Category reports; short retention for named-student logs | Meets CIPA and fits the data security framework |
Where sites behind the bypass, student and AI rows are placed in our data
The settings table above names categories, and these lookups show which real sites fall under them. Some belong to more than one, which matters when a rule is written broadly.
| Domain | Categories in our data | Row of the settings table |
|---|---|---|
| thepiratebay.org | File Sharing/P2P | Bypass row, blocked for students |
| utorrent.com | File Sharing/P2P, Freeware/Software, Computers & Technology | Bypass row, caught by the P2P category |
| weedmaps.com | Illegal Drugs, Health & Medicine, Shopping | Students row, with Health & Medicine to weigh |
| juul.com | Tobacco | Students row |
| budweiser.com | Alcohol | Students row |
| claude.ai | AI / LLM Tools, Web-based Applications | AI row, where the board lets reviewed tools through |
What choices does a board face when writing the phone policy?
SF0035 leaves the content to each board. These are the decisions that shape both the policy and the load on your network.
When
Classroom time only, the whole instructional day, or bell to bell including lunch and passing time.
Where devices go
Backpacks, lockers, classroom caddies or lockable pouches. Each has cost and enforcement trade-offs.
Exceptions
Medical needs, IEP and 504 plans, emergencies and teacher-directed use. Write them down clearly.
Consequences
A stepped approach, from a warning to parent pickup, keeps enforcement consistent across schools.
Parent contact
How families reach a student during the day without a personal phone, usually through the front office.
Activities and travel
Whether rules change on buses, field trips and long activity trips, which are common across Wyoming distances.
Network access
Whether personal devices may join school Wi-Fi at all, and if so only the filtered student network.
Review
When the board revisits the policy, remembering that a substantial revision means resubmitting it.
How should small and rural districts set this up?
Many Wyoming districts run technology with one or two people across long distances. These choices keep CIPA work manageable without cutting corners.
Keep the setup simple
- One student rule set per grade band, used in every building.
- Category rules instead of long lists of single sites.
- Device-level filtering on take-home devices, so home use is covered without extra hardware.
- A single unblock request form that goes to one inbox.
- One evidence folder per school year, shared with the business office.
Share the work
- Buy internet or filtering through a consortium where it helps; members certify on Form 479.
- Ask librarians to own research unblock requests for older students.
- Let teachers log online safety lessons in the same tool they use for plans.
- Run a short filter test each term. Our school web filter test page shows how.
- Public libraries in town have their own CIPA path. See web filtering for libraries.
One service for several schools, with staff bypass that closes itself
Districts that share a technology person can keep every school in one console, each with its own always-allow and always-block lists. Staff who need an adult topic for research get a PIN for 15, 30 or 60 minutes, and the change is logged and switches back.
What do people get wrong about Wyoming?
Because Wyoming relies on local policy, assumptions from other states often creep in. These are the points we hear confused most.
| What people say | What applies |
|---|---|
| "Wyoming banned phones in schools." | The enacted law requires each board to adopt its own policy. The ban wording was dropped. |
| "The phone law changes what we must block." | It governs possession and use of personal devices. Filtering duties come from CIPA and board policy. |
| "Fitness trackers must be collected." | Wearables that only tell time, monitor health or track location are excluded from smart devices. |
| "Once submitted, the policy is done." | A substantially revised policy must be sent to the state superintendent again. |
| "No state law means no filtering duty." | E-Rate schools are bound by CIPA, and districts carry a duty of care regardless. |
What should be on a Wyoming checklist?
Work through it each summer and before the E-Rate window. The CIPA compliance checklist covers federal items in more depth. Blue items are federal, green items are state or local.
- Internet safety policy covers every CIPA topic
- Public notice and hearing or meeting documented
- Adult blocked for all users on every network
- Student rule sets by grade band exported and saved
- Take-home devices filtered off campus
- Online safety lessons delivered and logged
- Form 486 or 479 filed on time
- Phone and smart device policy adopted by the board
- Policy copy submitted to the state superintendent
- Resubmission planned for any substantial revision
- Personal devices on the filtered student network
- Acceptable use policy matched to the device policy
- Vendor contracts checked against district data security policy
- Log retention period set and documented
What evidence should we keep?
Keep one folder per school year. If a reviewer, parent or board member asks how you comply, these records answer it.
| Record | Shows | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Board minutes, notice and adopted internet safety policy | Policy adopted with the required process | CIPA |
| Filter rule set exports by grade band and staff | Protection measure in place | CIPA |
| Filter test results with dates, devices and accounts | The measure works on and off campus | CIPA |
| Lesson plans and dates for online safety teaching | Education duty met | CIPA |
| Filed Form 486 or 479 | Federal certification | CIPA |
| Adopted phone and smart device policy with date | Board duty met by July 1, 2026 | W.S. 21-3-110(a) |
| Portal submission confirmation, and resubmissions | Copy sent to the state superintendent | W.S. 21-3-110(a) |
| Vendor data agreements and retention settings | Student data handled under district policy | W.S. 21-2-202 guidelines |
What a rural Wyoming district takes on: self-run filtering or a hosted one
Each row is a chore that lands on a small team when CIPA is the only filtering rule.
| Chore for a small team | Self-run filtering | Hosted CIPA filter |
|---|---|---|
| Set up each school's network | Equipment and updates at every site | One DNS setting per school, no appliance or agent |
| Keep up with new proxy and adult sites | Reading lists and adding names | Categories cover them as they are classified |
| Different rules for elementary and high school | Copies of a rule set to maintain | Separate settings for each school or branch |
| Staff research on adult topics | Disable the filter and hope it comes back on | PIN bypass for 15, 30 or 60 minutes, logged, then it reverts |
| Laptops that go home to the ranch | Depends on the device and the home network | Private encrypted link keeps the same rules away from the network |
| Reports for the board and for E-Rate | Pieced together by one person | Activity reports, policy record and a log export |
Wyoming school internet safety FAQ
Short answers to the questions Wyoming districts ask most.
Does Wyoming require school internet filtering by state law?
We found no Wyoming statute that requires it. CIPA is the filtering rule for E-Rate schools and libraries, and boards set local rules.
What does SF0035 (2026) require?
Signed March 6, 2026, it requires each board to adopt policies on student possession and use of cellphones and smart devices by July 1, 2026, and send a copy to the state superintendent.
Is SF0035 a statewide phone ban?
No. An earlier bill proposed a ban, but the law requires each board to adopt its own policy and decide how strict it is.
Are smartwatches covered?
Smart devices are covered, except wearables that only tell time, monitor health information or track location.
Which Wyoming rule covers student data?
W.S. 21-2-202(a)(xxxvii) led to state data security guidelines. Districts build their own data security and privacy policies on them.
Do schools without E-Rate have to filter?
CIPA applies only with E-Rate or certain library grants. Without it, filtering is a board decision, though nearly every district filters.
Does Wyoming require blocking AI tools?
We found no such statute. Boards can address AI in acceptable use policies and block unreviewed tools by category.
How do other states compare?
See how Wyoming's neighbours handle school internet safety, or browse every guide on the school internet safety laws by state hub.
Related guides
We quote by the number of Wyoming schools and devices and answer within one business day. A pilot on a single site shows your board real blocks and reports before you decide how far to go.
Talk to us about your district
Small team, big area? We can show how CIPA category filtering with fresh data and simple reporting fits a Wyoming district, at school and at home.
Talk to us about your district