Digital Safety

Throughout the school year, the District partners with local, state, and federal law enforcement to host student assemblies and parent trainings as part of our ongoing commitment to student and family safety. During these sessions, subject-matter experts provide timely information on the evolving landscape of cybercrime and share practical strategies families can use to help protect children online.

As a resource for families, the information below offers general reminders to support parents and caregivers as they navigate the digital world with their children. Additional guidance and materials from trusted organizations can be found under the Resources link.

Note: Please note that these resources and guidelines are not exhaustive and technology is changing faster than any of us can imagine. No strategy or tool is foolproof. The only way to guarantee complete online safety is to never go online.

A digital footprint is the trail of information you leave online (posts, photos, comments, likes, messages, etc.)

• Once something is posted, it can be copied, shared, or saved forever
• Even “deleted” content may still exist through screenshots or backups
• Colleges, employers, and others may view online activity
• Posting in anger, as a joke, or under pressure can have long-term consequences
• Private accounts and messages are never fully private
• Think before you post: Would I be okay with a parent, teacher, or future employer seeing this?

List summarized from FBI Parent Online Safety Presentation, December 2025

Parents, guardians, caregivers, and teachers can take the following measures to help protect children from becoming victims of online child predators.

• Discuss internet safety and develop an online safety plan with children before they engage in online activity. Establish clear guidelines, teach children to spot red flags, and encourage children to have open communication with you.
• Supervise young children’s use of the internet, including periodically checking their profiles and posts. Keep electronic devices in open, common areas of the home and consider setting time limits for their use.
• Review games, apps, and social media sites before they are downloaded or used by children. Pay particular attention to apps and sites that feature end-to-end encryption, direct messaging, video chats, file uploads, and user anonymity, which are frequently relied upon by online child predators.
• Adjust privacy settings and use parental controls for online games, apps, social medial sites, and electronic devices.
• Tell children to avoid sharing personal information, photos, and videos online in public forums or with people they do not know in real life. Explain to your children that images posted online will be permanently on the internet.
• Teach children about body safety and boundaries, including the importance of saying ‘no’ to inappropriate requests both in the physical world and the virtual world.
• Be alert to potential signs of abuse, including changes in children’s use of electronic devices, attempts to conceal online activity, withdrawn behavior, angry outbursts, anxiety, and depression.
• Encourage children to tell a parent, guardian, or other trusted adult if anyone asks them to engage in sexual activity or other inappropriate behavior.
• Immediately report suspected online enticement or sexual exploitation of a child by calling 911, contacting the FBI at tips.fbi.gov, or filing a report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-843-5678 or report.cybertip.org.