2025 Chronology Lightspeed

Chronology: Lightspeed Content Filtering

Lightspeed’s content filtering solution is a powerful, cloud-based tool designed to help school
districts comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a federal requirement for all
K-12 schools that receive E-rate funding. By utilizing advanced algorithms and AI-driven filtering,
Lightspeed ensures students access only age-appropriate and educational content while
blocking harmful or inappropriate material.

Key benefits include:

   ●​ CIPA Compliance – Helps districts meet legal requirements by blocking explicit and
      dangerous content.
   ●​ AI and Algorithm-Based Filtering – Uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze and
      categorize web content in real time, adapting to emerging threats.
   ●​ Cloud-Based Management – Enables IT administrators to set policies, monitor activity,
      and generate reports for compliance.
   ●​ Lightspeed Classroom Management – Empowers teachers with live monitoring tools,
      allowing them to view student screens, push URLs, and minimize distractions during
      lessons.

For the 2025-26 school year, the Division of Instructional and Information Technology
requests Board approval to renew the Lightspeed Content Filter from CDW-G for $891,765.00.
This renewal ensures CIPA compliance, AUP adherence, and network security while providing
AI-driven filtering, student safety, flexible policies, and detailed reporting.

Lightspeed shifts control to classroom teachers, offering real-time management tools into
student web activity. Principals and teachers can unblock educational resources as needed,
enhancing learning flexibility. With its intelligent filtering and classroom management tools,
Lightspeed strengthens cybersecurity, ensures compliance, and enhances student engagement
in K-12 education.

Financial Impact:

 Year                                             Cost Summary
 2023                                             $903,550.00
 2024                                             $896,040.00
 2025                                             $891,765.00 (requested)
Lightspeed Support Data 2024-2025

The following supporting data is provided to highlight the increased security measures provided
by LightSpeed for the 2024-25 school year.

Educational vs. Recreational Digital Activity

This chart compares the volume of internet traffic related to educational activities (such as
research, learning platforms, and educational content) with other types of traffic(e.g.,
entertainment, social media, or non-educational browsing). Note that the "Business and Work"
category relates to tools like Google, Google Docs, Microsoft Office 365,etc.




Filter Bypass Attempts

This metric represents the percentage of internet traffic that attempts to bypass security
measures. It includes requests to blocked sites, proxy servers, or other circumvention methods.

Why it Matters:

   ●​ Risk Assessment: A high-security traffic percentage indicates potential risks. You can
      assess whether security policies need adjustment or if additional measures are
      necessary.
   ●​ Policy Effectiveness: Monitoring bypass attempts helps evaluate the effectiveness of
      content filtering policies. You can refine policies based on this data.
Security Traffic (All)

This chart shows all blocked security-related traffic.

Why it Matters:
  ●​ Threat Detection: You can identify patterns of suspicious activity or potential cyber
       threats. For example, a sudden spike in security traffic might signal an attempted breach.
  ●​ Response Planning: Armed with this data, you can plan incident responses, improve
       security protocols, and collaborate with IT teams to address emerging threats.
Lightspeed Classroom
This helps teachers effectively manage classrooms in this 1:1 world. Save teachers time with
real-time visibility and control of student device activity, so teachers can keep students focused
and manage lessons with ease. With real-time visibility of student activity and control over their
device workspaces to limit distractions, teachers have more time to support student learning.
Push out vetted URLs to all students, close distracting tabs, block inappropriate websites, and
enable screen sharing for a collaborative,engaged, and interactive classroom

Tab Closure Frequency by Month:
This chart shows how many browser tabs teachers closed in Lightspeed Classroom each month.
It also displays the number of teachers who used Lightspeed Classroom that month.

Why it's Important:
  ●​ Digital Engagement: Shutting down many tabs could suggest distractions or off-task
       behavior instead of effective research or task management, requiring more attention to
       student focus and redirection strategies.
  ●​ Security and Compliance:Tracking tab closures helps ensure adherence to internet usage
       policies and security protocols.
  ●​ Usage Trends:The teacher usage data can help you find patterns, such as changes in
       usage during different times of the school year, which can inform decisions about
       support, training, and resource allocation.