Release of Starr Report Online Proves Tricky for Schools.

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Students in classrooms, libraries, and cyber cafes from Maine to Malaysia, rushed to download Kenneth Starr's report to the U.S. House of Representatives since the moment it went up on the internet on Sept. 11.

This week's second installment, President Clinton's videotaped testimony, will give schools a much-needed break. But for the past week teachers and librarians have reported outbreaks of giggles and guffaws wherever adolescents could pore over the unsavory online document. For school leaders from coast to coast, the Starr Report was nothing to titter about.

Its release by lawmakers in Washington galvanized debate in school systems nationwide about the finer points of internet-content management and whether schools should consider the source when making judgments about questionable information.

As the posting of the Starr Report all over the internet graphically demonstrates, the challenge of managing school technology has become increasingly complex.

That's why school leaders in ever-increasing numbers are turning to eSchool News to help them make sense of the issues.

"Nobody's really dissecting the legal and ethical questions schools are facing in the technology age and offering us down-to-earth advice to keep us out of court. Nobody ... but eSchool News," said Lew Finch, superintendent of Cedar Rapids Community Schools of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Produced by an award-winning team of educational technology journalists, eSchool News is a newspaper for the technology decision makers in K-12 education. Each month, eSchool News features the latest news and information to help superintendents, technology coordinators, media specialists, principals, and other school leaders make smart and effective use of their schools' technology.

In the October issue of eSchool News, you'll read how school leaders around the country reacted to the posting of the Starr Report -- and what some were doing to safeguard their students. You'll also learn why a Missouri school is being sued by the ACLU for violating a student's free-speech rights on the internet.

Plus, you'll get the latest scoop on sources for technology funding, our back-to-school software showcase, and our special report on projectors and other instructional media.

To order your free sample issue, please contact eSchool News at:

* subscription hotline: 800-394-0115

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* e-mail: gmcnamara@eschoolnews.org

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