by Jack Smolik (Posted on December 4, 2025 at 2:19 p.m)

Web Ban-Helping or limiting?

Are web bans helping or limiting students? School internet filters are an ongoing issue at Alamo Heights Junior School. The new school web ban was implemented at the beginning of the school year. The web filter has blocked websites and images that students can no longer access. However, the web ban was put in place to keep students on task and prevent them from playing games during class time. But is this new web ban helping or limiting students’ learning? Students are certainly not happy with the ban, and many have expressed concerns about what content is being blocked.

 Web Ban Impact

The web ban was already a rule at the Junior School. The old ban only blocked websites like games and other non-school-related sites. This year, the school decided to block more websites and now blocks photos as well. Students at the school are upset about this and think others should have a say in what websites are blocked and what should be kept to help educate students. An 8th-grade student at Alamo Heights Junior School named Trey Mlcak told Mule Time Media about a solution he thinks would help decide what gets blocked. He believes that if everyone gets to decide what is blocked, the school and district could have a better school internet filter policy that makes more people happy and helps students and teachers have a better learning environment. Some major websites that are banned include all artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT, Copilot, and DeepAI.

Many students have mixed feelings about AI being blocked. AI can be used for good and bad. AI helps with lots of work and explains topics and principles for students. Trey Mlcak said, “I don’t understand why they’re taking away tools that we use. It’s like a second teacher.” Trey also stated that he thinks people are thinking about AI in the wrong way. He said, “ChatGPT and all artificial intelligence is blocked, and I think they’re looking at it the wrong way. I think that people use those as a tool.” This is just one obstacle students have faced, but teachers also have challenges too.

Technology Restrictions

Teachers have to be careful about adding links and resources because they could be digitally blocked on the students’ computers. Trey said that he has faced many challenges with not being able to access or go to the links and resources provided by the teacher when completing notes or assignments. He stated, “The teachers have wanted us to see a video, and then we can’t see it because it’s blocked on our side.” This is just one example of the challenges students and teachers have faced.

Teachers are also limited in how they can support students. If there is an important video, photo, or article they need to show in class, they have to show it to the entire class versus allowing each student to watch it on their own time. Trey said that teachers “usually don’t assign things that are blocked, or if it’s blocked, they’ll show it on their computer.” These challenges waste time in class where there is valuable learning time in such a tight schedule for students and teachers.

How can we make a compromise?

Having heard from students, the digital learning filters that are blocked may have been too widespread to the point where students’ learning is may be jeopardized. Students and teachers are facing many challenges in school, and it will take collaborative discussion to best address the issue of our school’s web ban policy. So, is the school web ban helping or limiting students’ learning?