Home Filtering & Parental Controls

Internet access for student devices is filtered while at school. Students in kindergarten through Grade 4 have access to the Safari web browser with access only to pre-approved educational websites at all times, regardless of what network students are on. For grade 5-12 students, Internet access is also filtered using Apple's built-in "Limit Adult Content" filters. This page is intended to provide some basic information for parents who wish to implement parental controls and filtering on their child's device while at home.

Please note: Shrewsbury Public Schools does not evaluate, endorse, or support the products listed or linked on this page. This information is being presented as a convenience for parents in their efforts to filter their home networks.

There are a number of approaches available for parents who wish to implement parental controls on their child's devices. However, in order prevent conflicts with the District's management system and to prevent required functionality from being unintentionally disabled during the school day, no parental controls may be used that require installation on the device itself.

The preferred approach for parental controls of student devices is to filter and control Internet access using your home network. There are three main approaches to this - you may choose the approach that works best for your family:

1. Use your router's built-in parental controls - This is generally the lowest-cost method and is built in to most routers but in some cases the setup may be involved. Please see the link for the manufacturer of your home router for more information:
   • Asus Routers - Refer to the ASUS support section and search for "Parental Controls" or "AiProtection" features.
   • Cisco - Visit the Cisco support website and search for "Parental Controls" or "Access Restrictions" for your specific router model.
   • D-Link - Check the D-Link support page and look up "Parental Controls" setup guides.
   • Linksys - Go to the Linksys support page and look up "Parental Controls" for detailed instructions.
   • Netgear - Visit the Netgear support website and search for "Parental Controls" specific to your router model.
   • TP-Link - Visit the TP-Link support website and search for "Parental Controls" specific to your router model.
2. Use a web-based service such as OpenDNS or CleanBrowsing - These may be effective options if your router does not have built-in parental controls. Depending on the plan you choose, there may be a cost involved.