CRITERIA 1: (possible points 20) The filtering solution must have the capability to enforce the “Safe Search” or “Safety Mode” of Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines, regardless of the settings chosen by an end user while accessing those search engines.

  • Solution should provide safe browsing and searching for resources for Google, Bing, and Yahoo (such as images and videos) regardless of whether the device is on or off network. This would include 1:1 student devices that will be taken home on a regular basis. For the purpose of the cost evaluation assume 55,000 student & educator devices will require filtering off network. Any associated costs must be included in the total cost submitted.

The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter includes the latest technology to enforce Safe Search for end-user devices regardless of end-user settings and whether devices are on or off school premises. This technology ensures students and staff can safely utilize the resources available on the internet.

In addition to enforcing Safe Search, the Lightspeed Systems Web Filter offers innovative features that ensure access to educational web content while blocking access to inappropriate content. These features include:

  • Smart Play: This proprietary technology leverages artificial intelligence to give schools ultimate control over YouTube, enabling staff and students to use YouTube safely and appropriately. When schools enable Smart Play in the Lightspeed Systems Web Filter, users can access YouTube.com and browse more than 35 million videos in the Lightspeed Systems database that have been identified as safe and appropriate for education. Admins also have granular control of videos or channels, allowing a totally customizable YouTube experience. Please see attached literature for more information on Smart Play.
  • Image thumbnail filtering: The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter includes a thumbnail filter that allows students to safely search images. Although many search engines offer the option to turn on “safe” mode, this option is often not restrictive enough, giving students access to explicit imagery. The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter has the ability to see the thumbnail image source, and block or allow the image based on the individual school district’s filter settings. This layer ensures a safe and useful browsing experience.
  • Disable auto-complete: The Lightspeed Systems’ Web Filter is equipped with the ability to disable auto-complete on searches. This functionality is important for ensuring students/staff don’t inadvertently access inappropriate content.
  • Keyword blocking: The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter’s custom-keyword-blocking function offers additional customization for the search experience. In addition to the comprehensive list of unsafe/inappropriate search keywords blocked by the Lightspeed Systems Web Filter, schools can choose to block other keywords at the local level as desired.
  • K12-specific web categorization: The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter is designed exclusively for the needs of K-12 schools. Lightspeed’s education-specific approach to filtering and categorization minimizes needs for local recategorization and alleviates concerns of over-blocking or under-blocking. With more than 100, education-specific categories, the Lightspeed Systems Web Filter sets schools up for immediate success, and ensures a safety net beyond what search-engine “safe” modes offer.

  • Efficient, multi-OS mobile filtering: The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter provides robust cross-platform support for off-network filtering. This means schools have the ability to filter Chrome OS, Mac OS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android devices wherever those devices go. Our filter offers agents for each operating system, which gives IT admins the ability to differentiate policies for individual users, groups, or devices when they leave the network. Our mobile filter gives a seamless user experience, consistent user/device reporting, and granular control of student web access without the need to proxy traffic back to the school network. Lightspeed Systems’ robust, award-winning mobile filtering ensures your users’ experience is consistent on- and off-campus. Additionally, the solution’s robust reporting engine has the ability to gather on- and off-site data by user, device, group, et cetera.
  • After-School Rules: This innovative new feature to the Lightspeed Systems Web Filter allows your IT department to schedule policies based on time, day and location. This gives your IT departments the freedom to customize policies during school hours, after school hours, on-campus and off-campus. This feature gives schools granular control over students’ device use, wherever — and whenever — students and their devices go.

The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter’s comprehensive approach to creating a safe browsing experience will ensure success for students, staff, and technical support teams statewide, eliminating the need to rely on the basic safety tools of search engine providers.

CRITERIA 2: (possible points 15) The filtering solution must have the capability to be integrated with unified authentication systems such as SAML, LDAP or Active Directory Service.

  • Solution should provide support for multiple authentication systems concurrently.

The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter can integrate with any authentication source. Our Web Filter also supports multiple authentication sources, which can be used concurrently.

The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter is equipped with Continuous Identity Management, a proprietary identity management engine that ensures all users are identified and reported on while utilize the internet. The identity engine can bind to multiple directory services simultaneously and gives admins the ability to prioritize identification methods in the event multiple methods are used on a single device. With Continuous Identity Management, you can report on user traffic, ensure accurate policies are available, and offer a consistent filtering experience regardless of device OS (Windows, Chrome, iOS, Mac, Android, etc.). In addition, the Lightspeed Systems Web Filter provides RADIUS and captive portal authentication to ensure that wireless, non-district (BYOD) devices can be authenticated.

CRITERIA 3: (possible points 20) The filtering solution must have the capability to delegate management of groups by creating additional administrators with restricted rights who can be assigned to manage filtering parameters for specific groups.

  • Solution should provide clear hierarchical delegation of administration for as many as 55 groups simultaneously in the event each district would choose to administer a custom policy.

The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter features the ability to create delegated management groups and can accommodate 55-plus groups with ease. (For example, Lightspeed’s largest user has more than 1,000 groups on a single implementation.)

The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter was purpose-built for delegated management functions. Our web filter is prepopulated with school-specific user roles, including All Access, Categorization Admin, Reports Viewer, and Web Filter Admins. This allows for the delegation of user roles by need. School districts have the ability to define their users, what these users can view/administer, and what users they can see/manage.

CRITERIA 4: (possible points 20) The filtering solution must be able to accommodate the existing network usage and design as outlined in Appendix D – Current Network Environment and the attached document, Filtering – Current Topology.

  • Solution should include load balancing if solution requires multiple appliances and should be included in the total cost bid.

The proposed architecture of the Lightspeed Systems Web Filter will be able to support the network usage and design outlined in Appendix D – Current Network Environment and Filtering – Current Topology. The solution utilizes load balancing for the appliances suggested.

The Lightspeed Systems Web Filter is fully scalable and can fit into any size network. It is deployed inline and will include a scalable, load-balanced solution.

Lightspeed Systems supports multiple statewide K-12 networks — including the Kentucky Department of Education, with over 1 million users — and several of the largest school districts in the United States, including Baltimore County Schools and Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Additionally, Lightspeed Systems is the largest educational content filtering provider in the United Kingdom.

With this wealth of experience, the Lightspeed Systems team can skillfully support your statewide deployment and install and implement our solution in the outlined timeframe.

Additional data sheets can be found attached.