The Superintendent or designee shall implement, monitor, and evaluate electronic media resources for instructional and administrative purposes.

AVAILABILITY OF ACCESS

Access to the District’s electronic communications system, including the Internet, shall be made available to students and employees primarily for instructional and administrative purposes and in accordance with administrative regulations. Limited personal use of the system shall be permitted if the use:

1. Imposes no tangible cost on the District;

2. Does not unduly burden the District’s computer or network resources; and

3. Has no adverse effect on an employee’s job performance or on a student’s academic performance.

USE BY THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

Access to the District’s electronic communications system, including the Internet, shall also be made available to members of the public, in accordance with administrative regulations. Such use may be permitted so long as the use:

1. Imposes no measurable cost on the District; and

2. Does not unduly burden the District’s computer or network resources.

Members of the public who are granted access shall be required to comply with all District rules, regulations, and policies governing appropriate use of the system.

ACCEPTABLE USE

The Superintendent or designee shall develop and implement administrative regulations, guidelines, and user agreements, consistent with the purposes and mission of the District and with law and policy governing copyright.

Access to the District’s electronic communications system is a privilege, not a right. All users shall be required to acknowledge receipt and understanding of all administrative regulations governing use of the system and shall agree in writing to allow monitoring of their use and to comply with such regulations and guidelines. Non-compliance may result in suspension of access or termination of privileges and other disciplinary action

consistent with District policies. [See the Student Code of Conduct] Violations of law may result in criminal prosecution as well as disciplinary action by the District.

MONITORED USE

Electronic mail transmissions by employees and other use of the electronic communications system by students and employees are not private and may be monitored at any time by designated District staff to ensure appropriate use.

FACULTY RESPONSIBILITY

All faculty members shall be responsible for monitoring the use of computers in their classrooms using the following rules and guidelines:

    1. No (networked) computer shall be in use by a student without the teacher (or monitor) in the room.

    1.     Teacher/monitor will stay in the lab with their class and monitor student activity.  Note what they are doing on the computers, where they are on the internet, and what they are printing.

    2.     Video and audio streaming is prohibited by students.
    (Watching videos on the internet or listening to music on the internet.)  This does not include activities necessary to complete a class assignment.  ie: inserting clips for power point presentations.

    3.     No student shall be allowed on the Internet if their name appears on the Privileges Revoked List.  (Note:  The list will be updated as student status changes.)

    4.     No students shall be allowed to play games on the computers Monday through Thursday.  Games may be played on Fridays with the teacher’s permission; provided that the student has completed all assignments and is not on the Revoked Privileges list.

    5.   No student shall be allowed on the Internet unless their name appears on the approved list. (Note: The list will be updated as students enter or leave the district.)

    6.  Classrooms will be monitored by the System Administrator  and/or designee to ensure enforcement of the Acceptable Use Policy within the district.

7. Any faculty violations will be addressed by building principals and or the superintendent.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Students shall retain all rights to work they create using the District’s electronic communications system.

As agents of the District, employees shall have limited rights to work they create using the District’s electronic communications system. The District shall retain the right to use any product created for its use by an employee even when the author is no longer an employee of the District.

DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

The District shall not be liable for users’ inappropriate use of electronic communication resources or violations of copyright restrictions or other laws, users’ mistakes or negligence, and costs incurred by users. The District shall not be responsible for ensuring the accuracy, age appropriateness, or usability of any information found on the Internet.



The Superintendent or designee will oversee the District’s electronic communications system.

The District will provide training in proper use of the system and will provide all users with copies of acceptable use guidelines. All training in the use of the District’s system will emphasize the ethical use of this resource.

CONSENT REQUIREMENTS

Copyrighted software or data may not be placed on any system connected to the District’s system without permission from the holder of the copyright. Only the owner(s) or individual(s) the owner specifically authorizes may upload copyrighted material to the system.

No original work created by any District student or employee will be posted on a web page under the District’s control unless the District has received written consent from the student (and the student’s parent) or employee who created the work.

No personally identifiable information about a District student will be posted on a web page under the District’s control unless the District has received written consent from the student’s parent. An exception maybe made for "directory information" as allowed by the Family Education Records Privacy Act and District policy.

SYSTEM ACCESS

Access to the District’s electronic communications system will be governed as follows:

1. As appropriate and with the written approval of the immediate supervisor, District employees will be granted access to the District’s system.

2. Students in grades K-12 will be granted access to the District’s system by their teachers, as appropriate; however, no student will be assigned an individual account or password.

3. A teacher may apply for a class account and in doing so will be ultimately responsible for use of the account.

4. The District will require that all passwords be changed every year or when deemed necessary by the system administrator.

5. Any system user identified as a security risk or as having violated District and/or campus computer use guidelines may be denied access to the District’s system.

TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR/

SPECIALIST RESPONSIBILITY

The technology coordinator for the District’s electronic communications system (or campus designee) will:

1. Be responsible for disseminating and enforcing applicable District policies and acceptable use guidelines for the District’s system.

2. Ensure that all users of the District’s system complete and sign an agreement to abide by District policies and administrative regulations regarding such use. All such agreements will be maintained on file in the principal or supervisor’s office.

3. Ensure that employees supervising students who use the District’s system provide training emphasizing the appropriate use of this resource.

4. Ensure that all software loaded on computers in the District is consistent with District standards and is properly licensed.

5. Be authorized to monitor or examine all system activities, including electronic mail transmissions, as deemed appropriate to ensure proper use of the system.

6. Be authorized to establish a retention schedule for messages on any electronic bulletin board and to remove messages posted locally that are deemed to be inappropriate.

7. Set limits for data storage within the District’s system, as needed.

INDIVIDUAL USER RESPONSIBILITIES

The following standards will apply to all users of the District’s electronic information/communications systems:

ON-LINE CONDUCT

1. The individual in whose name a system account is issued will be responsible at all times for its proper use.

2. The system may not be used for illegal purposes, in support of illegal activities, or for any other activity prohibited by District policy or guidelines.

3. System users may not use another person’s system account without written permission from the campus administrator or District coordinator, as appropriate.

4. Students may not distribute personal information about themselves or others by means of the electronic communication system.

5. System users must purge electronic mail in accordance with established retention guidelines.

6. System users may not redistribute copyrighted programs or data except with the written permission of the copyright holder or designee. Such permission must be specified in the document or must be obtained directly from the copyright holder or designee in accordance with applicable copyright laws, District policy, and administrative regulations.

7. System users may upload public domain programs to the system after checking with the system administrator. System users may also download public domain programs for their own use or may non-commercially redistribute a public domain program. System users are responsible for determining whether a program is in the public domain.

8. System users may not send or post messages that are abusive, obscene, sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, damaging to another’s reputation, or illegal.

9. System users may not purposefully access materials that are abusive, obscene, sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, damaging to another’s reputation, or illegal. If materials of this nature are inadvertently received report the incident to administration immediately.

10. System users should be mindful that use of school-related electronic mail addresses might cause recipients or other readers of that mail to assume they represent the District or school, whether or not that was the user’s intention.

11. System users may not waste District resources related to the electronic communications system.

12. System users may not gain unauthorized access to resources or information.

VANDALISM PROHIBITED

Any malicious attempt to harm or destroy District equipment or data of another user of the District’s system, or any of the agencies or other networks that are connected to the Internet is prohibited. Deliberate attempts to degrade or disrupt system performance are violations of District policy and administrative regulations and may constitute criminal activity under applicable state and federal laws. Such prohibited activity includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creating of computer viruses.

Vandalism as defined above will result in the cancellation of system use privileges and will require restitution for costs associated with system restoration, as well as other appropriate consequences. [See the Student Code of Conduct]

FORGERY PROHIBITED

Forgery or attempted forgery of electronic mail messages is prohibited. Attempts to read, delete, copy, or modify the electronic mail of other system users, deliberate interference with the ability of other system users to send/receive electronic mail, or the use of another person’s user ID and/or password is prohibited.

INFORMATION CONTENT/THIRD-PARTY SUPPLIED INFORMATION

System users and parents of students with access to the District’s system should be aware that use of the system may provide access to other electronic communications systems in the global electronic network that may contain inaccurate and/or objectionable material.

A student who gains access to such material is expected to discontinue the access as quickly as possible and to report the incident to the supervising teacher.

A student knowingly bringing prohibited materials into the school’s electronic environment will be subject to suspension of access and/or revocation of privileges on the District’s system and will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.

An employee knowingly bringing prohibited materials into the school’s electronic environment will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with District policies.

PARTICIPATION IN CHAT ROOMS AND NEWSGROUPS

Students are prohibited from participating in any chat room or newsgroup accessed on the Internet. Such participation is permissible for employees, in accordance with District policies.

DEVELOPMENT OF WEB PAGES

1. District Web Site. The District will establish a Web site and will develop Web pages that will present information about the District. The (Director of Technology Services, or his/her appointee) will be designated the Webmaster, responsible for maintaining the District Web site. All school, class and extracurricular web pages will be submitted to the Webmaster to determine adherence to district policies and standards. Upon approval the link will be made to the districts main page and the web page will be posted on the districts site.

2. School or Class Web Pages. Schools and classes may establish Web pages that present information about the school or class activities. Teachers will be responsible for maintaining their class site.

3. Extracurricular Organization Web Pages. With the approval of the building principal, extracurricular organizations may establish Web pages. The principal will establish a process and criteria for the establishment and posting of material, including pointers to other sites, on these pages. Material presented on the organization Web page must relate specifically to organization activities and will include only student-produced material. Organization Web pages must include the following notice: "This is a student extracurricular organization Web page. Opinions expressed on this page shall not be attributed to the District

NETWORK ETIQUETTE

System users are expected to observe the following network etiquette:

1. Be polite; messages typed in capital letters are the computer equivalent of shouting and are considered rude.

2. Use appropriate language; swearing, vulgarity, ethnic or racial slurs, and any other inflammatory language are prohibited.

3. Pretending to be someone else when sending/receiving messages is considered inappropriate.

4. Transmitting obscene messages or pictures is prohibited.

Using the network in such a way that would disrupt the use of the network by other users is prohibited.

TERMINATION/

REVOCATION OF SYSTEM USER ACCOUNT

Termination of an employee’s or a student’s access for violation of District policies or regulations will be effective on the date the principal or District coordinator receives notice of student withdrawal or of revocation of system privileges, or on a future date if so specified in the notice.

DISCLAIMER

The District’s system is provided on an "as is, as available" basis. The District does not make any warranties, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, those of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any services provided by the system and any information or software contained therein. The District does not warrant that the functions or services performed by, or that the information or software contained on the system will meet the system user’s requirements, or that that system will be uninterrupted or error free, or that the defects will be corrected.

Opinions, advice, services, and all other information expressed by system users, information providers, service providers, or other third-party individuals in the system are those of the providers and not the District.

The District will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or relating to misuse of the District’s electronic communications system.