Acceptable Use Guidelines for Electronic Information Systems for Student Use: E-Mail, Networks and Internet Safety Requirements - 2022.2P

The following rules and procedures constitute the Acceptable Use Guidelines for use of the district’s electronic information systems. Each user of the system must agree in writing to abide by these rules in order to receive access to the system.

Network

Use of the system must be in support of education and research and consistent with the mission of the district. The district reserves the right to prioritize use and access to the system, and does not intend to create a First Amendment forum for free-expression purposes.

Any use of the system must conform to state and federal law, network provider policies and licenses, and District policy. Use of the system for personal profit or commercial solicitation is prohibited. Use of the system for charitable purposes must be approved in advance by the superintendent or designee.

The system constitutes public facilities and may not be used to support or oppose political candidates, initiatives, or ballot measures, or for unauthorized lobbying activities.

No use of the system shall serve to disrupt the operation of the system by others. Internal wide distribution of email not authorized by the Communication Department shall be treated as unwarranted and removed from the system. System components including hardware or software shall not be destroyed, modified or abused in any way.

Malicious use of the system to develop programs or institute practices that harass other users or gain unauthorized access to any entity on the system and/or damage the components of an entity on the network is prohibited.

Users are responsible for the appropriateness and content of material they transmit or publish on the system. Hate mail, harassment, discriminatory remarks, or other antisocial behaviors are expressly prohibited. Use of the system to access, store or distribute obscene or pornographic material is prohibited.

Student subscriptions to mailing lists, bulletin boards, and commercial on-line services and other information services must be pre-approved by a supervising teacher.

User files and communicationson the systemare notprivate or confidential. The district reserves the right to monitor, access, use and disclose E-mail or other information for any reason.

Security

System accounts are to be used only by the authorized owner of the account for the authorized purpose. Users shall not share their account identification or password with another person or leave an open file or session unattended or unsupervised. Account owners are ultimately responsible for all activity under their account.

Users shall not seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files, other data, or passwords belonging to other users, or misrepresent other users on the system, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the system. Encryption (a coding process of securing information)may only be used with prior district approval from the system administrator.

In the interest of security, the District will determine what system options may be made available to the end user.

Personal Security

Personal information such as addresses and telephone numbers shall remain confidential when communicating on the system. Students should never reveal such information without permission from a teacher, other district personnel or a parent/guardian.

Students shall never make appointments to meet people in person that they have contacted on the system without district and parent permission. Students shall notify a teacher, other district personnel, or a parent/guardian whenever they come across information or messages that are dangerous, illegal, inappropriate or make them feel uncomfortable.

Use of personal equipment must adhere to all district policies and guidelines. Non-district computers must be authorized by Information Technology Services before connecting to the district’s network system. This computer must contain effective anti-virus software that complies with district standards. The district will not be responsible for any loss of or damage to such equipment.

Copyright

A copy of student work or information will be sent to the parent/guardian and written permission will be acquired prior to web publishing each and every time such work is ready to be published on the web.

Students must have written parent/guardian permission to have an e-mail account.

The unauthorized installation, use, storage or distribution of copyrighted software or materials on district computers is prohibited.

Filtering and Monitoring

Filtering software and service are and will be used on all computers with access to the Internet. This will block or filter access to visual or text depictions that are obscene, contain child pornography, or is harmful to minors.

To the best of their ability staff will monitor minors’ use of the Internet in school, and will take reasonable measures to prevent access by minors to inappropriate materials. Internet websites are continuously verified for appropriate content; however, if a student accidentally accesses an inappropriate site they must inform a district staff.

General Use

No person shall have access to the district network resources without having submitted a signed Acceptable Use for Student form. In addition, students under the age of 18 must have the approval of parent or guardian.

Nothing in these regulations is intended to preclude the supervised use of the network while under the direction of a teacher or other approved user acting in conformity with district policy and procedure.

The District has the right to determine whether specific uses of the system are consistent with these guidelines. The district may revoke access to the system and take other appropriate corrective or legal action for any activity in violation of these guidelines. Such actions may include discipline up to and including expulsion for students. The District may report any activity district administrators suspect is in violation of the law to the appropriate law enforcement authorities (e.g. local police, State Auditor, Public Disclosure Commission, or Superintendent of Public Instruction.)

The District makes no warranties of any kind, express or implied, for the service it is providing. The district will not be responsible for any damages suffered, including the loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, misdeliveries, or service interruptions caused by its own negligence, errors or omissions. Use of any information obtained via the system is at one’s own risk. The district also denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its services.

Violation of any of the conditions of use may be cause to progressive disciplinary actions.

User Agreement Form (13K PDF)

October 22, 2001