Section I: STUDENT ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND DATA MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS

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. 

 1. 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 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 may be made for “directory information” as allowed by the Family Education Records Privacy Act and District policy.  (See CQ EXHIBIT and policies at FL)

 2. SYSTEM ACCESS

A.       Students in grades Pre-K - 6 will be granted access to the District’s system by their teachers, as appropriate.  Students in grades 7 - 12 will be assigned individual accounts.

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

C.       URL filtering and blocking is maintained by the district for protection of minors denying access to inappropriate matter on the Internet, World Wide Web, E-mail, chat rooms and other forms of direct electronic communications.  In cases where this filtering fails, the user is required to report the site to the Technology Director immediately so that appropriate internal blocking may be implemented.

D.       The district has in place a firewall for protection from unauthorized access or “hacking”, and other unlawful activities online.  In cases where this protection fails, all users who are aware of this failure are required to report the incident to the Technology Director immediately.

3. INDIVIDUAL USER RESPONSIBILITIES

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

I. ONLINE CONDUCT

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

B.     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.

C.     System accounts are not to be shared for any reason.

D.      Students or staff may not distribute personal information about themselves or others by means of the electronic

communication system, unless a written release is obtained.

E.     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.

F.     System users will not be able to download, upload, or run software or shareware without filing an approved

“Software Loading Request Form”.

G.     System users may not send or post Email messages that are abusive, obscene, sexually oriented, threatening,

harassing, damaging to another’s reputation, or the illegal sending of  “Chain Letters” or “broadcast messages”

(spamming) to lists or individuals, and any other types of use which would cause congestion of the networks or

otherwise interfere with the work of others, is prohibited.

H.    System users may not intentionally access Web sites that are abusive obscene, sexually oriented, threatening,

harassing, damaging to another’s reputation, or illegal.

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

J.      System users may not abuse District resources related to the electronic communications system. System users may

not use an electronic mail package or service on school computers other than the package provided by the school

district.  System users may not use “chat” programs or message boards.

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

L.     System users may not re-configure, remove, replace or alter any District hardware.  Likewise, no user may modify

and/or remove system settings and/or re-format any District computer.

M.    System users may not use the network for entering contests, advertising, political lobbying, or personal commercial

activities including online purchasing.

II.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.  These actions may be subject to State and Federal laws. Such prohibited activity includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creating of computer viruses or harmful program components.

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 DH, FN series, FO series, and the Student   Code of Conduct).

III. 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.

IV. INFORMATION CONTENT/ THIRD-PARTY 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 user 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 user 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.

A user knowingly bringing prohibited materials into the school’s electronic environment will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with District policies.
Users are prohibited from participating in any chat room or news group that they may access on the Internet.

 V. DEVELOPMENT OF WEB PAGES  

All web pages developed for the Whitehouse Independent School District must be approved by the Technology

Director or designee before installation.                     

 VI. NETWORK ETIQUETTE

System users are expected to observe the following network etiquette:                 

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

B.     Use appropriate language: swearing, vulgarity, ethnic or racial slurs, and any other inflammatory language is

prohibited.

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

D.    Transmitting obscene messages or pictures is prohibited.

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

F.      Disclosure of personal information, such as addresses and/or phone numbers, is strictly prohibited for students and staff. 

 VII. DONATED EQUIPMENT                                                                                                                 

All donations must be approved as provided for in the  “Whitehouse I.S.D. Donation Procedure”.

 VIII. USE OF PERSONAL EQUIPMENT

Personal equipment is strictly prohibited from use on the W.I.S.D. network. Violators will have their accounts

disabled.

 IX. TERMINATION REVOCATION OF SYSTEM USER ACCOUNT

Termination of a student’s access for violation of District policies or regulations will be effective on the date the Principal or Technology Director receives notice.  

INAPPROPRIATE USES

·          Using the system for illegal purposes.

·          Borrowing someone’s account without permission.

·          Posting personal information about yourself or others (such as addresses and/or phone numbers.)

·          Downloading or using copyrighted information without permission from the copyright holder.

·          Posting messages or accessing materials that are abusive, obscene, sexually oriented, threatening,

harassing, damaging to another’s reputation, or illegal.

·          Abusing school resources through the improper use of the computer system.

·          Gaining unauthorized access to restricted information or resource .

·          Reformatting or reconfiguring any standard hardware or software.

CONSEQUENCES FOR INAPPROPRIATE USE

·          Suspension of access to the system.

·          Revocation of the computer system account.

·          Other disciplinary or legal action, in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct and applicable laws.

DISCLAIMER

The District’s system is provided on an “as is, as available” basis.  The district does not make any warranties, whether expressed or implied, including, without limitation, those of merchant ability 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 of software contained on the system will meet the system user’s requirements, or that the system will be uninterrupted or error free, or that 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.

Please sign and return to Mrs. Penney

Student Name _____________________________

Class _______________

Parent Signature _____________________________