Board Policy:
Student Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy
For the Computer Network of the Calhoun County Schools
The Board recognizes that as telecommunications and other new technologies shift the ways that information may be accessed, communicated, and transferred by members of the society, those changes may also alter instruction and student learning. The Board generally supports access by students to rich information resources along with the development by staff of appropriate skills to analyze and evaluate such resources. In a free and democratic society, access to information is a fundamental right of citizenship.
Telecommunications, electronic information sources, and networked services significantly alter the information landscape for schools by opening classrooms to a broader array of resources. In the past, instructional and library media materials could usually be screened--prior to use--by committees of educators and community members intent on subjecting all such materials to reasonable selection criteria. This Board Policy requires that all such materials be consistent with district-adopted guides, supporting and enriching the curriculum while taking into account the varied instructional needs, learning styles, abilities and developmental levels of the students. Telecommunications, because they may lead to any publicly available fileserver in the world, will open classrooms to electronic information resources that have not been screened by educators for use by students of various ages.
In order to match electronic resources as closely as possible to the approved district curriculum, district personnel will review and evaluate resources in order to offer "home pages" and menus of materials that comply with Board guidelines governing the selection of instructional materials. In this manner, staff will provide developmentally appropriate guidance to students as they make use of telecommunications and electronic information resources to conduct research and other studies related to the district curriculum. All students will be informed by staff of their rights and responsibilities as users of the district network prior to gaining access to that network, either as an individual user or as a member of a class or group.
As much as possible, access to district information resources will be designed in ways that point students to resources that have been reviewed and evaluated prior to use. While students may be able to move beyond those resources to other areas which staff has not evaluated, they shall be provided with guidelines and lists of resources particularly suited to the learning objectives. Students may pursue electronic research independent of staff supervision only if they have been granted parental permission and have submitted all required forms. Permission is not transferable and may not be shared.
Calhoun County Schools will also use a technology protection measure that blocks or filters Internet access to sites or information that are not in accordance with this policy. This will include access to sites that are obscene, child pornography, or considered harmful to minors. This filter may be overridden by a system staff member for a student to access a site with legitimate educational value that is wrongly blocked by the technology protection measure that filters Internet access. Calhoun County staff will monitor students' use of the Internet, through either direct supervision or by monitoring Internet use history, to ensure enforcement of the policy.
Access to telecommunications will enable students to explore thousands of libraries, databases, and bulletin boards while exchanging messages with people throughout the world. The Board believes that the benefits to students from access in the form of information resources and opportunities for collaboration exceed the disadvantages. But ultimately, parents and guardians of minors are responsible for setting and conveying the standards that their children should follow when using media and information sources. To that end, the Calhoun County Board of Education supports and respects each family's right to decide whether or not to apply for independent access. Independent access to network services is provided to students who agree to act in a considerate and responsible manner. Parent permission is required for minors. Access is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked if abused. Access entails responsibility.
Students are responsible for their behavior on school computer networks just as they are in a classroom or a school hallway. Communications on the network are often public in nature. General school rules for behavior and communications apply. Additionally, students are responsible for their actions while using the equipment and resources. Vandalism of equipment or programs will result in punishment as defined in the system code of conduct.
Personal Responsibility
All users have certain privileges and rights. Infringement of or disrespect to the rights of others may result in the loss of Internet privileges. These include:
Access and Privacy:
· All users will be provided with network storage space and should use only those accounts, files, software, and technology resources that are assigned to him/her.
· Network storage areas will be treated like school lockers. Network administrators will review files and communications to maintain system integrity and insure that users are using the system responsibly.
· Users should not expect that files stored on district servers would always be private.
Safety:
· Any user who receives threatening or unwelcome communications should bring them to the attention of a system administrator or educator immediately.
· Users should never share or distribute personal information (such as address, telephone number, social security number, etc.) about themselves or others.
· Contacting students or staff from either within or without the system network via electronic communication will be treated as any other threatening or harassing communication and will be dealt with as per the student code of conduct.
Intellectual Freedom:
· Any statement of personal belief is implicitly understood to be representative of the author's individual point of view and not that of the school.
· Materials placed on or linked to system or school-sponsored Web pages must be preapproved by an administrator or authorized designee. Links to unofficial Calhoun County Schools sites are prohibited.
Inappropriate materials or language:
· No profane, obscene, lewd, inflammatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, discriminatory, or impolite language should be used to communicate nor should materials be accessed which are not in line with the rules of school behavior.
Equal Access:
· All users will be granted free and equal access to networked resources, email, and the Internet. Exploration of the Internet is encouraged relative to the purposes of research and education.
· Internet access is to be used for educational purposes and will be filtered to protect minors from obscene materials, child pornography, and other sites harmful to minors.
· No single user should monopolize the workstations connected to the Internet.
Unauthorized Access:
· Individuals shall not attempt to log in to the network by using another users account and/or password, or allow someone to use his/her password to access the network, email, or the Internet.
· Individuals must not attempt to modify technology resources, utilities, and configurations, or change the restrictions associated with his/her accounts, or attempt to breach any technology resources security system, either with or without malicious intent.
· Individuals must not attempt to disrupt any computer services or data by spreading viruses, spamming, hacking, or any other means.
Examples of Inappropriate Use of Resources:
1. Using a computer or the Internet to hurt, harass, attack or harm other people or their work.
2. Accessing or attempting to access inappropriate web sites.
3. Damaging computers, computer systems, or computer networks in any way (this includes changing workstation configurations such as screen savers, backgrounds, printers, BIOS information, preset passwords, etc.).
4. Degrading the performance of the network through the posting of electronic chain letters or other useless information.
5. Intentionally wasting limited resources such as disk space and printing capacity.
6. Using the Internet for illegal activities or materials, i.e. threats, instructions on how to perform an illegal act, child pornography, drug dealing, fake identifications, purchase of alcohol, gang activities, etc.
7. Installing software or downloading unauthorized files, games, programs, or other electronic media.
8. Violating copyright laws.
9. Viewing, sending, displaying, or using obscene, racist, discriminatory, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, disrespectful, threatening, or inflammatory language, messages or pictures.
10. Sharing your password with another person or attempting to find out the password of others
11. Posting any false or damaging information about other people, the school system, or other organizations.
12. Posting any personal information about you or others.
13. Plagiarizing materials that are found on the Internet.
14. Revealing the personal address or phone number of you or anyone else.
15. Trespassing in another user’s work, folders, or files.
16. Re-posting non-academic personal communications without the original author's prior consent.
17. Using system network resources for personal gain, commercial or political purposes.
What are the Sanctions?
Student use of the computer network and Internet is a privilege, not a right. A user who violates this policy may have his or her access limited or terminated. A user violates this policy by his or her own actions or by failing to report any violations by other users that come to the attention of the user. Further, a user violates this policy if he or she permits another to use his or her account or password to access the computer network and/or Internet. Disciplinary action resulting from any violations of this policy will be determined in line with existing practice regarding inappropriate language or behavior as specified in the student code of conduct.
When applicable, law enforcement agencies may be involved.
Disclaimers
The Calhoun County School System makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, for the provided access. The staff, the school and the Calhoun County Board of Education are not responsible for any damages incurred, including but not limited to, loss of data resulting from delays or interruption of service, for the loss of data stored on CCS resources, or for personal property used to access system resources; for the accuracy, nature, or quality of information stored on system resources; for unauthorized financial obligations incurred through system-provided access. Further, even though the system will use technical or manual means to limit student access, these limits do not provide a foolproof means for enforcing the provisions of this policy.
Procedures
Superintendent or designee is authorized to development procedures, guidelines, and forms consistent with implementation of this policy.
Approved by the Calhoun County Board of Education on July 26, 2001.
Parent Permission Letter
We are pleased to offer students of the Calhoun County Schools access to the district computer network for electronic mail and the Internet. To gain access to e-mail and the Internet, all students must obtain parental permission and must sign and return this form to their homeroom teacher.
Access to e-mail and the Internet will enable students to explore thousands of libraries, databases, and bulletin boards while exchanging messages with Internet users throughout the world. Even though Calhoun County Schools will filter and monitor Internet usage to protect students from access to sites that are obscene, child pornography, or considered harmful to minors, families should be warned that some material accessible via the Internet might contain items that are illegal, defamatory, inaccurate or potentially offensive to some people. While our intent is to make Internet access available to further educational goals and objectives, students may find ways to access other materials as well. We believe that the benefits to students from access to the Internet, in the form of information resources and opportunities for collaboration, exceed any disadvantages. But ultimately, parents and guardians of minors are responsible for setting and conveying the standards that their children should follow when using media and information sources. To that end, the Calhoun County Board of Education supports and respects each family's right to decide whether or not to apply for access.
Please take the time to read the Calhoun County Board of Education policies concerning access to networked information resources, as well as the administrative procedures used in implementing these policies. They are printed in the Student Code of Conduct handbook every student receives when enrolling in a Calhoun County School.
Required for Network Access:
As a user of the Calhoun County Schools’ computer network, I hereby agree to comply with the above stated rules - communicating over the network in a reliable fashion while honoring all relevant laws and restrictions.
Student Signature ______
Required for Independent Use of Email and Internet:
As the parent or legal guardian of the minor student signing above, I grant permission for my son or daughter to access networked computer services such as electronic mail and the Internet. I understand that individuals and families may be held liable for violations. I understand that some materials on the Internet may be objectionable, but I accept responsibility for guidance of Internet use - setting and conveying standards for my daughter or son to follow when selecting, sharing or exploring information and media.
Parent Signature ______Date ______
Name of Student ______School ______Grade ______