[1]Children’s Internet Protection Act — 47 U.S.C. § 254(1); Minn. Stat. § 125B.25
524 INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE AND SAFETY, AND
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
I. General Conditions
A. This policy applies to all technical resources and equipment that are: (1) owned or leased by the School District (the “System”); (2) used for School District functions. This policy also applies to all activities using any School District-paid accounts, subscriptions, or other technical services, such as Internet and World Wide Web (Web) access, voice mail, and e-mail, whether or not the activities are conducted on School District premises.
B. This policy applies to all School District employees, contractors, consultants, volunteers, agents, students, group home residents, any other persons who use the School District’s computer system, or use or access other technical resources and equipment from School District premises, programs, facilities, or functions.
C. All other School District policies apply to electronic communications, even if not specifically mentioned in this policy.
II. Responsibilities
A. The District Technology Director will serve as the coordinator to oversee the System.
B. The building principal or site administrator will serve as the building-level coordinator for the System, will approve building-level activities, coordinate staff training in the use of the System and the requirements of this policy, and establish a process for adequate supervision of students using the System.
C. Consistent with applicable federal and state law[1], the School District will filter, block, or otherwise prevent student and adult access transmissions or other communications on the System which are (1) obscene; (2) child pornography; or (3) harmful to minors, as defined under the Children’s Internet Protection Act, or as determined by School District officials. The School District may filter, block or otherwise prevent the use of the System for other inappropriate use as determined by Superintendent of Schools or his/her designee.
D. The use of the System, including access to the Internet is a privilege, not a right. Violations of the School District’s Electronic Communications Policy may result in one or more of the following consequences: suspension or cancellation of use or access privileges; payments for damages and repairs; discipline pursuant to applicable School District policies, including student suspension, expulsion and exclusion and termination of employment; and/or civil or criminal liability under other applicable laws.
E. Providing users, including students and employees, access to the System, including the Internet, carries some risk that users may encounter material that is offensive or is otherwise not suitable for an educational environment. The School District will take reasonable measures to provide employees and students information about how to responsibly use the System; however, it is not possible or practical for the School District to filter and/or monitor all electronic communication that users may be subjected to on the System. Accordingly, System users, including employees and students, are responsible for complying with the standards for Acceptable Use (see III below) and student discipline policies/regulations. The School District is not legally responsible for guaranteeing appropriate use of its System, or other technical resources and equipment used on or accessed from School District premises, programs, facilities, and functions.
III. Acceptable Use
A. The System is a School District-owned tool to be used by authorized users primarily for matters directly related to educational purposes and School District business, and as a means to further the School District’s mission.
B. The standards for acceptable use also apply to technical resources and equipment, other than the System, that is accessed from School District premises, programs, facilities, or functions.
C. Unacceptable uses:
1. Users of the System or other technical resources and equipment are prohibited from accessing, reviewing, uploading, downloading, storing, printing, posting, receiving, transmitting or distributing the following types of images or other communication:
a. Pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit;
b. Abusive, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful;
c. Inappropriate in the education or residential/group home setting or potentially disruptive to the educational process;
d. Violent material or advocating violence;
e. Promoting, fostering or perpetuating discrimination and/or harassment of any kind including but not limited to those on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation;
f. Contrary to the School District’s Sexual Harassment Policy;
g. False or defamatory information about a person or organization or which is harassing or a personal attack on another person.
2. Employee users of the System will not post, or distribute personal contact information about themselves or other persons, including, but not limited to home addresses, home telephone numbers, identification numbers, account numbers, access codes, passwords. Employee photographs may be posted only with the permission of the employee.
3. Users of the System will not post, or distribute personal contact information about students, including, but not limited to, addresses, telephone numbers, identification numbers, account numbers, access codes, passwords, and photographs.
4. The District will encourage students not to meet with someone they have made contact with online without their parents’ approval and participation.
5. Student users will inform their teacher or other School District staff if they receive any image or other communication that is inappropriate. Employee users will inform their supervisor, the building principal or site administrator if they receive any inappropriate image or other communication.
6. Users will immediately inform a School District official of inadvertent access to unacceptable images or other communications on the System.
7. Permission will not be granted for users to access blocked sites or any other sites deemed inappropriate by the School District.
8. Users will not use the System to vandalize, damage or disable the property of another person or organization; will not make deliberate attempts to degrade or disrupt equipment, software or System performance by spreading computer viruses or by any other means; will not tamper with, modify or change the System software, hardware or wiring or take any action to violate the School District’s security system; and will not use the System in a way as to disrupt the use of the System by other users.
9. Users will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any other computer system through the System or go beyond their authorized access, including attempting to log in through another person’s account or access another person’s files, even if such action is for the purpose of “browsing.”
10. Users will not load any kind of software on the System, only the District Technology Director or his/her designee is authorized to load software and change configurations. Also users may not download any file that changes the configuration of the software or the System.
11. Users are prohibited from using or downloading software that is designed to destroy data, provide unauthorized access to the System, or which would disrupt the System in any way, including using or downloading software that contain or harbor viruses, Trojan horses, worms, or other invasive software.
12. Users will not post, transmit or distribute chain letters or engage in any types of “spamming,” i.e., sending unnecessary messages (personal want ads, solicitations, personal requests, etc.) to a large number of people.
13. Users will not use the System for unauthorized commercial purposes or for financial gain unrelated to the mission of the School District. Users will not use the System to offer or provide goods or services or for product advertisement without authorization from the appropriate School District official.
14. Users will not use the System to engage in any illegal act or violate any local, state or federal law.
IV. Intellectual Property
A. Users may not copy or distribute copyrighted materials (e.g., software, database files, documentation, articles, graphics files, and downloaded information) through the System, unless the user has permission in advance from the copyright owner or a School District official has made a determination that the material falls in the “fair use” exception under the Copyright Act. To be protected by copyright law, a work need only be an original work fixed to a tangible medium of expression. Including a copyright notice is optional, thus, copyright protection exists for a work even if the “©” notice is omitted. Users should assume material is copyrighted.
B. Users will not knowingly violate usage licensing agreements or trademark law.
C. Users will not plagiarize works they find on the Internet. Plagiarism is the taking of ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were original to the user.
V. Security
A. Employees must safeguard the School District’s confidential information and information classified as private personnel data or private student data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. E-mail messages containing such information should not be left visible while employees are away from their work area.
B. Users are responsible for taking precautions to protect the System. Users will immediately notify the District Technology Director or site administrator, if they identify a possible security problem. Users will not go looking for security problems, because doing so may be construed as a prohibited attempt to gain access.
C. Users are responsible for protecting their passwords against unauthorized use.
D. Users will avoid, if known, the spread of computer viruses.
E. Users are requested to shut down and power off their computers at the end of each day.
VI. Notification and Responsibility
A. The School District will inform parents, students and group home residents of this policy.
B. Students or other users may encounter a wide range of material on the Internet, some of which may be contrary to the values of particular families, students or individuals. The School District will enforce its Acceptable Use policy; however, it is not practical or possible for the School District to monitor access to ensure individuals do not encounter images or other communication contrary to their values.
VII. Accounts and Agreements
A. School District employees will be provided an e-mail account and access to the System.
B. The School District may develop appropriate user notification forms, use agreements, guidelines and procedures necessary to implement this policy.
VIII. Websites
A. The School District, sites, and/or classes may establish a web page that present information about the School District, school building, or class activities. The person(s) who posts to a web page is responsible for the content of the web page and compliance with the School District’s Electronic Communication Policy.
B. The District Technology Director or his/her appointee, will be responsible for the oversight of the School District’s website. The District Technology Director, or his/her designee, will be responsible for oversight of the buildings’ and class websites.
C. Pursuant to the data privacy rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Rights (FERPA) and the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA), the School District’s Web site will not contain information directly related to a student, including the student’s image, and information that would otherwise be public directory information pursuant to the MGDPA and School District policy, without the consent of the student’s parent or the student who has reached the age of majority. The School District’s website may contain public personnel data, as defined under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, at the discretion of the School District.
D. The School District may establish processing criteria for the creation and posting of material on the School District’s web site. All student, staff, school or classroom web pages shall adhere to such criteria.
IX. Inspection and Monitoring
A. All information created, transmitted, or retrieved over the System is the property of the School District and users have no privacy rights to such information. The School District has the right at any time to inspect, investigate, review or monitor the use of the System, any information transmitted or stored on it.
X. Limitation of School District Liability
A. The School District makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, that the function or the services provided by or through the System will be error-free or without defect.
B. The School District will not be responsible for any damage users may suffer, including, but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service.
C. The School District is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through or stored on the System.
D. Users will be solely responsible for financial obligations and damages arising from confirmed deliberate misuse use of the System.
First Reading: 12/18/07, 2/20/07, 5/18/04
Second Reading: 1/15/08, 3/20/07, 6/15/04
Adopted: 1/15/08, 3/20/07, 6/15/04
Acceptable Use Agreement – Resident
Resident
I have read and do understand the School District’s policies relating to acceptable use of the School District’s System, the Internet, and other technical resources and equipment that are accessed from School District premises, programs, facilities, and functions, and agree to abide by them. I further understand that should I commit any violation, my access privileges may be revoked, disciplinary action may be taken, and/or appropriate legal action may be taken.
User’s Full Name (please print) __________________________________________
User’s Signature __________________________________________
Date _______________________
Acceptable Use Agreement – Student
Student
I have read and do understand the School District’s policies relating to acceptable use of the School District’s System, the Internet, and other technical resources and equipment that are accessed from School District premises, programs, facilities, and functions, and agree to abide by them. I further understand that should I commit any violation, my access privileges may be revoked, disciplinary action may be taken, and/or appropriate legal action may be taken.
User’s Full Name (please print) __________________________________________
User’s Signature __________________________________________
Date _______________________
Acceptable Use Agreement – Parent or Guardian
Parent or Guardian
I have read the School District’s policies relating to acceptable use of the School District’s System, the Internet, and other technical resources and equipment that are accessed from School District premises, programs, facilities, and functions. I understand that this access is designed for educational purposes. The School District has taken precautions to eliminate controversial or offensive material. However, I also recognize that it is impossible for the School District to restrict access to all controversial or offensive materials, and I will not hold the School District or its employees or agents responsible for materials encountered on the Internet by my child. Further, I accept full responsibility for supervision if and when my child’s use is not in a school setting. I hereby give permission to issue an account for my child.
User’s Full Name (please print) __________________________________________
User’s Signature __________________________________________
Date _______________________
School District Employee
I have read and do understand the School District’s policies relating to acceptable use of the School District’s System, the Internet, and other technical resources and equipment that are accessed from School District premises, programs, facilities, and functions, and agree to abide by them. I further understand that should I commit any violation, my access privileges may be revoked, I may be disciplined or discharged, and/or appropriate legal action may be taken.
I the undersigned employee of Independent School District No. 518, Worthington, Minnesota (“School District”), do hereby acknowledge that I have been provided a copy of the School District’s Electronic Communications Policy.
User’s Full Name (please print) __________________________________________
User’s Signature __________________________________________
Date _______________________