EASTON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

 

Purpose:

In accordance with district policy, The Easton Area School Board (EASD) supports the use of the Internet and other computer networks in the district's instructional program in order to facilitate learning and teaching through interpersonal communications, access to information, research, and collaboration. The use of the network facilities shall be consistent with and enhance the curriculum adopted by the school district as well as the varied instructional needs, learning styles, abilities, and developmental levels of students.

Authority:

The EASD establishes that use of the Internet is a privilege, not a right; inappropriate, unauthorized, and illegal use may result in cancellation of those privileges and appropriate disciplinary action. The district reserves the right to view and monitor all applications provided through the network, including e-mail, to log Internet use by students and staff, and to monitor fileserver space utilization by district and outside users. The electronic information available to students and staff does not imply endorsement of the content by the school district, nor does the district guarantee the accuracy of information received on the Internet. The district shall not be responsible for any information that may be lost, damaged, or unavailable when using the network or for any information that is retrieved via the Internet. The school district shall not be responsible for any unauthorized charges or fees resulting from access to the Internet. Access for EASD staff will include Internet access, e-mail, newsgroups and FTP upon request. The EASD Technology Department will assist EASD staff with FTP. Access for students will include Internet access with a district ID and password after the student has submitted a permission form signed by his/her parent or guardian.

Responsibility:

The EASD district shall make every effort to ensure that students and staff use this educational resource responsibly. Administrators, teachers, and staff have a professional responsibility to work together to help students develop the intellectual skills necessary to discriminate among information sources, to identify information appropriate to their age and developmental levels, and to evaluate and use the information to meet their educational goals. As required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and the Neighborhood Protection Act, the EASD will install filtering software to restrict and monitor the use of the Internet, e-mail, newsgroups, FTP and chat. EASD students must be directly supervised in the use of the Internet and e-mail by EASD staff. Students and staff have the responsibility to respect and protect the rights of every user in the district and on the Internet. All EASD staff and students are responsible for reading and following this policy. Using the guidelines outlined in the next section, the building administration working in conjunction with the Director of Instructional Technology shall have the authority to determine what is inappropriate use and the consequences for that inappropriate use.

Guidelines:

Students and staff are expected to act in a responsible, ethical, and legal manner in accordance with district policy, accepted rules of network etiquette, and federal and state law. Only the authorized user of the account will use Internet accounts for its authorized purpose.

Specifically, the following uses are prohibited:

• Use of the network to facilitate illegal activity.
• Use of the network for commercial or for-profit purposes.
• Use of the network for product advertisement or political lobbying.
• Use of electronic mail for any purpose other then communications directly relating to district professional responsibilities; chain letters, jokes, and personal communication are prohibited.
• Use of news-groups for any purpose other then communications directly relating to district professional responsibilities.
• Use of the network for hate mail, discriminatory remarks, and offensive or inflammatory communication.
• Unauthorized or illegal installation, distribution, reproduction, or use of copyrighted materials.
• Use of the network to access obscene or pornographic material.
• Use of inappropriate language or profanity on the network
• Use of the network to intentionally obtain or modify files, passwords, and data belonging to other users.
• Impersonation of another user, anonymity, and pseudonyms.
• Use of network facilities for fraudulent copying, communications, or modification of materials in violation of copyright laws.
• Loading or use of unauthorized games, applications, files, or other electronic media.
• Use of the network to disrupt the work of other users.
• Destruction, modification, or abuse of network hardware and software.
• Quoting personal communications in a public forum without the original author's prior consent.
• Installing, downloading or removing software, breaking security, vandalism and repeated offenses.

Consequences For Inappropriate Use:

General rules for behavior and communications apply when using the Internet, in addition to the stipulations of this policy. Illegal use of the network, intentional deletion or damage to files of data belonging to others; copyright violations, or theft of services will be reported to the appropriate legal authorities for possible prosecution.

• The network user shall be financially responsible for damages to the equipment, systems, and software resulting from deliberate or willful acts. Any and all costs incurred by the EASD for repairs and/or replacement of software, hardware, and data files will be the responsibility of the user(s) who has created the problem.
• Loss of or modification of access, and other disciplinary actions shall be consequences for inappropriate use.
• Vandalism will result in cancellation of access privileges. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user, Internet, or other networks. This includes but is not limited to the uploading or creation of computer viruses.

Safety:

System security is protected through the use of passwords. Failure to adequately protect or update passwords could result in unauthorized access to personal or district files. To protect the integrity of the system, the following guidelines shall be followed:

• Staff and students shall not reveal their passwords to another individual.
• Users are not to use a computer that has been logged in under another student's name.
• Users are not to use a computer that has been logged in under a teacher's name without the teachers' specific permission.
• Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer systems may be denied access to the network.
• Users are required to log off of the network when finished.

To the greatest extent possible, users of the network will be protected from harassment or unwanted or unsolicited communication. Any network user who receives threatening or unwelcome communications shall immediately bring them to the attention of a teacher or administrator. Network users shall not reveal any personal information including: personal addresses or telephone numbers to other users on the network. EASD staff must directly supervise EASD student use of the Internet and email.

Netiquette:

EASD staff and students shall follow the standard rules of Netiquette when using e-mail:

• Unless you are using an encryption device, you should assume that mail on the Internet is not secure.
• Respect the copyright on material that you reproduce.
• Never send chain letters via electronic mail. Chain letters are forbidden on the Internet. Your network privileges will be revoked. Notify your local system administrator if your ever receive one.
• Be conservative in the messages you send.
• Mail should be used for academic or work related correspondence only.
• You should not send an angry or disrespectful message, always maintain respectful communication.
• Include a line or two at the end of your message with contact information. This is called a signature. A signature should not be longer then 4 lines.
• Use mixed case. UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING.
• Mail should have a subject heading which reflects the content of the message.

Guidelines for Web-page Development and Design:

• Staff names and pictures may be included if a signed release is obtained from the staff employee. The release must be kept on file.
• Student pictures may be used if the parent or guardian signs a release form. A release form must be signed each time a picture is used. No information about the student including name, age or grade level may be used.
• Links to non-district pages must include the standard district disclaimer.
• Prior to posting, web pages must have the approval of the building principal.
• All web pages will be reviewed and posted by the Instructional Technology Department. Web pages that do not follow the district guidelines will not be posted.

Copyright:

The illegal use of copyrighted software by students and staff is prohibited. Any data uploaded to or downloaded from the network shall be subject to the guidelines put forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (HR2281), October 1998.

This document based on PSBA Policy Guides for Pennsylvania Schools No. 815.

Easton Area School District
Administrative Offices
811 Northampton Street
Easton, PA 18042