7540.04 - STAFF NETWORK AND INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE AND SAFETY

Southern Local School District

Administrative Guidelines

7540.04 - STAFF NETWORK AND INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE AND SAFETY

Staff members are encouraged to use the Board's computers, network, and Internet connection ("Network") for educational and professional purposes. Use of the Network is a privilege, not a right. Staff members must conduct themselves in a responsible, efficient, ethical, and legal manner. Unauthorized or inappropriate use of the Network, including any violation of these guidelines, may result in cancellation of the privilege, disciplinary action consistent with the applicable collective bargaining agreement and Board policy, and/or civil or criminal liability. Prior to accessing the Network, staff members must sign the Staff Network and Internet Acceptable Use and Safety Agreement.

Smooth operation of the Board's Network relies upon users adhering to the following guidelines. The guidelines outlined below are not exhaustive, but are provided so that users are aware of their general responsibilities.

	A.	Staff members are responsible for their behavior and communication on the Network.
	B.	Staff members may only access the Network by using their assigned Network account. Use of another person's account/address/password is prohibited. Staff members may not allow other users to utilize their passwords. Staff members may not go beyond their authorized access.
	C.	Staff members may not intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files, data or passwords belonging to other users, or misrepresent other users on the network.
	D.	Staff members may not use the Network to engage in "hacking" or other illegal activities (e.g., software pirating, intellectual property violations; engaging in slander, libel or harassment; threatening the life or safety of another; stalking; transmission of obscene materials or child pornography; fraud; sale of illegal substances or goods).

		1.	Slander and libel are terms defined specifically in law. Generally, slander is "oral communication of false statements injurious to a person’s reputation," and libel is "a false publication in writing, printing, or typewriting or in signs or pictures that maliciously damages a person’s reputation or the act or an instance of presenting such a statement to the public." (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Third Edition is licensed from Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.) Staff members shall not knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or organization. Staff members are reminded that material distributed over the Internet is "public" to a degree no other school publication or utterance is. As such, any remark may be seen by literally millions of people and harmful and false statements will be viewed in that light.
		2.	Staff members may not use the Network to harass others. Foul and abusive language, the posting of obscene images or texts, posting of information that injures another, sexual comments or images, racial slurs, gender-specific comments or any comments that would reasonably offend someone on the basis of age, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, national origin, disability is prohibited.

	E.	Transmission of any material in violation of any State or Federal law or regulation, or Board policy is prohibited.
	F.	Any use of the Network for commercial purposes (e.g., purchasing or offering for sale personal products or services by staff members), advertising, or political lobbying is prohibited.
	G.	Staff members are expected to abide by the following generally accepted rules of network etiquette:

		1.	Be polite, courteous, and respectful in your messages to others. Use language appropriate to school situations in any communications made through the Network. Refrain from using obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, sexually explicit, defamatory, threatening, abusive or disrespectful language in communication through the Network (including, but not limited to, public messages, private messages, and material posted on web pages).
		2.	Do not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks.
		3.	Do not harass another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person. If a staff member is told by a person to stop sending him/her messages, the staff member must stop.
		4.	Do not post information that, if acted upon, could cause damage or a danger of disruption.
		5.	Never reveal names, addresses, phone numbers, or passwords of students while communicating on the Internet, unless there is prior written parental approval.
		6.	Check email frequently, and diligently delete old mail on a regular basis from the personal mail directory to avoid excessive use of the electronic mail disk space.

Use of the Network to access, process, distribute, display or print child pornography and other material which is obscene, objectionable, inappropriate or harmful to minors is prohibited. As such, the following material is prohibited: material that appeals to a prurient interest in nudity, sex and excretion; material that depicts, describes or represents in a patently offensive way with respect to what is suitable for minors an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals, and material that lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value as to minors. If a staff member inadvertently accesses material that is prohibited by this paragraph, s/he should immediately disclose the inadvertent access to the building principal or the Superintendent. This will protect the staff member against an allegation that s/he intentionally violated this provision.

		1.	Prohibited Material includes material that is child pornography and material that is obscene, objectionable, inappropriate and/or harmful to minors, as defined by the Children’s Internet Protection Act. As such, the following material is prohibited: material that appeals to a prurient or unhealthy interest in nudity, sex, and excretion; material that depicts, describes or represents in a patently offensive way with respect to what is suitable for minors an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals; and material that lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value as to minors. Prohibited material also includes material that appeals to a prurient or unhealthy interest in, or depicts, describes or represents in a patently offensive way, violence, death, or bodily functions; material designated as for "adults" only; and material that promotes or advocates illegal activities.
		2.	Restricted material may be accessed by staff members in the context of specific learning activities for legitimate research or professional development purposes. Materials that may arguably fall within the description provided for Prohibited Material that have clear educational relevance, such as material with literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, will be considered to be Restricted. In addition, Restricted Material includes materials that promote or advocate the use of alcohol and tobacco, hate, and discrimination, satanic and cult group membership, school cheating, and weapons. Sites that contain personal advertisements or facilitate making online connections with other people are Restricted unless such sites have been specifically approved by the technology coordinator.
		3.	Limited Access Material is material that is generally considered to be non-educational or entertainment. Limited Access Material may be accessed in the context of specific learning activities. Limited Access Material includes such material as electronic commerce, games, jokes, recreation, entertainment, sports, and investment.

	If a staff member inadvertently accesses material that is considered Prohibited or Restricted, s/he should immediately disclose the inadvertent access to the building principal or the Superintendent. This will protect the staff member against an allegation that s/he intentionally violated the provision.

	The determination of whether material is Prohibited, Restricted, or Limited Access shall be based on the content of the material and the intended use of the material, not on the protective actions of the Technology Protection Measure. The fact that the Technology Protection Measure has not protected against access to certain material shall not create the presumption that such material is appropriate for staff members to access. The fact that the Technology Protection Measure has blocked access to certain material shall not create the presumption that the material is inappropriate for staff members to access.

	I.	Malicious use of the Network to develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computer system and/or damage the software components of a computer or computing system is prohibited. Staff members may not use the Network in such a way that would disrupt its use by others. Staff members should refrain from intentionally wasting limited resources. Staff members may not bypass or attempt to bypass the Board’s Technology Protection Measure. Staff members must immediately notify the building principal or the Superintendent if they identify a possible security problem. Staff members should not go looking for security problems (unless that is a component of their job description), because this may be construed as an unlawful attempt to gain access.
	J.	All communications and information accessible via the Internet should be assumed to be private property (i.e., copyrighted and/or trademarked). All copyright issues regarding software, information, and attributions/acknowledgement of authorship must be respected.
	K.	Downloading of information onto the Board's hard drives is prohibited, without prior approval from the coordinator. If a staff member transfers files from information services and electronic bulletin board services, the staff member must check the file with a virus-detection program before opening the file for use. Only public domain software may be downloaded. If a staff member transfers a file or software program that infects the Network with a virus and causes damage, the staff member will be liable for any and all repair costs to make the Network once again fully operational.
	L.	Privacy in communication over the Internet and the Network is not guaranteed. In order to verify compliance with these guidelines, the Board reserves the right to monitor, review and inspect any directories, files and/or messages residing on or sent using the Network. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities will be reported to the appropriate authorities.
		The following Notice will be included as part of the computer log-on screen:
		"The Board’s computers, network, and Internet system is to be used for educational and professional purposes. Users are reminded that all Network use, including Internet use, is monitored by the District."
	M.	Use of the Internet and any information procured from the Internet is at the staff member's own risk. The Board makes no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, that the functions or the services provided by or through the Network will be error-free or without defect. The Board is not responsible for any damage a user may suffer, including, but not limited to, loss of data, service interruptions, or exposure to inappropriate material or people. The Board is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through the Internet. Information (including text, graphics, audio, video, etc.) from Internet sources used in class should be cited the same as references to printed materials. The Board is not responsible for financial obligations arising through the unauthorized use of the Network. Staff members will indemnify and hold the Board harmless from any losses sustained as the result of misuse of the Network by the staff member. Use of the Network by staff members will be limited to those staff members who have signed a release of claims for damages against the Board.
	N.	Disclosure, use and/or dissemination of personal identification information of minors via the Internet is prohibited, except as expressly authorized by the minor student's parent/guardian on the "Student Network and Internet Acceptable Use and Safety Agreement Form."
	O.	Proprietary rights in the design of web sites hosted on the Board's servers remains at all times with the Board without prior written authorization.
	P.	Staff members are reminded that personally identifiable student information is confidential and may not be disclosed without prior written parental permission.
	Q.	File-sharing is strictly prohibited. Staff members are prohibited from downloading and/or installing file-sharing software or programs on the Network.
	R.	Staff members may not establish or access web-based e-mail accounts on commercial services through the Network (e.g., Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo mail, etc.).
	S.	Since there is no central authority on the Internet, each site is responsible for its own users. Complaints received from other sites regarding any of the District’s users will be fully investigated and disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.
	T.	Preservation of Resources: Computer resources are limited. Because space on disk drives and bandwidth across the lines which connect the Network (both internally and externally) are limited, neither programs nor information may be stored on the system without the permission of the technology coordinator. Each staff member is permitted reasonable space to store e-mail, web, and personal files. The Board reserves the right to require the purging of files in order to regain disk space.
	U.	Staff members are encouraged to limit student exposure to commercial advertising and product promotion when developing the District or classroom web sites or giving other assignments that utilize the Internet.

		1.	Web sites with extensive commercial advertising may be included on the District or classroom web sites or designated as a required or recommended site only if there is a compelling educational reason for such selection.
		2.	Staff members may make use of high-quality, unbiased online educational materials that have been produced with corporate sponsorship. Staff members may not make use of educational materials that have been developed primarily for the purpose of promoting a company and/or its products or services.

H.R. 4577, P.L. 106-554, Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000
47 U.S.C. 254(h), (1), Communications Act of 1934, as amended
20 U.S.C. 6801 et seq., Part F, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended
18 U.S.C. 2256
18 U.S.C. 1460
18 U.S.C. 2246

Approved 12/27/05