1601 Internet Acceptable Use
The guidelines provided in this policy are designed to promote the efficient, ethical and legal utilization of network resources. Students’ use of the district’s system will be governed by a student code of conduct.
INTERNET ACCESS - TERMS AND CONDITION
A. Acceptable Use - The use of the district system, whether by students, faculty or staff, must be in support of education and consistent with the educational objectives of the district. The use of any other organizations’ network or computing resources must comply with the rules and regulations appropriate for that network. The transmission of any material in violation of any United States or state law or regulation and the transmission of any material inconsistent with the education objectives of the district is prohibited. This includes, but is
not limited to, copyrighted material; threatening, indecent, lewd or obscene material; or material protected by trade secret. Use of the district system for personal commercial activities is not acceptable. Use for product advertisement or political lobbying is prohibited.
B. Privilege of Use - The district system and its Internet access is a privilege afforded to students, staff and employees of the district. Inappropriate use may result in disciplinary action. Inappropriate use is any use prohibited by the terms of this policy or use determined by the district’s system administrators to be inappropriate under particular facts and circumstances.
C. Internet Filtering
1. The district implements various technologies that block and filter Internet access to content that is obscene, pornographic, or harmful to minors. The district defines “harmful to minors” as any electronic media that appeals to a prurient interest in nudity or sex or, taken as a whole, lacks serious literacy, artistic, political or scientific value as to minors.
2. As no Internet filter can ensure all inappropriate sites are blocked, the district implements various technologies to block websites categorized as adult, pornographic, promoting illegal activities, hate, gambling, weapons, violence, and other categories determined to negatively impact the classroom.
3. All Internet activity may be tracked, monitored, and recorded by the unique individual identifiers.
D. Inappropriate Use - Each system user is expected to comply with all district policies governing Internet access and to abide by generally accepted rules of network etiquette. These general rules include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Appropriate language - Do not use abusive language, including acronyms or abbreviations, in messages to others. Be polite and respect the feelings and ideas of others. Do not use obscene, indecent, lewd or profane language, vulgarities, rude, threatening, harassing, insulting, teasing, or disrespectful language.
2. Safety - Do not reveal personal contact information about yourself or any other person. This information includes age, telephone numbers, and addresses. Users will promptly disclose to the teacher or district administrator any message they consider to be inappropriate or which makes them feel uncomfortable.
3. Electronic Communication - Users should have no expectation of privacy when using District electronic communication tools. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities will be reported to the authorities. System users should not post any message which is intended to be private. Users should not upload, post, or share pictures or videos that would not be appropriate to share in the classroom.
4. Network resources - System users should not use the network in a way that will disrupt the use of the network by other users. The network should be used for educational, professional and career development activities.
5. Intellectual property - Do not plagiarize works obtained from the Internet. Users must respect the rights of copyright owners and comply with all limitations imposed upon use of copyrighted material.
6. Unique Login credentials - Do not share login information with anyone.
7. Downloading Software - Users must not download software from the Internet unless specifically authorized to do so by the IT Department.
8. User Anonymity - Users must not misrepresent their own or another user’s identity on the Internet or on any other district information system.
E. Limitation of Liability - The district makes no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, for the services provided and will not be responsible for any damages which users may suffer through use of the district system or the Internet, including, but not limited to, the loss of information or files or the interruption of service. The district is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through use of the district system or the Internet. The district is not responsible for any personal financial obligations which may be incurred through use of the district system.
F. Security - Security on any computer system is a high priority, especially when the system involves multiple users. Users are responsible for their individual account and should take precautions to prevent others from accessing that account. Under no conditions should a user provide his/her personal password to another person. If you identify a potential security problem on the district system or the Internet, you must notify the Executive Director of Technology immediately. You should not demonstrate the problem to others, nor should you intentionally attempt to identify potential security problems. In either instance, your actions may be misinterpreted as an illegal attempt to gain unauthorized access. Any attempt to gain unauthorized access may result in disciplinary action.
G. Vandalism - Vandalism of district hardware, software or the system itself will result in disciplinary actions. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy the property or data of the district, of another user or of any other network connected to the Internet or all or any portion of the district’s computer network system or any other network or system connected to the Internet. This includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses or any actions that disrupt, “crash” or “bomb” all or any portion of the district’s computer system. All system users shall avoid the accidental spread of computer viruses by strict adherence to district policies governing the downloading of software. No system user may use the system to “hack” or attempt to gain unauthorized access to any other computer system, network or site or any unauthorized portion of the district’s system.
H. Inappropriate Material - Access to information shall not be restricted or denied solely because of the political, religious or philosophical content of the material. However, system users must realize that rights go hand-in-hand with responsibilities and agree not to use the district system to access information or to distribute information or material which is:
1. Obscene, meaning (a) material which, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value and, (b) when an average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the written material, taken as a whole, appeals to an obsessive interest in sex.
2. Libelous, meaning a false and unprivileged statement about a specific individual which tends to harm the individual’s reputation.
3. Vulgar, lewd or indecent, meaning material which, taken as a whole, an average person would deem improper for access by or distribution to minors because of sexual connotations or profane language.
4. Display or promotion of unlawful products or services, meaning material which advertises or advocates the use of products or services prohibited by law from being sold or provided to minors.
5. Group defamation or hate literature, meaning material which disparages a group or a member of a group on the basis of race, age, color, religion or religious affiliation, ethnic or national origin, gender, gender identity or preference, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, disability or handicapped condition or which advocates illegal conduct or violence or discrimination toward any particular group of people.
6. Disruptive to school operations, meaning material which, on the basis of past experience or based upon specific instances of actual or threatened disruptions relating to the information or material in question, is likely to cause a material and substantial disruption of the proper and orderly operation of school activities or school discipline.
I. CIPA Compliance - As Internet safety is of utmost importance for all students, the district provides annual education to minors to demonstrate appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms as well as cyberbullying awareness and response.
1. The district shall provide certification, pursuant to the requirements of the Children’s Internet Protection Act, to document the district’s adoption and enforcement of its Internet and Technology Safety Policy, including the operation and enforcement of technology protection measures for all district computers with Internet access.
2. The district shall also obtain verification from any provider of digital or online library database resources that all the resources they provide to the district are in compliance with Oklahoma law and the district’s Internet and Technology Safety Policy. If any provider of digital or online library resources fails to timely verify compliance, the district shall consider the provider’s act of noncompliance a breach of contract.
J. Personal Hotspots - Any portable internet device (MiFi, iPad, etc.) should be used for school use only. Internet access may or may not be filtered. Extreme caution should be used when connecting to any personal hotspots.
K. High Demand Internet Times - During high bandwidth times, internet activity may be restricted or shaped to allow traffic priority to school related essential functions. Non-essential traffic may be limited during these high bandwidth times.
L. Information Reliability - All information acquired from the Internet must be considered suspect until confirmed by separate information from another source. Users must not rely on the alleged identity of a correspondent through the Internet unless the identity of this person is confirmed.
M. Virtual conversations-
1. The use of any electronic communication medium including, but not limited to, email, direct messages, video chats, or group chats must be used for school appropriate use only. Any communication that could potentially cause a disruption to the typical school day could result in disciplinary action.
2. There should be no expectation of privacy when using district equipment when communicating digitally.
3. Appropriate digital citizenship must always be observed. All conversations and digital media must remain appropriate for a school environment.
HOME PAGE AND WEB SITES
A. The Communications Department is responsible for the style, content and presentation of the district’s Internet home pages and websites.
B. Individual sites, staff and departments may have their own home pages/web pages. All must adhere to this policy and the guidelines set out by Teaching and Learning and the Communications Department which have the authority to review and edit content. (Board Policy #1102).
Revised 6/10/96
Revised 12/8/97
Revised 12/14/98
Revised 12/13/99
Revised 1/8/01
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Revised 2/12/07
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Revised 1/18/10
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Revised 12/12/22