1651 Electronic Communications
As a productivity tool, Union Public Schools encourages the business use of electronic communications systems, notably the Internet, Employee Network and electronic mail. Unless third parties have clearly noted copyrights or some other rights on the messages handled by these electronic communications systems, all messages generated on or handled by district electronic communications systems are considered to be the property of Union Public Schools.
A. Authorized Usage - Union Public Schools electronic communications systems are to be used for official district communications. Incidental personal use is permissible as long as it does not consume more than a trivial amount of system resources, does not interfere with employee productivity and does not preempt any business activity. Union Public Schools electronic communication systems must not be used for unauthorized fund- raising campaigns, political advocacy efforts, religious efforts, private business activities. News feeds, e-mail mailing lists, push data updates and other mechanisms for receiving information over the Internet must be restricted to material that is clearly related to both district business and the professional duties of the receiving employees. Employees are reminded that the use of district information resources must never create the appearance or the reality of inappropriate use.
B. Site/Districtwide Emails - Sending email messages to all employees at a school is limited to the Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, the Superintendent’s administrative assistant, the principal, the site secretary or anyone authorized by the Superintendent. Sending messages to all employees in the district is limited to the Superintendent, Associate Superintendent, Assistant Superintendents, the CFO, the Chief Communications Officer, and the Superintendent’s administrative assistant. The Executive Director of IT or designee is permitted to send out an e-mail message to all employees if a technology-related issue requires staff to be immediately notified of an imminent technology issue or by direction of the Superintendent.
C. Default Privileges - Electronic communication systems must be established and maintained such that only the privileges necessary to perform a job are granted to an employee. For example, when an employee’s relationship with the district comes to an end, all of the employee’s privileges on district communication systems may be disabled. Employees should not exceed or attempt to exceed the scope of access granted them.
D. User Identity for District Business - Misrepresenting, obscuring, suppressing or replacing another user’s identity on an electronic communications system is forbidden. The user name, electronic mail address, organizational affiliation and related information included with electronic messages or postings must reflect the actual originator of the messages or postings. Electronic mail signatures indicating name, phone number, job title, company affiliation, address and other particulars are strongly recommended for all electronic mail messages. Digital certificates are also recommended for electronic e-mail.
E Use of Encryption Programs - Employees are reminded that district electronic communications systems are not encrypted by default. If sensitive information that is confidential or secret must be sent by electronic communications systems, an encryption process approved by the IT Department should be employed. These encryption systems must protect the sensitive information from end to end. They must not involve decryption of the message content before the message reaches its intended final destination. Mobile computers, notebook computers, portable computers, personal digital assistants and similar computers that store Union Public Schools sensitive information must consistently employ a hard-to-guess password. Employees must not use encryption for any electronic communications system unless a backup key or a key escrow system has been established with the cooperation of the IT Department.
F Respecting Intellectual Property Rights - Although the Internet is an information communications environment, the laws for copyrights, patents and trademarks apply. Employees using district electronic mail systems must repost or reproduce material only after obtaining permission from the source; quote material from other sources only if these other sources are properly identified; and reveal internal district information on the Internet only if the information has been officially approved for public release. All information acquired from the Internet must be considered suspect until confirmed by another source.
G Respecting Privacy Rights - Except as otherwise specifically approved by the IT Department, employees must not intercept or disclose, or assist in intercepting or disclosing, electronic communications. Union Public Schools also is responsible for operating, maintaining and protecting its electronic communications networks. To accomplish these objectives, it is occasionally necessary to intercept or disclose, or assist in intercepting or disclosing, electronic communications. To meet these objectives, The district may employ content monitoring systems, message logging systems and other electronic system management tools. By making use of district systems, users consent to permit all information they store on district systems to be divulged to law enforcement at the discretion of the Union Public School district management.
H No Guaranteed Message Privacy - Union Public Schools cannot guarantee that electronic communications will be private. Employees must be aware that electronic communications can, depending on the technology, be forwarded, intercepted, printed and stored by others. Electronic communications can be accessed by people other than the intended recipients in accordance with this policy. Because messages can be stored in backups, electronic communications actually may be retrievable when a traditional paper letter would have been discarded or destroyed.
I No Service Guarantees - The district makes no guarantees of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. The district will not be responsible for any damage suffered. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries or service interruptions caused by negligence, errors or omissions.
J Contents of Messages - Employees must not use profanity, obscenities, or derogatory remarks in electronic mail messages discussing employees, students, parents or others. Such remarks may create legal problems such as libel and defamation of character. Employees must concentrate on business matters in district electronic communications. As a matter of standard business practice, all Union Public School electronic communications must be consistent with conventional standards of ethical and polite conduct. Political and/or religious messages and quotes are not appropriate for district communications. Transmission of any material in violation of any federal or state regulation is prohibited.
K Statistical Data - Consistent with generally accepted business practice, Union Public Schools collects statistical data about its electronic communication systems. Using such information, technical support personnel monitor the use of electronic communications to ensure the ongoing availability, reliability and security of these systems. Union Public Schools employs computer systems that analyze these types of statistical information to detect unauthorized usage, toll fraud, denial of service attacks and other problems.
L Incidental Disclosure - Technical support personnel must not review the content of an individual employee’s communications out of personal curiosity. Support may access personal email accounts only with permission from the end user. Advance approval by the Superintendent is required prior to remotely accessing any user’s personal email account without the end user’s approval.
M Addendum on Outbound Electronic Mail - E-mail messages with sensitive information or information that should not be shared beyond the original receivers of the e-mail should have a disclaimer on the e-mail. The standard disclaimer is:
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify the sender by e-mail address shown. This e-mail transmission may contain confidential information in its message or in an attachment. The information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) or entity to whom it is addressed. Any inappropriate disclosure, distribution, copying or use of the information by others is strictly prohibited. Please delete it from your files if you are not the intended recipient. Thank you for your compliance.
N Handling Technology Alerts About Security - Users must promptly report all information security alerts, warnings, and reported vulnerabilities to the IT Department. IT is the only organizational unit authorized to determine appropriate action in response to such notices. Users must not utilize Union Public Schools
systems to forward these notices to other users, whether the other users are internal or external to Union Public Schools. Users must promptly report all suspected security vulnerabilities or problems that they notice to the IT Department.
O Purging Electronic Messages - Messages no longer needed for business purposes may be periodically purged by users from their personal electronic message storage areas.
P Harassing or Offensive Materials - Union Public Schools computer and communications systems are not intended to be used for, and must not be used for the exercise of the employees’ right to free speech. These systems must not be used as an open forum to discuss Union Public Schools organizational changes or business policy matters. Sexual, ethnic, and racial harassment, including unwanted electronic mail is strictly prohibited. Employees who receive offensive unsolicited material from inside or outside sources must not forward or redistribute to either internal or external parties. If an employee wishes to report a harassing or offensive electronic communication Human Resources Department must be notified.
Q. The Human Resources Department should be notified immediately in the case of a sexual harassment message. Union Public Schools retains the right to remove from its information systems any material it views as offensive or potentially illegal.
R Use At Your Own Risk - Employees access the Internet with district facilities at their own risk. Union Public Schools is not responsible for material viewed, downloaded or received by users through the Internet. Electronic mail systems may deliver unsolicited messages that contain offensive content.
S In order to comply with applicable state and federal laws, Union Public Schools employs a mechanism to automatically archive all e-mail messages sent internally and externally through the district e-mail system.
T Sharing and Forwarding - When electronic mail accounts are set up for specific individuals, they must not be shared. A generic electronic mail account may be set up at the request of an administrator in order for multiple users to access it for a specific business purpose. Generic accounts should not be used for personal information. Notices can be established that will automatically inform correspondents that the recipient will not be responding for a certain period of time. Upon departure from Union Public Schools, a user’s electronic mail account will be immediately disabled upon termination and deleted after thirty (30 days.
U Users shall not directly click any link within an e-mail. All URLs/links embedded in an email must be copied and pasted into a browser prior to accessing the website.
Adopted 12/13/04
Revised 2/12/07
Revised 11/10/08
Revised 1/18/10
Revised 11/8/10
Revised 12/9/13
Revised 12/8/14
Revised 12/14/15
Revised 12/11/17
Revised 12/14/2020
Revised 12/12/22
Revised 12/11/23