Gatesville Independent School District

Acceptable Use Policy as Approved by the School Board

Electronic Communication and Data Management

The Superintendent or designee shall implement, monitor, and evaluate electronic media resources for instructional and administrative purposes.

Availability of Access

Access to the District’s electronic communications system, including the Internet, shall be made available to students and employees exclusively for instructional and administrative purposes and in accordance with administrative regulations.

Access to the District’s electronic communications system is a privilege, not a right. All users shall be required to acknowledge receipt and understanding of all administrative regulations governing use of the system and shall agree in writing to comply with such regulations and guidelines.  Noncompliance with applicable regulations may result in suspension or termination of privileges and other disciplinary action consistent with District policies [See DH, FNC, FNCJ, FO, and the Student Code of Conduct].  Violations of law may result in criminal prosecution as well as disciplinary action by the District.

Acceptable Use

The Superintendent or designee shall develop and implement administrative regulations, guidelines, and user agreements consistent with the purposes and mission of the District and with law and policy governing copyright  [See EFE].

Monitored Use

Electronic mail transmissions and other use of the electronic communications system by students and employees shall not be considered confidential and may be monitored at any time by designated District staff to ensure appropriate use for educational or administrative purposes.

Disclaimer of Liability

The District shall not be liable for users’ inappropriate use of electronic communication resources or violations of copyright restrictions, users’ mistakes or negligence, or costs incurred by users.  The District shall not be responsible for ensuring the accuracy or usability of any information found on the Internet.

Local Regulations

Electronic Communication and Data Management

The District’s system will be used only for administrative and educational purposes consistent with the District’s mission and goals.  Commercial use of the District’s system is strictly prohibited.

The District will provide training to employees in the proper use of the system and will provide all users with copies of acceptable use guidelines.  All training in the use of the District’s system will emphasize the ethical use of this resource.

Copyrighted software or data may not be placed on any system connected to the District’s system without permission from the holder of the copyright.  Only the owner(s) or individuals the owner specifically authorizes may upload copyrighted material to the system.

System Access

Access to the District’s electronic communications system will be governed as follows:

1. With the approval of the immediate supervisor, District employees will be granted access to the District’s system.
2. The District will require that all passwords be changed every year.
3. A teacher may apply for a class account and, in doing so, will be ultimately responsible for use of the account.  Teachers with accounts will be required to maintain password confidentiality by not sharing password with students or others.
4. Students completing required course work on the system will have first priority for use of District equipment after school hours.
5. Any system user identified as a security risk or having violated District and/or campus computer-use guidelines may be denied access to the District’s system.

District Level Coordinator Responsibilities

As the district level coordinator for the electronic communications system, the superintendent or designee will:

1. Be responsible for disseminating and enforcing applicable District policies and acceptable use guidelines for the District’s system.
2. Ensure that all users of the District’s system complete and sign an agreement to abide by District policies and administrative regulations regarding such use.  All such agreements will be maintained on file in the campus principal’s office.
3. Ensure that employees supervising students who use the District’s system provide training emphasizing the appropriate use of this resource.
4. Be authorized to monitor or examine all system activities, including electronic mail transmissions, as deemed appropriate to ensure proper use of the system.
5. Be authorized to establish a retention schedule for messages on any electronic bulletin board and to remove messages posted locally that are deemed to be inappropriate.
6. Set limits for disk utilization on the system, as needed.

Campus Level Coordinator Responsibilities

As the campus level coordinator for the electronic communications system, the principal or designee will:

1. Be responsible for disseminating and enforcing applicable District policies and acceptable use guidelines for the District’s system at the campus level.
2. Ensure that all users of the District’s system complete and sign an agreement to abide by District policies and administrative regulations regarding such use.  All such agreements will be maintained on file in the principal’s office.
3. Ensure that employees supervising students who use the District’s system provide training emphasizing the appropriate use of this resource.

Individual User Responsibilities

The following standards will apply to all users of the District’s electronic information/communications systems:

On-Line Conduct

1. The individual in whose name a system account is issued will be responsible at all times for its proper use.
2. The system may not be used for illegal purposes, in support of illegal activities, or for any other activity prohibited by District policy.
3. System users may not use another person’s system account without written permission from the campus administrator or District coordinator, as appropriate.
4. System users must purge electronic mail in accordance with established retention guidelines.
5. System users may redistribute copyrighted programs or data only with the written permission of the copyright holder or designee.  Such permission must be specified in the document or must be obtained directly form the copyright holder or designee in accordance with applicable copyright laws, District policy, and administrative regulations.
6. System users may upload public domain programs to the system.  System users may also download public domain programs for their own use or may noncommercially redistribute a public domain program.  System users are responsible for determining whether a program is in the public domain.
7. Any malicious attempt to harm or destroy District equipment or materials, data of another user of the District’s system, or any of the agencies or other networks that are connected to the Internet is prohibited.  Deliberate attempts to degrade or disrupt system performance may be viewed as violations of District policy and administrative regulations and, possibly, as criminal activity under applicable state and federal laws.  This includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creating of computer viruses.

Vandalism Prohibited

Vandalism as defined above will result in the cancellation of system use privileges and will require restitution for costs associated with system restoration, hardware, or software costs.

Forgery Prohibited

Forgery or attempted forgery of electronic mail messages is prohibited.  Attempts to read, delete, copy, or modify the electronic mail of other system users or deliberate interference with the ability of other system users to send/receive electronic mail is prohibited.

Information Content/Third-Party Supplied Information

System users and parents of students with access to the District’s system should be aware that use of the system may provide access to other electronic communications systems in the global electronic network that may contain inaccurate and/or objectionable material.

A student knowingly bringing prohibited materials into the school’s electronic environment will be subject to a suspension and/or a revocation of privileges on the District’s system and will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.

An employee knowingly bringing prohibited materials into the school’s electronic environment will be subject of disciplinary action in accordance with District policies.

Network Etiquette

System users are expected to observe the following network etiquette:

1. Be polite; messages typed in capital letters are the computer equivalent of shouting and are considered rude.
2. Use appropriate language; swearing, vulgarity, ethnic or racial slurs, and any other inflammatory language are prohibited.
3. Pretending to be someone else when sending/receiving messages is considered inappropriate.
4. Transmitting obscene messages or pictures is prohibited.
5. Revealing personal addresses or phone numbers of the user or others is prohibited.
6. Using the network in such a way that would disrupt the use of the network by other users is prohibited.

Termination/Revocation of System User Account

The District may suspend or revoke a system user’s access to the District’s system upon violation of District policy and/or administrative regulations regarding acceptable use.

Termination of an employee’s account or of a student’s access will be effective on the date the principal or District coordinator receives notice of student withdrawal or of revocation of system privileges, or on a future date if so specified in the notice.

Disclaimer

The District’s system is provided on an “as is, as available” basis.  The District does not make any warranties, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, those of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any services provided by the system and any information or software contained therein.  The District does not warrant that the functions or services performed by, or that the information or software contained on the system will meet the system user’s requirements, or that the system will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that the defects will be corrected.

Opinions, advice, services, and all other information expressed by system users, information providers, service providers, or other third party individuals in the system are those of the providers and not the District.

The District will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or relating to misuse of the District’s electronic communications system.