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EHA Introduction
The
Rochester School Board recognizes the value of computer and other electronic
resources to improve student learning and enhance the administration and
operation of its schools. To this end,
the Board encourages the responsible use of computers, computer networks,
including the Internet, and other electronic resources, in support of the
mission and goals of the Rochester School Department and its schools Because
the Internet is an unregulated, worldwide vehicle for communication,
information available to staff and students is impossible to control
fully. Therefore, the Board adopts
this policy governing the voluntary use of electronic resources and the
Internet in order to provide guidance to individuals and groups obtaining
access to these resources on School Department-owned equipment or through
School Department-affiliated organizations. School
Department Rights and Responsibilities
It
is the policy of the Rochester School Board to maintain an environment that
promotes ethical and responsible conduct in all computer and communications
equipment activities by staff and students.
It shall be a violation of this policy for any employee, student, or
other individual to engage in any activity that does not conform to the
established purpose and general rules and policies of computer/communications
equipment use. Within this general
policy, the School Department recognizes its legal and moral obligation to
protect the well being of students in its charge. To this end, the School Department retains
the following rights and recognizes the following obligations: 1. To monitor the use of computer network and the
communications network activities.
This may include real-time monitoring of Internet access and/or
maintaining a log of Internet activity, or attempted activity, for later
review. 2. To provide internal and external controls as
appropriate and feasible. Such
controls shall include the right to determine who will have access to School
Department owned equipment and, specifically, to exclude those who do not
abide by the School Department’s acceptable use policy,
or other policies governing the use of school facilities, equipment, and
materials. 3. To restrict on-line destinations, including
in-coming signals, through software or other means. 4. To remove a user’s access, a device, or connection
to the network that is not approved and secure. 5. To provide guidelines and make reasonable efforts to
train staff and students in acceptable use and policies governing on-line,
wide-area, and local use of computers and communication equipment. 6. Prior to allowing user access, a signed statement of
compliance will be executed, certifying that the user understands and agrees
to comply with 7. School district reserves the right to “block” at any
time any sites or services that could cause bandwidth issues that affect the
overall stability of the network. Staff Responsibilities 1. Staff members who supervise students, control
electronic equipment, or otherwise have occasion to observe student use of
said equipment shall make reasonable efforts to monitor the use of this
equipment to assure that it conforms to the mission and goals of the 2. Staff should make reasonable efforts to become
familiar with the Internet and its use so that effective monitoring,
instruction, and assistance may be achieved. User Responsibilities Use
of the computer and communication equipment provided by the School Department
is a privilege that offers a wealth of information to improve research and
productivity. Where it is available,
these resources are provided to staff, students, and other patrons at no
cost. In order to maintain the
privilege, users agree to learn and comply with all of the provisions of this
policy. 1. The School Department reserves the right to monitor,
review, and copy any communications at any time. 2. Failure to report breaches of this policy is itself
a violation. 3. Users will be individually responsible for their own
behavior and violation of this policy may result in discipline actions in the
form of written reprimand, suspension, expulsion, termination of employment,
or others forms decided by the school board and superintendent. 4. Staff will be responsible for maintaining their own
systems for reliability, integrity, availability, and for physical
protection. 5. Disciplinary or legal action including, but not
limited to, criminal prosecution under appropriate local, state, and federal
laws. Violation of local, state, and
federal laws will be reported to the proper enforcement authorities. Acceptable Use 1. All use of the computer and communications equipment
must be in support of educational and research objectives consistent with the
mission and objectives of the School Department. 2. Proper codes of conduct in electronic communication
must be used. All users are
representing the 3. Use network etiquette which includes being polite
and using it in a safe and legal manner. 4. Use of the network is a privilege, not a right. 5. Confidential information will be sent under a secure
medium. 6. Protecting your own data. 7. Users will use extreme caution to verify messages go
to the correct address/user. 8. Any software/hardware must be pre-approved by the
CIC Staff. 9. Immediate notification of a system compromise to CIC
Staff (Virus, Trojan, hackers, unauthorized access, etc). Unacceptable Use Prohibited
activities include, but are not limited to, the following: 1.
Users will not
obtain, or provide to others, illicit copies of copyrighted software or
documents. Only software provided by
or approved by the 2.
Users will not
use the computer network to attempt to gain unauthorized access to any
computer or communications system. 3.
Users will not
use the computer or communications equipment to give out any personal
information about another person. 4.
Any use of the
computer or communications system for commercial, advertising, profit, or
political purposes is prohibited. 5.
Users shall not
intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files, other
data, or passwords belonging to other users, or misrepresent other users on
the network. 6.
No use of the
network shall serve to disrupt the use of the network by others. Hardware
and/or software shall not be destroyed, modified, or abused in any way. 7.
Malicious or
mischievous use of the network to develop programs that harass other users or
infiltrate a computer or computing system and/or damage the software
components of a computer or computing system is prohibited. 8.
Hate mail,
chain letters, harassment, profanity, obscenity, racist and other antisocial
behaviors are prohibited on the network. 9.
Use of the
network to access or process pornographic material, inappropriate text files
(as determined by the system administrator or building administrator), or a
file dangerous to the integrity of the network is prohibited. 10. Use of the network for any unlawful purpose is
prohibited. 11. Playing games is prohibited unless specifically
authorized by a teacher for instructional purposes. 12. Establishing network or Internet connections to live
communications, including voice and/or video (relay chat) is prohibited
unless specifically authorized by a teacher and a system
administrator. 13. Sending offensive email (racist, pornographic, or
otherwise inappropriate). 14. Harass, intimidate, threaten, or engage in any
illegal activity. 15. Sending proprietary or confidential information to
any unauthorized person. 16. Allowing other users access to your password or
account. 17. Make changes to the operating system or networking
settings. 18. Open up devices for repairs, etc. 19. Use of gambling, pornographic, or on-line actions
sites/programs. 20. Use of Home/Personal equipment or software for use
on the school network. 21. Use of dial-up networking or other technologies to
bypass the firewall. 22. Tampering with any communications devices, i.e.;
computers, phones, etc. 23. Changing of wiring, connections, or placement of
computers resources is prohibited. 24. Use of school resources for any cheating or academic
dishonesty. 25. Use of any hacking, cracking, password cracking,
scanners, or any other hacking or network discovery tools. 26. Attempting to circumvent any security. 27. Starting any denial of services attacks. 28. Any unauthorized access to include wireless devices
or any other communication devices. 29. Use of email systems or accounts other than one’s
approved by the CIC staff and Superintendent. Disclaimer 1. The School Department cannot be held accountable for
the information that is retrieved via the network. 2. Pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy
Act of 1986 (18 USC 2510 et seq.),
notice is hereby given that there are no facilities provided by this system
for sending or receiving private or confidential electronic
communications. System administrators
have access to all mail and will monitor messages. Messages relating to or in support of
illegal activities will be reported to the appropriate authorities. 3. The School Department will not be responsible for
any damages you may suffer, including loss of data resulting from delays,
non-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by our own negligence or your
errors or omissions. Use of any
information obtained is at your own risk. 4. The School Department makes no warranties (expressed
or implied) with respect to: ·
The content of
any advice or information received by a user, or any costs or charges
incurred as a result of seeing or accepting any information; ·
Any cost,
liability or damages caused by the way the user chooses to use his or her
access to the network. The School Department
reserves the right to change its policies and rules at any time. Adoption Date: Amended: |