| School Board of Alachua County |
| Bylaws & Policies |
7540.04 - STAFF NETWORK AND INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE AND SAFETY
The School Board provides electronic devices and resources (including, but not limited to, computers, networks, software, Internet access, e-mail, and facsimile machines) to support the educational mission of the schools, to enhance the curriculum and learning opportunities for students and school staff, and to conduct District business.
Property of the District; No Expectation of Privacy
The District retains control, custody, and supervision of all electronic resources owned or leased by it. All messages created, sent, or retrieved through electronic resources are the property of the District. Any information generated, stored, or sent through electronic resources is the same as any written document and may be subject to Florida's public records act, F.S. Chapter 119. The District reserves the right to monitor all use of electronic resources by employees and other users. Employees have no expectation of privacy in their use of electronic resources.
Acceptable Uses
Employees are to use the District's electronic resources for school-related purposes and performance of job duties consistent with the District's mission and goals. When using electronic resources, all users must adhere to the provisions of this policy and the
Code of Ethics and Principles of Professional Conduct of the Education Profession in the State of Florida, F.A.C. 6B-1.001 and 6B-1.006. Use of the Internet while on Board property must comply with all Board policies and procedures.Incidental Personal Use
Incidental personal use of electronic resources is permitted as long as such use does not interfere with the employee's job duties and performance, with system operations, or other system users. "Incidental personal use" means use by an individual employee for occasional personal communications, in the same manner as an employee might reasonably use the District's telephone for occasional personal calls. Such personal use must comply with this policy.
Unacceptable Uses
General rules and expectations for professional behavior and communication apply to use of the District's electronic resources. Examples of unacceptable uses that are prohibited include, but are not limited to, the following:
| A. | Any use that is illegal or in violation of other District policies, including harassing, discriminatory, or threatening communications and behavior. Harassing, defamatory, insulting, or profane language or pictures are not permitted. It is not permitted to transmit messages with derogatory or inflammatory remarks about a person's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, political beliefs, sexual orientation, social or family background, linguistic preference, marital status, or disability. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities will be reported to the authorities and may result in the loss of user privileges or other discipline. | |
| B. | Any use involving materials that are obscene, pornographic, sexually explicit, or sexually suggestive. | |
| C. | Any inappropriate communications with students or minors. | |
| D. | Any use for private commercial, advertising, or business solicitation purposes. Any use to raise funds for any nonschool-sponsored purpose, whether or not for-profit, except as approved by the Superintendent. | |
| E. | Any use of the District's electronic resources as a forum to solicit, advocate, or communicate the personal, political, or religious views of an individual or nonschool-sponsored organization. However, the District may approve limited forums to solicit and communicate the personal views of employees or members of the public on specific topics. The Superintendent shall determine the hours and duration that a forum is available. | |
| F. | Any use to disseminate false information that impacts the credibility of the District. | |
| G. | Any communication that represents personal, political, or religious views as those of the District or that reasonably could be misinterpreted as such. | |
| H. | Any use that disrupts a District activity, including but not limited to, the District's electronic resources. Deliberate attempts to degrade or disrupt systems performance will be viewed as criminal activities under applicable State and Federal law. |
| 1. | Users shall not take unauthorized actions to gain access or attempt to gain access to, deny access or attempt to deny access to, disrupt, change, or destroy the data or service of the computer or network systems. | ||
| 2. | Installing, moving, connecting, or changing networking devices to the Board's network without prior written approval of the Superintendent is prohibited. The term "networking devices" includes, but is not limited to, personal computers, laptops, PDA's, routers, switches, hubs, wireless devices, VPN nodes, firewalls, monitors, modems (DSL, ADSL, phone, Ipods), and video surveillance equipment. | ||
| 3. | Any unauthorized, deliberate software installation or upgrade which damages or disrupts a computing system and alters its normal performance, or causes it to malfunction, is prohibited. Employees who install unauthorized copies of programs or software will be recommended for disciplinary action. If such action infects the network with a virus or disrupts or causes the network to fail, the staff member may be liable for any and all repair costs to make the network once again fully operational. |
| I. | Any unintentional misuse or damage to the District's electronic resources. | |
| J. | Misuse of computer passwords or accounts. Users may not use others' passwords without their explicit permission and may not share passwords with others. | |
| K. | Attempts to access any unauthorized sites by bypassing the District's Internet filtering system. | |
| L. | Use of a District computer for recreational gaming or games, except for instructional purposes. | |
| M. | Degrading the performance of the network by downloading music, listening to Internet-based radio stations, or watching, creating, or downloading a video that is not specifically work or school related. Internet-based broadcasts that are work or school-related are appropriate if approved and are short-term in duration. | |
| N. | Using an instant messaging (IM) system to transmit student or employee information. These systems are not secure and are not authorized for the transmission of this type of data. IM systems may be used for internal Board communications only with the prior approval of the Superintendent. |
This policy provides general guidance and examples of prohibited uses for illustrative purposes, but does not attempt to state all required or prohibited activities by users. Employees or other users who have questions regarding whether a particular activity or use is acceptable should seek further guidance from the site administrator.
Confidential Information
Users may not share confidential information on students or employees with users who are not authorized to have such information. All users who have access to or may have access to personally identifiable student records shall adhere to all standards included in the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment Act (PPRA), F.S. 1002.22 and 1012.31, and other applicable laws and regulations, as they relate to the release of student and employee information.
Copyright Infringement
Policy 2531, Copyrighted Works, will govern the use of material accessed through the District network. It is a violation of the copyright laws to load software onto a District computer without a license authorizing the use of that software on that computer.
| A. | Employees shall not make unauthorized copies of programs or files. Installing new software or upgrades to any software or hardware device on any District system without prior authorization is prohibited. | |
| B. | Employees shall not copy, alter, remove, transfer, or communicate any District-licensed software for personal use. | |
| C. | Employees shall avoid the use of single copies of software or CD-ROM products across a network with multiple users unless such use is permitted by the application license agreement. |
Unauthorized Charges
The District assumes no responsibility for any unauthorized charges made by employees, including, but not limited to, credit card charges, subscriptions, long distance telephone charges, equipment, and line costs, or for any illegal use of its computers such as copyright violations.
No Warranty
The District makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. The District will not be responsible for any damages suffered. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by its own negligence or errors or omissions including any and all viruses. Use of any information obtained via the Internet is at the user's own risk. The District specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its services.
Agreement
Prior to accessing the District computer or network resources, all users are required to sign a written agreement when requested stating that they have read and understand the District policies governing the usage of District computer and Internet/network resources. Existing users will be provided a copy for their signature. Failure to sign and return the form will result in access being denied.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Failure to comply with this policy may result in suspension or revocation of the user's privilege of access. Employees may also be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Users granted access to the network/Internet through the District's computers assume personal responsibility and liability, both civil and criminal, for uses of the network/Internet not authorized by this policy and its accompanying procedures.
F.S. 1001.41
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