7540.05 - STUDENT - COMPUTER POLICY

Sheridan Community School Corporation

Bylaws & Policies

7540.05 - STUDENT - COMPUTER POLICY

	A.	Purpose
		Computing facilities/equipment at the School District are provided for instructional and administrative use to help the District more effectively fulfill its educational mission. The following policies are provided in order to assure that the District’s significant investment in computing is used in accordance with this purpose.
	B.	Authorized Users
		District computers, whether single systems, networks, or lab systems are provided for the use of District students, faculty, staff, and administrators.
	C.	Computer Accounts

		1.	Computer accounts and the files on them are the exclusive property of the District and not the user’s private property. Accounts are assigned for school-related work. If there is reasonable suspicion of illegal or unethical activities, the District reserves the right to inspect its property. It is important to remember that the computer is not a secure environment for private material.
		2.	District technology staff will provide accounts and activate them for authorized users based on input from school offices.
		3.	Users should keep their passwords confidential. Giving your password to another student is in direct violation of acceptable use, and disciplinary action will be taken. Users may change their passwords frequently and should avoid using their names, friends’ names, or a password that could easily be guessed.
		4.	All student computer usage is to be supervised by a District staff member. No students should access a computer in an unsupervised classroom or instructional area.
		5.	Use of a District computing account by anyone other than the owner to whom the account has been assigned is prohibited.
		6.	In addition to other sanctions, access to a computer account may be revoked for a violation of security provisions, unlawful activity, or violation of Board policy. Violators are subject to applicable disciplinary procedures.

Unauthorized Uses

General Policies

			a.	Use of a computer in violation of Board policy is prohibited.
			b.	No person shall knowingly gain access to, or attempt to gain access to any computer, computer system, computer network, information storage media, or peripheral equipment for which they have no legitimate need, without the consent of a teacher or technology staff member.
			c.	Use of a computer account or computer to access resources and facilities is limited to bona fide instructional purposes. Using a computer account for non-educational computerized entertainment, games and multi-user chat, message boards or e-mail facilities is not allowed.
			d.	No person shall knowingly alter, delete, or destroy data, information, or programmatic instructions contained on or in a computer, computer system, computer network, information storage media, or peripheral equipment without permission from authorized personnel from the technology department. This does not apply to personally generated files and documents that can be deleted by the user who created them.
			e.	No person shall knowingly introduce a set of instructions, programmatic or otherwise, into a computer, computer system, computer network, information storage media, or peripheral equipment without permission from authorized personnel from the technology department.
				Examples include but are not limited to: batch files, computer "viruses", "Trojan horses", "time bombs", "logic bombs", and "worms".
			f.	No person shall add, delete, or modify the default setup on school computers or files on the file server without permission from authorized personnel from the technology department. This including changing screen savers, enabling file sharing capabilities, or installing personal software on hard drives or network drives. Computers will be periodically checked, and anything not authorized will be deleted.
			g.	Attempting to circumvent computer security systems, or using computer systems or computer networks in attempting to circumvent security systems elsewhere is prohibited.
			h.	No person shall use a computer to eavesdrop on another user or to collect passwords or other authentication information.
			i.	Wasteful or extravagant use of computer resources is prohibited. Such wasteful or extravagant use can be illustrated by, but is not limited to, any printing of posters and banners for personal parties and events, printing multiple copies of documents, and making multiple copies of handouts and papers.
			j.	It is inappropriate to use computer resources for financial gain.

Software Issues

The District respects the intellectual property rights of others. When the District enters into software license agreements, it is the District policy that we will comply with their terms and conditions, including restrictions on copying and use. Copyright laws must be respected in the District. Failure to comply with a software license agreement can result in our losing the use of the software and legal action.

				1)	Computer software or data may not be copied or used in violation of the software manufacturer’s license agreement or copyright provisions.
				2)	Unless specifically allowed by its owner and copyright, proprietary software must not be placed into public locations. Such locations include, but are not limited to, file servers, non-private computer files or folders, and computer bulletin boards.

			b.	No unauthorized person shall provide computer software or data containing passwords to another person.
			c.	Technology department staff or their designated agents are the only individual authorized to load software on District-owned computer equipment.

Physical Property Issues

		1.	District computing equipment may not be moved by a student to another office, lab, or elsewhere on or off campus without the authorization of the building technology coordinator.
		2.	No student or unauthorized person shall knowingly connect, disconnect, tamper with, or make changes to any physical components of District computing equipment. This includes removing keyboards, peripherals, cords, or any physical part of a computer.

Data File Storage

		1.	Students are allocated personal storage of school-related documents on a network drive. Files stored on District fileservers are periodically backed up and stored off site.
		2.	Access to other network drives other than a user’s personal folder is strictly prohibited, whether viewable or accessible.
		3.	Files stored on individual workstation hard drives is not secure. Anyone who turns on a workstation can access files stored on local hard drives. Because of this, storing files on local hard drives is discouraged. Files stored in the user’s folder on the fileserver are secure because a user ID and password are required to access the folder. Saving all files to the fileserver is the most secure method of data storage.
		4.	In the event of a workstation failure due to a hardware malfunction or software corruption, it may be necessary to re-configure the workstation. Re-configuring the workstation returns the workstation to its original state. This means that any documents or files on the computer’s hard drive are lost. This is the most efficient method to correct major computer problems; however, it does result in the loss of all stored documents. This is another reason to store all documents and data in the user folder on the fileserver.

	G.	E-Mail Usage
		Because the District cannot control appropriate content of e-mail, chat rooms, or any electronic messaging, students are not allowed to access any type of electronic messaging on school equipment. Students are not allowed to check home e-mail accounts on school computers at any time.
	H.	Internet Acceptable Use
		The District is pleased to offer its faculty, staff, and students access to the Internet. The Internet is an electronic highway connecting hundreds of thousands of computers and millions of individual users all over the world. This computer technology will help propel our schools through the communication age by allowing students and staff to access and use resources from distant computers, communicate and collaborate with other individuals and groups around the world, and significantly expand their available information base.

		1.	While the District’s intent is to make Internet access available in order to further educational goals and objectives, it is possible to access other materials as well. All users should be aware that some material accessible via the Internet may contain items that are illegal, defamatory, inaccurate, or potentially offensive to some people. The District institutes technical methods or systems to regulate Internet access, however, those methods can not guarantee compliance with the District’s acceptable use policy. That notwithstanding, the District believes that the benefits to users exceed any disadvantages.
		2.	The primary purpose of District-provided Internet access is to facilitate communications in support of research and education. To remain eligible as users, use must be in support of an consistent with the educational objectives of the District. Access is a privilege, not a right. Access entails responsibility.
		3.	Users should not expect that files stored on school-based computers will always be private. The District reserves the right to monitor and audit all internal and external usage. Administrators may spot-check files and network traffic to maintain the performance/reliability of the network and insure that users are acting responsibly. Students are responsible for good behavior on-line just as they are in a classroom or other area of school.
		4.	The following uses of school-provided Internet access are not permitted:

			a.	to access, upload, download, or distribute illegal, vulgar, abusive, pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit material;
			b.	to transmit vulgar, obscene, abusive, or sexually explicit language;
			c.	to violate any local, State, or Federal statute;
			d.	to vandalize, damage, or disable the property of another individual or organization;
			e.	to access another individual’s materials, information, or files without permission;
			f.	to download software without the permission of building technology staff (this include screen savers, shareware, and any other programmatic data file);
			g.	to violate copyright, plagiarize or otherwise use the intellectual property of another individual or organization without permission;
			h.	to reveal information about yourself, such as your personal address, phone number, or those of others;
			i.	to purchase or sell goods and services.

		5.	Using the Internet in support of education or school appropriate research is permitted.
		6.	Any violation of District policy and rules may result in loss of District-provided access to its computer services. When and where applicable, law enforcement agencies may be involved.
		7.	The District makes no warranties of any kind, neither expressed nor implied, for the Internet access it is providing. The District will not be responsible for any damages users suffer, including, but not limited, loss of data resulting from delays or interruptions in service. The District will not be responsible for the accuracy, nature, or quality of information stored on District diskettes, hard drives, or servers; nor for the accuracy, nature, or quality of information gathered through District-provided Internet access. The District will not be responsible for personal property used to access District computers or networks or for District-provided Internet access. The District will not be responsible for unauthorized financial obligations resulting from District-provided access to the Internet.

Adopted 4/15/02