| Upper Arlington City School District |
| Bylaws & Policies |
7540.04 - STAFF NETWORK AND INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE AND SAFETY
Introduction
The Upper Arlington City School District (the "District") is pleased to provide teachers and certain other employees (the "users") access, based upon the user’s legitimate work requirements, to electronic information resources (the "Network"), including voice mail, E-mail, the Internet and other resources. The District’s goal in so providing the Network to users is to promote efficiency and excellence in the workplace by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, communication, cooperation and collaboration. Users are expected to use the Network in their classrooms, for research and preparation for class activities, and/or in furtherance of their other legitimate job duties. All users who use or otherwise access the Network shall abide by this Policy. Due to the rapid change in technology, a user’s access and/or this Policy are subject to change at any time.
Scope
Internet access is coordinated through a complex association of governmental agencies as well as State and regional networks. Access to computers and people all over the world may include the potential for access to materials that are inappropriate, illegal or of no professional or educational value in the context of the school or office setting. While the District has taken some precautions, it is impossible to control all materials on a global network. Users shall be responsible for their use of the Network and must use their best efforts to stay away from sites that are inappropriate for the educational or office setting. The District firmly believes that the valuable information and interactions available through the Network outweigh the possibility that users may procure material that is not consistent with the educational or business goals of the District.
Terms and Conditions of This Policy
The unimpeded and beneficial operation of the Network, both from on-site and/or remote access, relies upon the proper conduct of the users. All users shall abide by the following terms and conditions for use of the District’s Network:
| A. | Privilege: The District administrators and/or systems managers may perform the following actions for any legitimate reasons, including but not limited to for the purposes of maintaining system integrity and ensuring that users are using the Network consistent with this Policy: monitor, inspect, copy, review, and store at any time and without prior notice any and all usage of the Network and any and all materials, files, information, software, communications (including e-mails), and other content transmitted, received or stored in connection with this usage. The Network and all information, content, e-mails and files are the property of the District, and users should not have any expectation of privacy regarding those materials. | |
| B. | Acceptable Use: The Network shall be used primarily to support research, education, and legitimate District business. Uses that interfere with normal District business or educational activities, such as those activities described in Network Etiquette (#D below), are prohibited. | |
| C. | Web Sites: Web sites created by teachers, classes, departments or schools through the Network or linked to District’s web site must relate specifically to classroom or school activities and programs. The District reserves the right to require that material and/or links to other sites found to be immediately objectionable be altered or removed. All web pages must follow the District’s Guidelines for the Development and Maintenance of Web Sites and Web Pages. All web pages under this Agreement, other than the official Upper Arlington City School District web pages, must prominently display the following disclaimer: | |
| The content of this web site was not developed by the Upper Arlington City School District web master. Furthermore, the views and opinions on this web site are not necessarily those of the Upper Arlington City School District. |
| D. | Network Etiquette: Use of the Network has great potential to enhance the productivity of the users. The Network, however, could also be abused. Users shall be held accountable for their use or misuse of the Network. Each user must abide by generally accepted rules of Network etiquette, which include, but are not limited to: |
| 1. | Users shall not create or transmit harassing, threatening, abusive, defamatory or vulgar messages or materials. | ||
| 2. | Users shall not create, transmit or download any material(s) (a) that are in violation of District policies or any Federal, State or local law, ordinance or regulation, including but not limited to confidential information, copyrighted material, material protected by trade secrets, and any materials that would violate the District’s harassment policy; or (b) that include but are not limited to the design or detailed information for the purpose of creating an explosive device, materials in furtherance of criminal activities or terrorist acts, threatening materials, or pornographic, sexually explicit or obscene materials. | ||
| 3. | Users shall not create, transmit or download any materials that support or oppose the nomination or election of a candidate for public office or the passage of a levy or bond issue unless for legitimate classroom educational purposes. Additionally, users shall not solicit political contributions through the Network from any person or entity. | ||
| 4. | Users shall not use the Network for any commercial activities, such as buying, advertising or selling goods or services, unless it is for legitimate District business. | ||
| 5. | Except for educational or professional purposes, users shall not reveal any personal information beyond directory information about other District employees or students, including but not limited to a user’s Network password(s) or social security numbers. Requests for information should be scrutinized by standards of public disclosure. | ||
| 6. | The confidentiality of any information stored in, or created, received or sent over the E-mail system or through Internet access cannot be assured. Any E-mails created or transmitted that contain personal information about other District employees and/or students must have a "private and confidential" disclaimer appended to the E-mail. | ||
| 7. | Users shall not use the Network in any way that would disrupt Network use by others or abuse limited computer, paper or telephone resources, such as spamming, creating or forwarding mass e-mails, or sending chain letters. | ||
| 8. | Users must use only their own passwords. Users shall not tell any other person their passwords, let anyone have access to the Network using their password, access the Network using another user’s password, or access the Network using another user’s password, unless the user is a systems administrator performing his/her legitimate duties. The user is responsible for anyone else’s condoned use of the user’s account. |
| E. | Vandalism: Vandalism is prohibited. Vandalism is any malicious attempt to hack, alter, harm or destroy software, hardware, data of another user, other Network resources, or the use of the Network to harm or destroy anything on or accessible through the Internet or outside networks. Vandalism includes but is not limited to the uploading, downloading, creating or transmitting of computer viruses, worms, or Trojan horses. | |
| F. | Security: If users identify a security problem on the Network, such as evidence of hacking, users must notify a systems administrator immediately. All users agree to cooperate with the District in the event of an investigation into any allegations of abuse or security breaches of the Network. | |
| G. | Service Disclaimer: The District makes no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, for the Network services it provides. The District will not be responsible for any damages a user may suffer arising out of the user’s use of, or inability to use, the Network, including but not limited to the loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, misdeliveries, service interruptions, or user errors or omissions. The District is not responsible for the accuracy or reliability of information obtained through electronic information resources; hence, this information should be used at the user’s own risk. | |
| H. | Violations of This Policy: Violations of this Policy may result in disciplinary action, including but not limited to restriction or termination of access to the Network; other discipline in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreement or Board policy up to and including termination of employment; referral to legal authorities; and/or other legal action. The Board reserves the right to seek reimbursement of any costs, expenses, and damages arising from a person’s violation of this Policy. |
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