Internet
Access and Usage
Purpose
– The Big Spring
School District will
provide access to the Internet for students, with their
parents’ or guardians’ consent, teacher aides, teachers,
administrative staff, and/or other District
employees to locate resources to meet their school-related
needs. District staff will work together to help
students develop the critical thinking skills necessary to
discriminate among information sources, to
identify information appropriate to their age and
developmental levels, and to evaluate and use
information to meet educational goals that are consistent
with the District’s Strategic Plan. Access to the
Internet
through District resources is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked for
anyone who uses
the resources inappropriately as determined by District
authorities.
Because
of the nature of the Internet as a global network connecting thousands of
computers around the
world, inappropriate materials, including pornography and
obscenity, can be accessed through the
network. The District cannot completely block access to
these sources because of the nature of the
technology that allows the Internet to operate. Accessing these
and similar types of sources or
transmitting such sources will result in suspension and/or
other disciplinary measures in accordance with
District policies. Through a program of education, the
District will educate students, teacher aides,
teachers, and administrative staff about their individual
responsibility to refrain from engaging in
unacceptable uses of the network and about the consequences
of their actions if they violate the policy.
Authority
– The Big Spring
School District reserves
the right to view and monitor all applications
provided through the Internet and to log Internet use by
students, staff, and/or any other District
employee. E-mail is restricted to teacher-assigned projects
as an integral part of a curriculum process;
therefore, e-mail is subject to review by District personnel
and should never be considered as private. If
there is a reason to believe that e-mail is being used for
purposes specifically prohibited by this policy or
for illegal activity, the user account will be disabled
until District authorities can confer with the user.
The
District reserves the right to revoke user privileges, remove user accounts,
and refer matters to legal
authorities when violations of this and any other applicable
District policies occur, including, but not
limited to, those governing network use, copyright,
security, and vandalism of District resources and
equipment. The District bears no responsibility for
information that is lost, damaged, or unavailable for
any reason.
Procedures
– Network accounts or access to the Internet will be used only by the
authorized user for its
authorized purpose. Accounts/access will be made available
according to a schedule developed by
appropriate staff given the capability of the District
hardware. Accounts/access will be given only to
those individuals who meet the following requirement:
Prospective
users must have read the District Internet Access and Usage Policy and indicate
their
agreement with its provisions by signing the signature page
and returning it to the appropriate District
authority. Students must have their parent or guardian sign
this signature page indicating the parent or
guardian’s agreement with the policy and his/her consent
permitting the student to access and use the
network. Teacher aides, teachers, administrative staff,
and/or other District employees accessing the
network must sign this form and also return it to their
immediate supervisor.
Prohibitions
– The use of the Internet computer network for illegal, inappropriate,
unacceptable, or
unethical purposes by students or employees is prohibited.
The activities listed below are strictly
prohibited by all users of the network. The District
reserves the right to determine if any activity not
appearing in the list below constitutes an unacceptable use
of the network. These prohibitions are in
effect any time District resources are accessed in any way
whether in the District, or, indirectly, through
another Internet service provider.
• Allowing
an unauthorized person to use an assigned account;
• Use of the
network for non-school related purposes;
• Use of the
network to access or transmit obscene or pornographic material;
• Use of the
network to access or transmit material likely to be offensive or objectionable
to
recipients;
• Use of the
network to communicate through e-mail for non-educational purposes or
activities;
• Use of the
network to participate in inappropriate and/or objectionable discussions or news
groups;
• Use of the
network to transmit hate mail, harassment, discriminatory remarks, and other
antisocial
communications;
• Use of the
network to order or purchase in the name of the District or in the name of any
individual any type of merchandise or service. All costs to
the District or any individual incurred
because of this type of violation will be the responsibility
of the user;
• Use of the
network which results in any copyright violation;
• The
illegal installation, distribution, reproduction, or use of copyrighted
software on Distict
computers;
• Use of the
network to intentionally obtain or modify files, passwords, or data belonging
to other
users;
• Use of
District technology or the network for fraudulent copying, communications, or
modification of materials in violation of local, state, and
federal laws;
• Loading,
downloading, or using unauthorized games, programs, files, or other electronic
media;
• Malicious
use of the network to develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a
computer
system and/or damage the software components of a computer
system;
• Destruction
of District computer hardware or software;
• Use of the
network to participate in unauthorized Internet Relay chats (on-line real-time
conversation);
• Use of the
network to facilitate any illegal activity;
• Use of the
network to misrepresent others using the network; and
• Use of the
network for commercial or profit purposes.
Any
user of the network, whether student or employee, who violates the prohibitions
listed in this
policy, engages in any other act determined to be
unacceptable use of the network by District authorities, or
violates any District policy will have his/her privileges
revoked and may be subject to other disciplinary
procedures according to existing and applicable District
policies. In addition, illegal use of the network,
intentional deletion or damage to files of data, destruction
of hardware, copyright violations, or any other
activity involving the violation of local, state, or federal
laws will be reported to the appropriate legal authorities
for prosecution.
For
Student use:
I
have read the Big Spring School District Acceptable Use Policy and understand
its content.
Printed
Name: ______________________________________________________
Signature:
_________________________________________________________ Date:________
District
Representative:_______________________________________________
Date:________
Parent
or Guardian signature:__________________________________________
Date:________
For
Staff use:
I
have read the Big Spring School District Acceptable Use Policy and understand
its content.
Printed
Name: ______________________________________________________
Signature:
_________________________________________________________ Date:________