6141.322(a)
Instruction
Computers: Web Sites/Pages
The
Board of Education allows the district and schools within the district to
create and maintain world wide web sites for
educational purposes. Web sites are
avenues for educating, providing information, communicating and expressing
creativity. District and individual
school web sites shall be used to share information about school curriculum and
instruction, school-authorized activities, and other information relating to
our schools and our mission. Web sites
shall also provide instructional resources for staff and students.
Materials
displayed on web sites are published on the Internet. Therefore, the content should be
professional quality and consistent with the education mission of the school
system. Web sites shall follow standards
for ethical behavior in regard to information and technology by showing respect
for the principles of intellectual freedom, intellectual property rights and
the responsible use of information and technology. Pages shall reflect an understanding that
both internal and external audiences will be viewing the information.
Any
pages or links representing the school district shall follow guidelines and
responsibilities pertaining to content standards, student records, copyright,
and technical standards which are contained herein.
Web Page Publishing
Guidelines
·
Each school web page shall contain a disclaimer statement similar to
the following:
"We have made every reasonable attempt to
insure that our web pages are educationally sound and do not contain links to
any questionable material or anything that can be deemed in violation of the
Acceptable Use Policy."
Material to be published must not display, access,
or link to sites deemed offensive by the District's Acceptable Use Policy. All published materials must have educational
value and/or support the District's guidelines, goals and policies.
The only material to be published on the District
web server must come from the designated webmaster. All personnel defined in this document must
have on file the signed signature found below.
This signature page will reside with the school or district department
administrator.
·
The web is a very dynamic resource.
It is strongly recommended that links to pre-existing sites be checked
regularly to insure that their links are not going to inappropriate sites.
·
Student work should not be published on a web site unless both the
student and the parent(s) or guardian(s) have signed the Parent/Guardian and Student Permission to Publish Intellectual Property
on the WWW. An exception would be
if the work is part of an existing publication such as a newspaper or school
newsletter.
·
At no time should a student's personal e-mail address or phone number
appear on a school or district web page.
All e-mail should be directed to the school or site web master.
·
Please pay particular attention to the copyright information found
below.
The
Principal or District Supervisor should designate an additional staff member in
each school or department (if it is not the webmaster) to regularly
"visit" their web site to check for appropriateness and the legal
issues which may arise when a school or district department engages in global
publishing.
Copyright Issues
The
Internet has grown to a world wide computer network with many different types
of users with many different purposes for their presence. Copyright issues are often brushed aside or
completely ignored. As an educational
institution, we should be aware of the necessity of conforming to all laws,
regardless of how they may be perceived on the Internet. The guidelines stated herein are for our own
protection and for teaching by example those principles we wish to instill
within our students.
The
copyright law and the courts have provided exceptions to the rules that govern
the behavior of teachers, students, and schools. In general terms, teachers, students and
schools are allowed to make "fair use" of materials for instructional
purposes. "Fair use" has been
interpreted to include those limited uses which are not likely to deprive a
publisher or an author from income.
"Fair
use" of Internet resources by teachers, students, schools or district
personnel should parallel the use of printed resources. Teachers and students might make limited use
of some text and graphics within their own classrooms. They should not "publish" those
same materials across other classrooms within the building by posting on a
local area network (LAN) or across other classrooms in other buildings on a
wide area network (WAN) or the World Wide Web.
Teachers
and students might make rather liberal use of information, text and graphics so
long as their resulting works remain within the classroom setting. The moment the works move out of the
classroom, they may fall under a "public performance" clause of the
copyright law which imposes much greater restrictions and fees.
If
purchased clip art collections are used, read carefully the language outlining
web rights. Most contain some form of
agreement printed on a seal which is broken upon opening. Most of these agreements require you to print
a credit line on any document which you are publishing which includes ones or
more graphics from the collection. The
best advice is to read and follow the stipulations within the agreement.
Teachers,
students, nor district personnel may safely make use of other's materials
(graphics, text, etc.) when they publish on the Web unless they have requested
and received formal permission to do so.
This would include downloading or "whacking" another web
site's material down to their school server.
This should be done after obtaining written permission is granted from
the owner.
To
avoid problems with what to use or not use, the following statement should be
our guide. Unless there is a clear statement that art, photos and text are
"public domain" and available for free use, one should assume that
they are copyrighted. This material should not be used for republication on
a local area network, a wide area network or a Web site unless permission is
granted from the owner.
Privacy Issues
In
addition to copyright issues, careful thought and attention must be given to
privacy issues. These include the
following:
·
Student directory information may not be published if parents have
requested that it be withheld.
·
Photographs of students or staff shall be used only with permission
from the parents or staff workers.
·
Students' last names shall not be used on web sites.
Posting of Student
Work/Photographs
The
District has an obligation to protect student safety and to balance this with
the need for open communications when using the Internet. Therefore, the Board established these
guidelines to fulfill this obligation.
The
purposes of these guidelines are to:
1. inform the school staff of
the possible dangers of allowing students to publish identifying information on
the Internet;
2. recognize that there are
potential advantages of allowing students to publish identifying information on
the Internet; and
3. provide to schools a recommended
set of guidelines governing how student identifying information should be
allowed in publishing on the Internet.
Guidelines:
·
Only first names be used in published student
work.
·
Pictures that are a part of student publishing should not include identifying
information.
·
Under no circumstances should a student's home address or phone number be included.
·
If replies to published student work are appropriate, the sponsoring
teacher's address should be the e-mail address displayed, not the student's.
·
In special circumstances with parent-signed release, identifying
information can be added.
·
Directory information will not be posted on the web for students who
have requested, in writing, that such information not be released.
It
is recognized by the Board that there may be circumstances where it might be
appropriate for high school students to provide identifying information along
with work published on the Internet. An
example of such an appropriate circumstance might be college entrance or
employment opportunities that may be enhanced by viewing a student's work on
the Internet. In making this
determination, the high school student and the supervisory staff member must
weigh the potential for risk against the perceived advantage of posting this
identifying information. Parental
approval, in addition to that of school staff, is required where there is
uncertainty regarding the posting of identifying information for high school
students.
Students
shall retain all rights to work they create using the District's electronic
communication system.
(cf.
1110-Communcation with the Public)
(cf.
5125-Student Records)
(cf.
5145.2 -Freedom of Speech/Expression)
(cf.
6141.321 - Internet Use)
(cf.
6145.3 - Publications)
(cf.
6162.5 - Use of Copy Devices, Copyrights)
Legal
Reference: Connecticut General Statutes
1-19(b)(11)
Access to public records. Exempt
records.
10-15b Access of parent
or guardians to student's records.
10-209 Records not to be public.
11-8a Retention,
destruction and transfer of documents.
11-8b Transfer or
disposal of public records. State
Library Board to
adopt regulations.
46b-56(e) Access to
Records of Minors.
Connecticut Pubic Records
Administration Schedule V - Disposition
of Education
Records (Revised 1983).
Federal Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974 (section
438 of the
General Education Provisions Act, as amended, added by
section 513 of P.L. 93-568, codified at 20 U.S.C. 1232g.).
Dept. of Educ. 34 C.F.R. Part 99 (May 9, 1980 45 FR 30802) regs.
implementing FERPA enacted as part of 438 of General Educ.
provisions act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) - parent and student
privacy and
other rights with respect to educational records, as amended
11/21/96.
Public Law 94-553, The Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. 101 et. seq.
Policy
Adopted: August
20, 2002
6141.324
Form #1
Suffield
Public Schools
Suffield, Connecticut
Parent/Guardian
and Student Permission to Publish Intellectual Property on the WWW
Dear
Parent/Guardian and Student (if 18 years of age or older):
The
Suffield Public Schools would like to publish an original work created by your
child on the World Wide Web (WWW), a part of the Internet. It will be available to a global audience. Some examples of student work published on
the WWW are, but not limited to, literary and artistic works, multi media and
computer programs.
The
Board of Education will not permit a student's full name, home address,
telephone number, or e-mail address to appear on a school or district-level web
site. This precautionary measure
attempts to protect your student from possible rude, insulting or exploitative
Internet users. In addition, the
published work will appear with a copyright notice which prohibits the copying
of your child's work without the express written permission by the
parent/guardian or student age 18 or older.
Requests received by the District to use your child's work, other than
the sponsoring school or office listed below, will be forwarded to you.
Description of Student's
Work
Publishing and Sponsoring
Information
Sponsoring School or Office:
__________________________
Telephone #______________
Name of Employee Requesting Permission___________________________
Name of Web Site: ____________________________ URL:http://_______________________
|
|
Please
check one:
We
the parent/guardian and student DO
grant permission
We the parent/guardian and student DO NOT grant permission
I
am a student of 18 years or older and DO
grant permission
I am a student of 18 years or older and DO NOT grant permission
__________________________ ______________________ _________
Signature
of Parent/Guardian Name
(Please Print) Date
__________________________ ______________________ _________
Signature
of Student (18 or older) Name
(Please Print) Date
Return signed form to the
employee at the sponsoring school or office
6141.321(b)
Instruction
Computers: Acceptable Use of the Internet, Other
Computer Networks and Internet Safety
The
school district is pleased to make available to staff and students access to
interconnected computer systems within the District and to the Internet, the
worldwide network that provides various means of accessing significant
educational materials and opportunities.
In
order for the school district to be able to continue to make its computer
network and Internet access available, all students must take responsibility
for appropriate and lawful use of this access.
Students must understand that one student's misuse of the network and
Internet access may jeopardize the ability of all students to enjoy such
access. While the school's teachers and
other staff will make reasonable efforts to supervise student use of network
and Internet access, they must have student cooperation in exercising and
promoting responsible use of this access.
Below
is the Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy ("policy") of the
school district. Upon reviewing,
signing, and returning this policy as the students, teachers and staff have been
directed, each person will be given the opportunity to
enjoy Internet access at school is agreeing to follow the policy. If a student is under 18 years of age, he or
she must have his or her parents or guardians read and sign the policy. The school district cannot provide access to
any person who, if 18 or older, fails to sign and submit the policy to the
school as directed or, if under 18, does not return the policy as directed with
the signatures of the student and his/her parents or guardians.
Listed below are the provisions of your agreement regarding computer network
and Internet use. If you have any
questions about these provisions, you should contact the person that your
school has designated as the one to whom you can direct your questions. If any user violates this policy, the user's
access may be denied, if not already provided, or withdrawn for a period of
time to be determined by the administration and the technology staff and he or
she may be subject to additional disciplinary action.
The
Technology Staff may be required to violate certain aspects of this policy in
order to maintain and monitor the computer systems. The Superintendent or his
designee shall have the sole responsibility for granting these exceptions.
Personal Responsibility
By
signing this policy, you are agreeing not only to follow the rules in this
policy, but are agreeing to report any serious misuse of the network to the
person designated by the school for such reporting. Misuse means any violations of this policy or
any other use that is not included in this policy, but has the effected of
harming another or his or her property.
Terms of the Permitted Use
A
person who submits to the school, as directed, a properly signed policy and
follows the policy to which she or her has agreed will
have computer network and Internet access during the course of the school year
only. Users will be asked to sign a new
policy each year during which they are students or staff in the school district
before they are given an access account.
Acceptable Uses
1. Educational Purposes Only.
The school district is providing access to its computer networks and the
Internet for only educational purposes.
If you have any doubt about whether a contemplated activity is
educational, you may consult with the person(s) designated by the school to
help you decide if a use is appropriate.
2. Unacceptable Use of Network. Among the uses that are considered
unacceptable and which constitute a violation of this policy are the following:
- Uses that violate the
law or encourage others to violate the law. Don't transmit offensive or harassing
messages; offer for sale or use any substance the possession or use of
which is prohibited by the school district's student discipline policy;
view, transmit or download pornographic materials or materials that
encourage others to violate the law; intrude into the networks or
computers of others; and download or transmit confidential, trade secret
information, or copyrighted materials.
Even if materials on the networks are not marked with the copyright
symbol, you should assume that all materials are protected unless there is
explicit permission on the materials to use them.
- Uses that cause harm to
others or damage to their property.
For example, don't engage in defamation (harming another's
reputation by lies); employ another's password or some other user
identifier that misleads message recipients into believing that someone
other than you is communicating or otherwise using his/her access to the
network or the Internet; upload a worm, virus, "trojan
horse," "time bomb" or other harmful form of programming or
vandalism; participate in "hacking" activities or any form of
unauthorized access to other computers, networks, or information systems.
- Uses that jeopardize the
security of user access and of the computer network or other networks on
the Internet. For example, don't
disclose or share your password with others; don't impersonate another
user.
- Uses that are
commercial transactions. Students
and other users may not sell or buy anything over the Internet. You should not give others private
information about you or others, including credit card numbers and social
security numbers.
3. Neiquette. All users must abide by rules of network
etiquette, which include the following:
- Be polite. Use appropriate language. No swearing, vulgarities, suggestive,
obscene, belligerent, or threatening language.
- Avoid language and uses
which may be offensive to other users.
Don't use access to make, distribute, or re-distribute jokes,
stories, or other material which is based upon slurs or stereotypes
relating to race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or sexual
orientation.
- Don't assume that a
sender of e-mail is giving his or her permission for you to forward or re-distribute
the message to third parties or to give his/her e-mail address to third
parties. This should only be done
with permission of the individual and/or the supervising teacher.
- Chain letters and
pyramid schemes (chain letters with money) are illegal.
- Be considerate when
sending attachments with e-mail (where this is permitted). Be sure that the file is not too large
to be accommodated by the recipient's system and is in a format which the
recipient can open.
Internet Safety
1. General Warning; Individual Responsibility of Parents and Users. All users and their parents/
guardians are advised that access to the electronic network may include the
potential for access to materials inappropriate for school-aged students. Every user must take responsibility for his
or her use of the computer network and Internet and stay away from these
sites. Parents of minors are the best
guides of materials to shun. If a
student finds that other users are visiting offensive or harmful sites, he or
she should report such use to the person designed by the school.
2. Personal Safety. Be safe. In using the computer network and Internet,
students may not reveal personal information such as your home address or
telephone number. Do not use your real
last name or any other information which might allow a person to locate you
without first obtaining the permission of the technology staff. Do not arrange a face-to-face meeting with
someone you "meet' on the computer network of Internet.
3. "Hacking" and Other Illegal Activities. It is a violation of this policy to use the
school's computer network or the Internet to gain unauthorized access to other
computers or computer systems, or to attempt to gain such unauthorized access. Any use which violates state or federal law relating
to copyright, trade secrets, the distribution of obscene or pornographic
materials, or which violates any other applicable law or municipal ordinance,
is strictly prohibited.
4. Confidentiality of Student Information. Personally identifiable information
concerning students may not be disclosed or used in any way on the Internet
without the permission of a parent or guardian or, if the student is 18 or
over, the permission of the student himself/herself. Users should never give out private or
confidential information about themselves or others on the Internet,
particularly credit card numbers and Social Security numbers. Administrators may authorize the release of
directory information, as defined by law, for internal administrative purposes
or approved educational projects and activities.
5. Active Restriction Measures. The
school, either by itself or in combination with the Data Acquisition Site
providing Internet access, will utilize filtering software or other
technologies to prevent students from accessing visual depictions that are (1)
obscene, (2) child pornography, or (3) harmful to minors. The school may also monitor the online
activities of students, through direct observation and/or technological means,
to ensure that students are not accessing such depictions or any other material
which is inappropriate for minors.
Internet filtering software or other
technology-based protection systems may be disabled by the technology staff or
school administrator, as necessary, for purposes of bona fide research or other
educational projects being conducted by students age 18 and older.
The term "harmful to minors" is defined by
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 USC Section 254 Šh‹Š7‹), as meaning any picture,
image, graphic image file, or other visual depiction that:
·
taken as a whole and with respect to minors, appeals to a prurient
interest in nudity, sex, or excretion;
·
depicts, describes, or represents, in a patently offensive way with
respect to what is suitable for minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or
sexual contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or a lewd
exhibition of the genitals;
·
taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic,
political, or scientific value as to minors.
Privacy
Network
and Internet access is provided as a tool for education. The school district reserves the right to
monitor, inspect, copy, review and store at any time and without prior notice
any and all usage of the computer network and Internet access and any and all
information transmitted or received in connection with such usage. All such information files shall be and
remain the property of the school district and no user shall have any
expectation of privacy regarding such materials.
6141.321
Appendix
A
CODE OF
CONDUCT FOR INTERNET AND OTHER
COMPUTER
NETWORK ACCESS
The
purpose of providing Internet and other computer network access in this
district is to promote the exchange of information and ideas with the global
community. The following represents a
guide to the acceptable use of the technology provided by this district. All network use must be consistent with the
policies and goals of this school district.
Inappropriate use of district technology will result in the loss of
technology use, disciplinary action, and/or referral to legal authorities.
All
Internet and other computer network users will be expected to abide by the
generally accepted rules of network etiquette.
These include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Be polite. Messages should not be abusive to others.
2. Take pride in
communications. Check spelling and
grammar.
3. Use appropriate
language. Do not swear or use
vulgarities or any other inappropriate language, symbols, or pictures.
4. Protect password
confidentiality. Passwords are not to be
shared with others. Using another user's
account or password or allowing such access by another may be permitted only
with the approval of the technology staff.
5. Students may not participate
in any type of instant messaging or chat rooms unless such use is part of a
supervised classroom project.
Participation will only be allowed with the direct supervision of a
classroom teacher.
6. Students may not access home
e-mail accounts at school. If and when
the district decides to provide students with e-mail accounts, these accounts
may only be utilized for educational purposes.
7. Do not reveal your personal
address or telephone number or those of other persons. No student information protected by FERPA
should be electronically transmitted or otherwise disseminated through the
network.
8. Do not disguise the point of
origin or transmission of electronic mail.
9. Do not send messages that
contain false, malicious, or misleading information which may be injurious to a
person or a person's property.
10. Illegal activities are
strictly prohibited.
11. The district technology is
not to be used for playing multi-user or other network intensive games,
commercial ventures, Internet relay chat lines, or downloading excessively large
files.
12. No charges for services,
products, or information are to be incurred without appropriate permission.
13. Do not use the network in
such a way that you would disrupt the use of the network by other users.
14. Users shall respect the
privacy of others and not read the mail or files of others without their
permission. Copyright and licensing
laws will not be intentionally violated.
15. Vandalism will result in
cancellation of privileges. Vandalism is
defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy hardware, data of another
user, Internet, or any other agencies or other networks which may be
accessed. This includes, but is not
limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses.
16. Report security problems to
the supervising teacher or system administrator.
17. Violators of this policy
shall hold the district, including its employees and agents, harmless against
any and all causes of action, damages, or other liability resulting from the
willful or negligent violation of this policy.
18. The Superintendent has the
authority to grant exceptions to this policy to members of the Technology staff
in order for them to do their routine work.
Legal Reference: Connecticut
General Statutes
1-19(b)(11) Access to public records. Exempt records.
10-15b
Access of parent or guardians to student's records.
10-209 Records not to
be public.
11-8a
Retention, destruction and transfer of documents.
11-8b
Transfer or disposal of public records.
State Library Board to adopt
regulations.
46b-56(e)
Access to Records of Minors.
Connecticut Public Records Administration Schedule V - Disposition
of
Education Records
(Revised 1983).
Federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (section 438
of the
General Education Provisions Act, as amended, added by section 513 of PL
93-568, codified at 20 U.S.C. 1232g.).
Dept. of Education. 35 CFR. Part 99 (May 9, 1980 45 FR 30802) regs.
implementing FERPA enacted as part of 438 of General
Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g)-parent and student privacy and other
rights with respect to educational records, as amended 11/21/96.
Children's
Internet Protection Act of 2000 (HR 4577, P.L. 106-554) Communications Act of
1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. 254Šh‹,ŠI‹)
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 6801 et
seq., Part