Acceptable Use Policy
As adopted by the
Port Arthur Independent School District
Board of Trustees
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DOCUMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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EXHIBITS |
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The Superintendent or designee will
oversee the District's electronic communications system.
The District's system will be used
only for administrative and educational purposes consistent with the District's
mission and goals. Commercial use of the District's system is strictly
prohibited.
The District will provide training
to employees in proper use of the system and will provide all users with copies
of acceptable use guidelines. All training in the use of the District's system
will emphasize the ethical use of this resource.
Copyrighted software or data may not
be placed on any system connected to the District's system without permission
from the holder of the copyright. Only the owner(s) or individuals the owner
specifically authorizes may upload copyrighted material to the system.
[TOP]SYSTEM
ACCESS
Access
to the District's electronic communications system will be governed as follow:
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1. With the approval of the immediate supervisor, District employees will be granted access to the District's system. |
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2. The District will require that all passwords be changed every thirty days. |
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3. A teacher may apply for a class account and, in doing so, will be ultimately responsible for use of the account. Teachers with accounts will be required to maintain password confidentiality by not sharing the password with students or others. |
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4. Students completing required course work on the system will have first priority for use of District equipment after school hours. |
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5. Any system user identified as a security risk or having violated District and/or campus computer-use guidelines may be denied access to the District's system. |
[TOP]CAMPUS-LEVEL COORDINATOR RESPONSIBILITIES
As the campus-level coordinator for
the electronic communications system, the principal or designee will:
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1. Be responsible for disseminating and enforcing applicable District policies and acceptable use guidelines for the District's system at the campus level. |
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2. Ensure that all users of the District's system complete and sign an agreement to abide by District policies and administrative regulations regarding such use. All such agreements will be maintained on file in the principal's office. |
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3. Ensure that employees supervising students who use the District's system provide training emphasizing the appropriate use of this resource. |
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4. Be authorized to monitor or examine all system activities, including electronic mail transmissions, as deemed appropriate to ensure proper use of the system. |
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5. Be authorized to establish a retention schedule for messages on any electronic bulletin board and to remove messages posted locally that are deemed to be inappropriate. |
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6. Set limits for disk utilization on the system as needed. |
[TOP]INDIVIDUAL USER
RESPONSIBILITIES
The following standards will apply
to all users of the District's electronic information/communications systems,
including District administrators, faculty, staff, and students. All technology
equipment shall be used under the supervision of the site administrator.
[TOP]ON-LINE CONDUCT
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1. Users shall not erase, rename, or make unusable anyone else's computer files, programs, or disks. |
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2. Users shall not let other persons use their name, Logon, password, or files for any reason (except for authorized staff members). |
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3. Users shall not use or try to discover another user's password. |
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4. Users shall not use PAISD computers or networks for any non-instructional or non-administrative purpose (e.g. games or activities for personal profit). |
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5. Users shall not use a computer for unlawful purposes, such as the illegal copying or installation of software. |
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6. Users shall not copy, change or transfer any software or documentation provided by PAISD, teachers, or another student without permission from the campus Teacher Technologist. |
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7. Users shall not write, produce, generate, copy, propagate or attempt to introduce any computer code designed to self-replicate, damage, or otherwise hinder the performance of any computer's memory, file system, or software. Such software is often called a bug, virus, worm, Trojan Horse, or similar name. |
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8. Users shall not deliberately use the computer to annoy or harass others with language, images, or threats. Users shall not deliberately access or create any obscene or objectionable information, language, or images. |
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9. Users shall not intentionally damage the system, damage information belonging to others, misuse system resources, or allow others to misuse system resources. |
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10. Users shall not tamper with computers, networks, printers or other associated equipment except as directed by the teacher or Teacher Technologists. |
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11. Users shall not take home technology equipment (hardware or software) without written permission of the supervisor. |
Any malicious attempt to harm or destroy District equipment or materials, data
of another user of the District's system, or any of the agencies or other
networks that are connected to the Internet is prohibited. Deliberate attempts
to degrade or disrupt system performance may be viewed as violations of
District policy and administrative regulations and, possibly, as criminal
activity under applicable state and federal laws. This includes, but is not
limited to, the uploading or creating of computer viruses.
Vandalism as defined above will
result in the cancellation of system use privileges and will require
restitution for costs associated with system restoration, hardware, or software
costs.
Forgery or attempted forgery of electronic mail messages is prohibited.
Attempts to read, delete, copy or modify the electronic mail of other system
users or deliberate interference with the ability of other system users to
send/receive electronic mail is prohibited.
[TOP]INFORMATION
CONTENT/THIRD PARTY SUPPLIED INFORMATION
System users and parents of students with access to the District's system
should be aware that use of the system may provide access to other electronic
communications systems in the global electronic network that may contain
inaccurate and/or objectionable material.
A student knowingly bringing
prohibited materials into the school's electronic environment will be subject
to a suspension and/or a revocation of privileges of the District's system and
will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Code of
Conduct.
An employee knowingly bringing
prohibited materials into the school's electronic environment will be subjected
to disciplinary action in accordance with District policies.
System users are expected to observe
the following network etiquette:
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1. Be polite. Do not become abusive in your messages to others. |
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2. Use appropriate language. Do not swear, use vulgarities or any other inappropriate language. |
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3. Do not reveal your personal address or phone numbers or that of other students or colleagues. |
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4. Note that electronic mail (e-mail) is not guaranteed to be private. People who operate the system do have access to mail. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities may be reported to the authorities. |
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5. All communications and information accessible via the network should be assumed to be private property. |
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6. Do not place unlawful information on any network system. |
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7. Keep paragraphs and messages short and to the point. Focus on one subject per message. |
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8. Abbreviate when possible. Some examples are: IMHO (in my humble opinion); FYI (for your information), and :-) (happy face for humor). |
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9. Include your signature at the bottom of email messages. Your signature footer should include your name, position, affiliation, and Internet address. |
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10. Capitalize words only to highlight an important point or to distinguish a title or heading. "Asterisks" surrounding a word also can be used to make a stronger point. |
[TOP]CONSEQUENCES OF
VIOLATIONS
All of
the policies and procedures for acceptable use of computers and networks are
intended to make the computers and networks more reliable for the users. They
are also intended to minimize the burden of administrating the networks, so
that more time can be spent enhancing services.
Use of the computer to access
telecommunications resources is a privilege, not a right. Violations of the
policies and procedures of the
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Level 1. |
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Warning: Student would lose computer privileges/Internet access until a parent conference. Further loss of privileges and length of time will be determined by the administration. |
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Level 2. |
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Pattern of abuse or flagrant violations: Any student who, after Level 1 warning, continues to engage in serious or persistent misbehavior by violating the district's previously communicated written standards of conduct may be removed from class and recommended for suspension. |
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Level 3. |
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Expellable offense: Student could be expelled from school if he or she engages in conduct on the Internet that contains the elements of the offense of criminal mischief, as defined by State and Federal law. Expulsion may be considered in flagrant violations that blatantly corrupt the educational value of computers or the Internet, or instances when students have used PAISD Internet access to violate the law or to compromise another computer network. |
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Level 1. |
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Warning: Employee would lose computer privileges/Internet access until a conference with the District coordinator. Further loss of privileges and length of time will be determined by the administration. |
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Level 2. |
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Pattern of abuse or flagrant violations: Any employee who, after Level 1 warning, continues to engage in serious or persistent misbehavior by violating the district's previously communicated written standards of conduct may have network privileges suspended indefinitely. |
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Level 3. |
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Termination: The employee could be terminated if he or she engages in conduct on the Internet that contains the elements of the offense of criminal mischief, as defined by State and Federal law. Termination may be considered in flagrant violations that blatantly corrupt the educational value of computers or the Internet, or instances when employees have used PAISD Internet access to violate the law or to compromise another computer network. |
Termination of an employee's account
or of a student's access will be effective on the date the principal or
District coordinator receives notice of student withdrawal or of revocation of
system privileges, or on a future date if so specified in the notice.
The District's system is provided on
an "as is, as available" basis. The District does not make any
warranties, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, those of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any
services provided by the system and any information or software contained
therein. The District does not warrant that the functions or services performed
by, or that the information or software contained on the system will meet the
system user's requirements, or that the system will be uninterrupted or
error-free, or that defects will be corrected.
Opinions, advice, services, and all
other information expressed by system users, information providers, service
providers, or other third party individuals in the system are those of the
providers and not the District.
The District will cooperate fully
with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or
relating to misuse of the District's electronic communications system.
[TOP]EXHIBIT
A
PARENT LETTER FOR SYSTEM USERS
Dear Parent/Guardian:
Your child has been selected to participate in PAISD's electronic
communications system and needs your permission to do so. Your child will be
able to communicate with other schools, colleges, organizations, and
individuals around the world through Internet and other electronic information
systems/networks.
The Internet is a network of networks. Through the District's electronic
communication system, your child will have access to hundreds of databases,
libraries, and computer services all over the world.
With this educational opportunity also comes responsibility. It is important
that you and your child read the enclosed District policy, administrative
regulations, and agreement form and discuss these requirements together.
Inappropriate system use will result in the loss of the privilege to use this
educational tool.
Please note that the Internet is an association of diverse communication and
information networks. It is possible that your child may run across areas of
adult content and some material you might find objectionable. While the
District will take reasonable steps to preclude access to such material and does
not encourage such access, it is not possible for the District to absolutely
prevent such access.
Please return the attached agreement form indicating your permission or denial
of permission for your child to participate in the District's electronic communication
system.
Sincerely yours,
NOTE: If this letter and the attached ACCEPTABLE USE OF COMPUTERS AND NETWORKS
is not returned, your student will not be allowed to participate in the network
activities.
[TOP]EXHIBIT
B
ACCEPTABLE USE OF COMPUTERS AND NETWORKS
STUDENT'S AGREEMENT
In order to make sure that all members of the PAISD community understand and
agree to these rules of conduct, PAISD asks that you as a student user sign the
following statement.
I understand and will abide by the district guidelines and conditions for the
use of the facilities of
I agree not to hold PAISD nor any of its employees nor any of the institutions
for networks providing access to PAISD responsible for the performance of the
system or the content of any material accessed through it.
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Student Name |
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Student's Signature |
_______________________________________________ |
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PARENT'S/GUARDIAN'S AGREEMENT
In order to make sure that all members of the PAISD community understand and
agree to these rules of conduct, PAISD asks that you as a parent/guardian sign
the following statement.
I agree not to hold PAISD nor any of its employees nor any of the institutions
or networks providing access to networks responsible for the performance of the
system or the content of any material accessed through it.
As the parent or guardian of this student I have read the Terms and Conditions
for PAISD facilities use and Internet access. I understand that this free
access is designed for educational purposes. However, I also recognize that it
is impossible to restrict access to all controversial materials and I will not
hold PAISD responsible for materials acquired or sent via the network.
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Date |
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Student Name |
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Parent's Signature |
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EMPLOYEE AGREEMENT FOR AN ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM ACCOUNT
I have read the District's electronic communications system policy and
administrative regulations and agree to abide by their provisions. In
consideration for the privilege of using the District's electronic
communications system and in consideration for having access to the public
networks, I hereby release the District, its operators, and any institutions
with which they are affiliated from any and all claims and damages of any
nature arising from my use of or inability to use the system including without
limitation the type of damages identified in the District's policy and
administrative regulations.
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Signature |
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Home Address |
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Date |
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Home Phone Number |
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