ACCEPTABLE
USE OF COMPUTERS, TECHNOLOGY AND THE INTERNET
(§606.06)
The Broken Bow School System maintains
quality technology systems (hardware, software, and services) for the purposes
of enhancing student learning and assisting staff in classroom management. Responsible use of technology requires
awareness and practice of acceptable behaviors.
The school district retains the
authority to revoke access to its technology systems and/or apply disciplinary
measures if the terms or the intent of this Acceptable Use Policy are violated.
Individuals must apply for access to
our technology systems. Applicants must be aware of the stipulations of this
policy and its related administrative policies and agree to them before access
will be granted. Applicants may be expected to complete various levels of
training before access is granted.
School Administrators in conjunction
with the Technology Committee of the Broken Bow Public Schools are authorized
to develop and apply administrative policies regulating the use of the
District's technology systems.
5.
Attempts
to gain access to resources inside or outside the District that are not
specifically granted to the individual by the Broken Bow School District or
attempts to interfere with another person's use of allowed resources, are
strictly forbidden. Access to resources not specifically granted to the user,
whether damage is done or not, constitutes electronic trespassing, will not be
tolerated, and may be prosecuted under Nebraska Statutes §28-1343.01, §28-1347
and other applicable State and Federal laws concerning unauthorized computer
access. Damages incurred constitute electronic vandalism. Such attempts
include, but are not limited to:
a.
Impostering
- using another person's User ID, password, or other methods to gain access to
resources not assigned to the user
b.
Hacking
- installing, removing, or altering software or hardware; manipulating or
circumventing security systems for the purpose of gaining unauthorized access
to network accounts or resources other than their own; unauthorized downloading
and installing of software from the internet; unauthorized activation of or use
of unauthorized technologies, such as but not limited to peer-to-peer
networking (P2P) or virtual private networks (VPNs); use of a computer under
unsupervised circumstances to accomplish any of the above
c.
Vandalism
- deliberate introduction of destructive elements such as viruses, unauthorized
erasure or removal of software, creation of unauthorized processes, or physical
abuse or destruction of hardware
d.
Harassment/Nuisance
- interference with another users ability to make effective use of computing
privileges
e.
Personal
Use - unauthorized personal use of district owned technology equipment and
services is prohibited.
Legal
Reference: 20 U.S.C. sec. 1232g (1988)
(Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)
Children’s
Internet Protection Act and Neighborhood CIPA of 2000
Nebraska
Statutes 79-2104, 28-1343, 28-1347
Cross Reference: 102 Educational
Philosophy of the District
401 Guiding Principles for Employees
504 Student Rights and Responsibilities
507 Student Records
603 Curriculum Development
604 Instructional Curriculum
606.5 Media Centers
1006 Use of District Facilities and Equipment
REGULATIONS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCEPTABLE
USE OF COMPUTERS, TECHNOLOGY
AND THE INTERNET POLICY
These
Regulations may be revised from time to time to accommodate changes in the
nature of the District's technology systems and/or educational
philosophies. A current copy may be
requested at any time from any school office or can be accessed at www.bbps.org.
Application for Access
1. Employees
of the District must be approved for access, and are bound by the conditions of
the Acceptable Use Policy under the terms of their employment.
2. Enrolled students
will be granted access to local computing services when a signed copy of the
Acknowledgement of Receipt statement included in the Student Handbook is
returned to the school office. Student
access to Internet services is not necessarily included in local access, and is
described in Internet Access.
3.
Individuals not included in the above categories may apply by obtaining a copy
of the Acceptable Use Policy from the District Computing Office. Pursuant to the terms of the Acceptable Use
Policy, such access will be granted only for educational purposes.
General Access
Appropriate
times, environments, and locations for user access are governed by the same
rules as access to non-technical resources.
Users' presence in unauthorized areas or outside authorized times for
the purpose of using the District's technology systems is considered
trespassing, and is managed under the District's normal discipline policies.
Personal Use of District Technology
Systems by Employees
Employees of
the District may use the District’s technology systems for personal use,
including electronic messaging and web browsing, only under the following
constraints:
1. Such use is only allowed when the
employee is not performing assigned duties.
2. Such use is only allowed where active
instruction is not taking place.
3. Use that results in personal gain is
not permitted at any time.
4. Monetary transactions, either for sale
or purchase, over computer networks involving the use of credit or debit cards
or other personal financial accounts other than the cards issued to and
controlled by the District, are not permitted at any time unless specifically
approved by a school administrator on a case-by-case basis.
5. Such use shall not involve the
consumption of District-purchased supplies.
Personal Equipment
Staff members
and students may desire at times to bring personally-purchased computing
devices to school for both personal and professional reasons. Such devices include but are not limited to
portable computers, printers, audio and video playback devices (such as iPods),
PDA’s (such as Palm Pilots), digital still and video cameras, and various
wireless devices.
1. The District bears no liability for
damage to the equipment. The owner of
personal equipment is liable for the repair of any damage to District equipment
incurred by the owner as a result of installation, configuration, use or
removal of said equipment.
2. The District has no responsibility to
provide technical support or supplies for its use. If its use can be justified on the basis of
professional duties, the District will consider purchasing such equipment.
3. No personal computing equipment intended
solely for personal use may be connected to District equipment. This does not include media such as personal
audio CD’s. but it does include any device that
physically attaches to District equipment or networks by means of sockets,
plugs, cables, wireless equipment or any other form of connection and/or which
transfers personal data to District equipment.
4. The Administration may determine
exemptions to this policy on a case-by-case basis.
5. Personal equipment exempted by the
Administration must be evaluated, approved and configured for proper
interaction with District equipment by the Technology department.
Removable Storage Media
Removable
storage media provide an easy means to transport data from one computer to
another without regard for the security, sensitivity, or safety of the data or
the computer systems. All individuals
who use the District’s technology systems will use removable storage media
responsibly and legally.
1. “Removable storage media” includes but
is not limited to diskettes, portable hard drives, CD’s and DVD’s (readable,
writeable, or rewriteable), backup tapes, USB flash drives, i-Pods
and any other medium capable of magnetic or electronic storage of information
that is not permanently fastened to the District’s equipment or is otherwise
inaccessible for removal.
2. Removable storage media, even if a
read-only form, can be infected with malware such as viruses, adware, etc., and
be used to introduce it into District systems. All users who bring removable media into the
district will exercise proper precautions against malware each time the media
is inserted into District equipment.
3. Removable storage media of the
writeable type can take secure or sensitive information out of the District,
and place it at risk of viewing by unauthorized parties by loss or theft. Employees of the District who have access to
such information and who have a need to transport it on removable storage media
will encrypt the data by using software provided by the District for the
purpose.
4.
Failure
to use removable storage media responsibly and according to the policies set forth
above places the District in a position of serious legal and financial
liability. Individual users of removable
storage media will be held personally liable for losses due to irresponsible
use.
Internet Access
1. Employees
are granted full or partial access to the Internet as their job duties require.
a) Certified Staff are granted full
access to electronic mail services, Internet information retrieval services,
and a personal account on the Internet provider's computing system.
b) Non-Certified Staff may be granted
access to electronic mail services, Internet information retrieval services,
and Internet provider accounts as required by their job duties by verbal or
written request to the District Computing Office by their supervisor.
c) Access terminates when the employee
ceases employment with the District, or is terminated by the administration for
disciplinary reasons.
2. Students
are granted Internet access only under the following conditions:
a) Students are granted internet access
unless their parent or guardian requests in writing that the student should not
have internet access. Requests should be
submitted to the administration.
b) K-8 students may access the Internet only
while directly supervised, or without direct supervision when a supervisory
adult has granted permission and is aware of their activity on a per-instance
basis and must be in response to curriculum-related exercises assigned by a
teacher.
c) Students in grades 9-12 are expected
to access the internet in an appropriate and responsible manner whether
supervised or not.
d) Permission expires when the student is
no longer enrolled in the District.
e)
Direct
electronic communications services are provided for curriculum-related purposes
only.
f) Internet access through all
workstations will be filtered to block access to offensive content. Occasionally, such filtering systems
inadvertently block access to legitimate research; the building administrator
will consider unblocking of specific sites on a case-by-case basis on teacher
request when necessary.
3. Public
access to the Internet may be provided at the discretion of the District
Computing Office for educational purposes only.
a) The District is not a public provider
of Internet services. Members of the
public who wish to have access to the Internet for personal services are
directed to seek accounts with commercial providers of Internet services.
Agreements with our service provider and stipulations of Federal and State
grant contracts require exclusively educational use; issuance of accounts whose
primary purposes do not coincide with the stated educational agenda of the
Broken Bow Public Schools can result in loss of funding and prosecution for
fraud.
b) Individuals engaged in educational activities
with remote educational institutions may apply for both local and Internet
access by contacting the office of the Technology Coordinator.
c) The District may participate
cooperatively as the educational arm of publicly-sponsored activities by providing
temporary guest accounts or supervised public-access events. Participation must be coordinated through the
District Computing Office.
Teacher/Administrator Internet
Responsibilities
1.
Administrators, teachers or their appointed representatives are responsible to
supervise student use of the Internet directly or indirectly as described in 2b
above.
2. Teachers are to provide well-defined
activities for all student Internet access.
3. Teachers
and Administrators are responsible to know which of their students are not
allowed to access the Internet by written parent or guardian request. Administrators will notify teachers on
receipt of such requests.
4. Teachers
and administrators will be notified of any students who have been granted
specific exemptions to these policies.
Students and their teachers may apply to the District Computing Office
for specific exemptions.
5. When
publishing materials to the Internet, teachers and/or administrators will
certify such materials comply with Federal regulations governing privacy and
the dissemination of personal information.
Teachers are to exercise direct editorial oversight over all student
materials published to the Internet to insure their quality, appropriateness,
and safety. Specifically, use of student
information must comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
These acts prohibit
a) publishing any information other than
the student’s name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, current
grade level, participation in recognized activities and sports, height and
weight on athletic teams, dates of attendance, diploma and awards, most recent
previous schools and names of parents and/or guardians unless specifically
withheld by the parent or guardian for an individual student. (FERPA)
b) publishing any information concerning the
student’s academic or disciplinary records other than to the student, his/her
parents, teachers, counselors, or administrators (internet sites that provide
secure access to only these individuals may publish such information). (FERPA)
c) soliciting personal information from students 13
years old or under through the internet, including web pages, email contacts,
or any other form of electronic communication unless the parent authorizes such
communication in writing annually.
Soliciting anonymous information, such as participation in anonymous web
surveys, is permissible. A single
teacher email reply to a student-initiated email message is permissible; an
on-going exchange of messages beyond the first reply is not permissible without
parental permission. (COPPA)
d) access to offensive external electronic
media such as pornography, including the publication of links to such sites on
District-published web pages. (CIPA)
In addition,
information about students published on the Internet should not provide
information which could lead to endangerment of students by predatory
individuals. The fact that publication
of a particular type of information is not prohibited by Federal law doesn’t
necessarily mean that its publication is a good idea! Differing amounts of information result in
differing degrees of privacy and protection.
The following examples are listed in order from safest to most dangerous
for a typical teacher web page that includes a picture of a student activity:
Furthermore, District
Policy forbids the publication and/or solicitation of personal student
information such as interests, preferences, and desires that can be linked to
the individual student. Publishing and/or soliciting such information in an
anonymous manner in a public setting from a reasonably broad group of
respondents (such as in an anonymous electronic opinion poll) is permitted.
Use of
Student and Staff "School Pictures" in Electronic Form
School
pictures taken by a professional photographer are licensed by the photographer
to the school district for certain administrative purposes such as production
of annuals and issuing of student identification cards. These images have many potential uses in
teacher-assigned projects such as resumes and web page projects. Our current licensing agreement permits use
of these images for educational purposes, but does not permit release of the
image for personal purposes. For
instance, if the student wishes to have additional copies of their picture,
they must purchase them from the photographer rather than print additional
copies from the digital image.
a) Only administrators, teachers and
other specifically designated individuals shall have access to the library of
images.
b) Students who are given a copy of any
image shall be informed by the teacher that it may only be used on assigned
work, and that duplicating it for any other purpose violates Federal copyright
law.
c) No student shall be granted access to
the image of another student, other than according to exceptions described
elsewhere in this policy.
General Teacher Responsibilities
1. Teachers
are responsible for the appropriate use of technology systems by students under
their supervision. Teachers who discover students using technology systems in inappropriate
ways or in violation of this policy are to take appropriate action, including
stopping the activity and/or reporting of the incident to their building
administrator.
2. Teachers
should periodically certify that computing equipment in their classrooms is
operating properly. Malfunctions, broken
parts, missing equipment, and other failures should be reported to the District
Computing Office.
3. Teachers
may wish to periodically clean the outside surfaces of the computer, especially
screens and keyboards. Appropriate
cleaning supplies will be supplied by the District Computing Office or the
janitorial staff in each building; please do not use personal or unapproved
supplies.
4. Rules
governing the reasonable care of computers (food, rough-housing, etc.) will be
established jointly by the classroom teacher and the building administrator,
within guidelines furnished by the District.
Teachers should maintain reasonable security for equipment in their
care, turning computing equipment off and locking classrooms when leaving for
the day.
5. Teachers
are encouraged to periodically remove unneeded materials from their home
directory on their network account and instruct their students to do the same.
6. Computer
equipment will be maintained and inventoried by District Computing Office
personnel. Repairs, internal
maintenance, and relocation of computer equipment will be performed only by
District Computing Office representatives.
7. New
software acquisitions will be approved only after technical review of the
product by the District Computing Office, solely for the purpose of insuring it
will operate correctly in the District’s computing environment. Software must be ordered from companies who
will permit return of the software if it is ultimately determined to be
incompatible with the District's technology systems. Teachers may install
instructional software on computers in their own classrooms, but are strongly
encouraged to seek the assistance of their building technology
paraprofessional.
End of Academic Year Procedures
1.
Employees
will insure that all computing equipment, including system units, printers,
monitors, card readers, etc. are turned off and covered with plastic bags to
shield them from dust over the summer.
2.
Employees
will examine the contents of their home directories on the network and
eliminate all unnecessary files.
3.
Employees
with email accounts and who will be absent for more than a few days are
encouraged to turn on auto-reply, providing a message indicating the term of
absence and an alternative method by which they can be contacted in an
emergency.
4.
Employees
with web pages on the District website are encouraged to place appropriate
notice of summer absence prominently on their home page.
5.
Use
of computing facilities during the summer months should be scheduled well in
advance with the District Computing Office to avoid conflicts with the summer
technology upgrade process and insure availability of computing resources.
Broken Bow Public School-Issued Laptop
Guidelines
As
part of the eLearn program, certain students of
Broken Bow Public Schools will be issued a laptop computer with a
backpack. The following guidelines
pertain to the school-issued laptops, backpacks, and any personal electronic
devices brought into the school and connected to the laptop. These guidelines summarize student
responsibilities under our district’s Acceptable Use of Technology Policy and
Regulations regarding the school-issued laptop.
Responsible
Use and Care Guidelines
1. The school-issued laptop may be used 24/7. Students losing school-issued laptop privileges
due to violations of these guidelines and/or the Acceptable Use Policy will be
responsible to check out a temporary use laptop from the eLearn Checkout Desk, take it to all classes for the day, and then check
it back in at the end of the school day. (The eLearn Checkout Desk
is located in the Middle School Computer Lab.)
2. Laptops must be attended to or secured at all
times. Unattended laptops and backpacks
will be picked up and retained in the Principal’s office. Confiscated laptops
may be retrieved from the Principal’s office at the end of the school day. (The
laptop should always be with the student or in his/her locker. School staff will pick up unattended
laptops and take them to the Office.)
3. The laptop issued to the student by the
school is to be used for school work. In
case of laptop failure, students will be able to check out a temporary
replacement from the eLearn Checkout Desk. Personal laptops from home will not be able
to connect to the BBPS school network, and cannot be used for a substitute for
the school-issued laptop.
4. Each student is responsible to come to school
with the laptop charged.
5. Each student is responsible to take the
laptop to each class.
6. Each student must have the school-issued
laptop in the school-issued backpack when transporting it between classes or
anytime it is being transported outside of class. The backpack is to be on the student’s
shoulder(s).
7. The laptop and backpack will have a school-issued
ID or labeling that the student is responsible to keep attached and readable.
The student may attach a non-permanent ID label on the school-issued backpack,
which is to be removed when it is returned.
8. The student is responsible to keep the school-issued
laptop clean. The proper cleaning
supplies are available at the eLearn Checkout Desk.
Student
Responsibilities of School-issued Laptop and Backpack
1.
Synchronization of the laptop is the responsibility of
the student. Following
check out, each student will need to turn the laptop on and login in at the
high school building. After the initial login,
the laptop should automatically start the synchronization process when the
student connects to the school’s wireless network, but the student must give
the laptop time for this process so that the laptop is updated. Each student should login at the beginning
of each school day and at the end of the school day to make sure the laptop is
synchronized for “offline” work outside of the building.
2.
The student
will have a personal E: drive on the school-issued laptop. The school will monitor it, but this drive
will not be synchronized with the school network. The student may place personal files on the
E: drive provided such use does not violate copyright laws or school policy. Since this drive is not synchronized, the
student is responsible for backing up the data.
3.
Any cost
incurred by public/personal use of the laptop outside of the school district is
the responsibility of the student (for example an Internet access fee at a
hotel or a monthly Internet service provider fee at home).
4.
The sound
volume on the laptop must be managed by the student so that it does not
infringe on the privacy or learning opportunities of others.
5. If a student has a specific need for
additional software, he/she must request approval and provide the software to
the BBPS Help Desk for installation.
An example would be a student’s need for installation of a printer
driver so that he/she can print at home. (The BBPS Help Desk is located in the High School in Rooms 412 or 402.)
6.
The school-issued laptop backpack can be used as the
student’s school backpack if he/she so chooses, as long as he/she is mindful of
the weight being placed on the laptop.
Damaged
Laptop/ Student is leaving the district/ End of the Academic Year Procedures
1.
A damaged laptop must be brought to the school principal. No
repairs are to be made anywhere other than through the school.
a.
Accidental damage costs will be covered through the
school’s leasing company.
b.
Intentional
damage of a laptop (meaning the student
damaged the computer deliberately or through irresponsible handling) may result
in criminal charges. It is suggested that parents place their child’s
school-issued laptop on their homeowner’s policy to cover accidental and intentional
damage to the student’s school-issued laptop.
2. Students who have repeated instances of
laptop damage will be asked to check their laptop in at the end of each day. Laptops may be checked out again before
classes begin the next day. Special
permission to take a checked out laptop home for class work may be granted by
the school administration.
3. All school-issued laptops are equipped with CompuTrace,
a feature that tracks the location of a lost or stolen laptop
4. School-issued laptops and backpacks must be
returned to Broken Bow High School at the end of the school year. Students who withdraw or terminate enrollment
at Broken Bow Public Schools for any reason must return their school-issued
laptop and backpack on the date of termination.
5. If a school-issued
backpack is found to have permanent damage, the student will be charged a
damage fee just as he/she would be for a damaged textbook.
6. Through school administration students may
request approval to use a school-issued laptop and backpack for educational
purposes during the summer months.
7. If a student fails to return the computer and
backpack at the end of the school year or upon termination of enrollment at
BBHS, that student will be subject to criminal prosecution or civil
liability. The student will also pay the
replacement cost of the computer, or, if applicable, any insurance
deductible. Failure to return the
computer and backpack will result in a theft report being filed with the appropriate
law enforcement agency.
Inappropriate
Use of Laptop and Backpack
Broken Bow Public School reserves
the right to define inappropriate use of the laptops. The following rules serve as a guide to
determine inappropriate practices. There
may be other inappropriate uses determined by the administration.
1.
School-issued
laptops are not allowed on any school activity trips. Teachers may request special privileges for
special circumstances through the administration.
2. Students are
not to place excessive weight on the lid of the laptop. (Consider this when
placing textbooks in the backpack with the laptop.)
3. The user shall not erase, change, rename, or
make unusable computer files or software belonging to
others.
4.
The user
shall not use or try to discover another’s password or use another person’s
files.
5.
The user
shall not use a laptop for unlawful purposes such as illegal copying or
installation of software.
6.
The user
shall not let others use his/her name, logon, password, or files for any
reason.
7.
The user
shall not deliberately use the laptop to annoy or harass others with language,
images, innuendoes, or threats. (refer
to the school bullying policy)
8.
The user shall not deliberately access or
create any obscene or objectionable information, language, or images using the school-issued
laptop. All school-issued laptops are equipped with Marshall 8e6 mobile filter.
Wherever the user accesses the Internet, the laptop will be filtered.
9.
Laptops may
not be used to make sound recordings without the consent of all those being
recorded.
10. A student is not to deface the laptop or
backpack in any way (for example writing on laptops or backpacks with permanent
markers, attaching stickers or tape that leaves any residue, etc). If there are any questions about this matter,
check with the administration.
General Use of
Computers Guidelines (Summary of AUP in Student Handbook)
Students,
teachers, administrators and employees are all part of an electronic community
because of their common use of the school's computers and computer networks.
The Broken Bow Public Schools' Acceptable Use of Technology Policy
describes acceptable behaviors in our electronic community. The following guidelines summarize student
responsibilities under that policy. A
copy of the full policy can be obtained from any BBPS District Office or can be
accessed at www.bbps.org.
1.
You
and your parents agree to these rules when you return the sheet that your
parents sign at the beginning of the school year. It’s your responsibility to know what the
policy says, whether you and your parents take the time to read it or not.
2.
Computers
and network access are provided for educational activities. Inappropriate and illegal
activities are prohibited.
3.
Your
network account gives you access to what you need for your education. Attempting access to unauthorized resources is
prohibited. This includes logging into the network by using someone else’s
password, using programs to disable or go around network security, intentional introduction
of computer malware, or interfering with another student’s ability to make use
of their network account.
4.
Don’t
store personal information in your account or on the computers you use.
5.
Always
log out of the computer as soon as you are finished using it, so that someone
else can’t use it under your account when you’re not there.
6.
Don’t
attempt to access Internet sites that have offensive or illegal content, such
as sex sites, term paper sites or standardized test answer sites – those are
all examples of personal use. *Students accidentally accessing an illegal
site should contact a school staff member immediately to report this accidental
access.
7.
Access
to the technology systems provided by the school district is a privilege, not a
right. The school district retains the authority to revoke access and/or apply
disciplinary measures if the terms or the intent of the Acceptable Use Policy
are violated. Broken Bow Public Schools
exercises exclusive control over its technology systems. Users expressly consent to monitoring by
school officials and cannot expect privacy regarding computer use. Computers and accounts are subject to
inspection at any time, including e-mail, file
storage, and current activity.
8.
Students
automatically receive Internet access unless a parent or guardian has requested
otherwise in writing.
9.
Students
may access the Internet while directly supervised, or without direct
supervision only when a supervisory adult has granted permission and is aware
of their activity on a per-instance basis.
10.
Federal
law requires the school to block or filter offensive Internet materials. Attempts to deliberately access such material
will result in disciplinary action. If a
legitimate Internet source is blocked, preventing you from completing assigned
work, ask your teacher to contact the building administrator.