FILE:  IFBGA

Cf:  EBBB, EFA

Cf:  JCDAF

TECHNOLOGY USAGE – STUDENTS

In an effort to provide students the vast resources accessible through a computerized information resource such as the Internet, the West Feliciana Parish School Board believes it is necessary for all persons to become aware of acceptable uses of technology.  The academic benefit of having access to resources from all over the world must be weighted against objectionable materials found on the Internet.

Age and grade appropriate classroom instruction shall be provided regarding Internet and cell phone safety.  Such instruction shall include appropriate online behavior, interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response, as well as areas of concern as authorized in state and federal law.

In addition, the School Board, in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies, shall develop and distribute age and grade appropriate information to each student regarding Internet and cell phone safety and online content that is a threat to school safety.  The information shall include the following:

• Instruction on how to detect potential threats to school safety exhibited online, including posting on any social media platform.
  
  

• Visual examples of possible threats.
  
  

• The process for reporting potential threats, which shall be in accordance with the procedures referenced in policy EBBB, School and Student Safety.

Such information shall be either distributed to or explained to students and school personnel at the beginning of each school year and shall be posted on an easily accessible page of the School Board’s website and the website of each school.

If information reported to a school is deemed a potential threat to school safety, the school shall present the written form and any further evidence to local law enforcement.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Students’ use of school computers or the School Computer System (SCS) shall be reserved for academic purposes only.  All students using a school computer or a computer network located on school property, or computers accessing the Internet shall be accountable for its use.  This shall include, but not be limited to:  (a) unauthorized use resulting in expenses to the school; (b) equipment damage; (c) use of unauthorized software; (d) privacy and copyrights; (e) tampering; (f) accessing obscene and objectionable materials; (g) sending or soliciting inflammatory, abusive, harassing, vulgar, or obscene messages or language; (h) disregarding established safeguards which align the district’s technology systems to the Children’s Internet Protection Act; (i) using another’s password or sharing passwords with others; and (j) any action that is deemed inappropriate by supervisory personnel.  Email and student or class files on the network are analogous to school lockers, that is, these accounts will be treated as district property subject to control and inspection, rather than private property which cannot be searched without just cause.  Access codes or passwords shall be assigned by the network systems manager if and/or when it is needed.  The network systems manager shall keep a record of these accounts in case an inspection is warranted.  Use of the Internet and/or the SCS is considered a privilege and any inappropriate use may result in a disciplinary action and loss of privileges to use the Internet and/or the SCS.  Depending on the nature and degree of the violation and the number of previous violations, unacceptable use of the district’s systems may result in one or more of the following consequences:  (a) temporary or permanent loss of privileges, (b) payments for damages and repairs, (c) discipline as outlined in the district policy manual, (d) suspension, expulsion, and/or (e) civil/criminal liability under other applicable laws.

UNAUTHORIZED AND ILLEGAL USE

Students on a district school campus must be under the supervision of a teacher, monitor, principal, librarian, or supervisor while using the School Computer System (SCS) or any school computer.  Tampering with selection menus, procedures, or icons for the purpose of misleading or confusing other users shall be prohibited.  Any use by any person of the SCS that incurs expenses to the school other than the monthly user fees and rates shall be strictly prohibited.  The computer system shall not be used for commercial, political, or religious purposes.

Use of the network for any illegal activities shall also be prohibited. Illegal activities include:  (a) tampering with computer hardware or software, (b) unauthorized entry into computers and files, (c) knowledgeable vandalism or destruction of equipment, and (d) deletion of computer files.  Such activities are considered a crime under state and federal law.

The use of personal hardware (such as laptop computers, PDAs, MP3 players, iPods, etc.) and software is prohibited, unless approved by principal/supervisor for educational purposes.  This does NOT include consumables such as CDs, flash/pen/thumb drives, and floppy disks.

PRIVACY AND COPYRIGHTS

ALL students must adhere to the Copyright Laws of the United States (P.L. 94-533) and the Congressional Guidelines that delineate it regarding software, authorship, and copying information.  The unauthorized copying or transfer of copyrighted materials may result in the loss of network privileges.  Reposting personal communications without the original author’s prior consent shall be prohibited.  To do this is a violation of the author’s privacy.  All persons who willfully violate copyright laws do so without the sanction of the School Board and at their own risk and will assume all liability and responsibility.  However, all messages posted in a public forum such as news groups or list serves may be copied in subsequent communications, so long as proper attribution is given.

The School Board directs that:

1. Unlawful copies of copyrighted materials shall not be produced on School Board-owned equipment or within School Board-owned facilities.
   
   

2. Unlawful copies of copyrighted materials shall not be used on School Board-owned equipment, within School Board-owned facilities, or at School Board sponsored functions.
   
   

3. Information about copyright law and guidelines shall be made available.

INSTALLING PRANK SOFTWARE

Students should avoid the knowing or inadvertent spread of computer viruses.  “Computer viruses” are programs that have been developed as pranks, and can destroy valuable programs, and data.  To reduce the risk of spreading a computer virus, students shall not import files or programs from unknown or disreputable sources.  If a student obtains software or files from remote sources, proper procedures should be followed to check for viruses before use.  Deliberate attempts to degrade or disrupt the system or the performance of the network or spreading of computer viruses shall be considered criminal activity under state and federal law.  No software shall be loaded except by certified personnel or designee.

OBJECTIONABLE MATERIALS

West Feliciana Parish School Board, incompliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act, will use its best efforts to prevent access to material reasonably believed to be obscene or child pornography, conducive to the creation of a hostile or dangerous school environment, pervasively vulgar, excessively violent, sexually harassing, or disruptive in the school environment.  The School Board shall enforce a policy of Internet safety that incorporates the use of computer-related technology or the use of Internet service provider technology designed to block or filter access for minors and adults to certain visual depictions and materials as mentioned above.

It should be understood that no matter how much supervision and monitoring West Feliciana Parish Public Schools provides, there will always be the possibility of a user coming into contact with inappropriate material.

Profanity or obscenity shall not be tolerated on the network.  All persons should use language appropriate for school situations.  Offensive or inflammatory speech should be avoided.  The rights of others must be respected both in the local network and the Internet at large.  Personal attacks are an unacceptable use of the network.  If a user is the victim of a “flame,” a harsh, critical, or abusive statement, the user should bring the incident to the attention of the teacher or network systems manager.  It is usually better not to respond.  Furthermore, retrieving and/or viewing pornographic or obscene materials shall not be allowed.

The SCS shall be used for academic purposes only.  Conduct that is in conflict with the responsibilities as may be outlined in this document shall be subject to disciplinary action.

Special restrictions by the school or School Board may be implemented in order to meet special needs provided that School Board policy is not violated.

USE OF THE INTERNET

The Internet is a vast global computer network that provides access to major universities, governmental agencies, other school systems, municipalities, commercial providers of data banks, and marketing services.  Acceptable use of these resources shall be consistent with the philosophy, goals, and objectives of the West Feliciana Parish School Board. Any person using computers or other electronic information resources shall be required to use such equipment and resources in a responsible, legal manner and must have a consent form on file.  All users, including students, employees, or any other users of School Board computers, hardware, and School Board network shall abide by all policies of the School Board and any applicable administrative regulations and procedures.  The School Board retains the right to monitor all computer usage and files for compliance to all regulations and/or procedures.  Accordingly, regulations for participation by anyone on the Internet shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Appropriate language and manners which demonstrate honesty, ethics, and respect for others shall be required.
   
   

2. Individual students shall be permitted to have e-mail accounts created by the District.  Student email accounts shall not be considered private and will be monitored by district personnel.
   
   

3. Two-way, real-time electronic communication technologies such as Internet-based instant messaging and Internet chat shall not be allowed within the District.  Furthermore, the participation by students in asynchronous electronic forums or bulletin boards shall be prohibited.  The exception to this is pre-approved access to such technologies and/or sites for a specific educational need.
   
   

4. No personal addresses or personal phone numbers shall be permitted on the Internet.  Impersonations are not permitted.
   
   

5. Illegal activities, including copyright or contract violations, shall not be permitted on the Internet.
   
   

6. The Internet shall not be used for commercial, political, illegal, financial, or religious purposes.  Violations shall be reported to a teacher or administrator immediately.
   
   

7. Threatening, profane, harassing, or abusive language shall be forbidden.
   
   

8. Use of the network for any illegal activities is prohibited. Illegal activities include:  (a) tampering with computer hardware or software, (b) unauthorized entry into computers and files, (c) knowledgeable vandalism or destruction of equipment, and (d) deletion of computer files.  Such activity is considered a crime under state and federal law.
   
   

9. No user is permitted to knowingly or inadvertently load or create a computer virus or load any software that destroys files and programs, confuses users, or disrupts the performance of the system.  No software shall be installed except by certified personnel or designee.
   
   

10. Resources offered by the Internet and paid for by the School Board may not be willfully wasted.
    
    

11. Invading the privacy of another user, using another’s account, posting personal messages without the author’s consent, and sending or posting anonymous messages shall be forbidden.
    
    

12. Accessing pornographic or obscene materials or using or sending profanity in messages shall be forbidden.
    
    

13. Perusing or otherwise accessing information on manufacturing bombs or other incendiary devices shall be forbidden.
    
    

14. Email, web access, and other electronic communications should not be considered private.  While it is a violation of policy for a user or student to attempt to gain access to information for which they do not have authorization, authorized staff may monitor or examine email, file folders, and communications to maintain system integrity, to ensure users are using the system responsibly, or for any other reasonable purpose.
    
    

15. All web pages or electronic publications created by any organization, staff, student, or other person that are housed on the School Board-funded computer systems shall be subject to treatment as School Board-sponsored publications.  Therefore, the School Board reserves the right to exercise editorial control over the content of these web pages or publications.  Only content that supports the administrative, instructional, or other legitimate mission of the school or department shall be allowed on District or school web sites.  Content of all School Board and school web sites shall conform to pertinent regulations.  Additionally, no web page that represents any school, department, or organization of the West Feliciana Parish School Board may be published on a web server that is outside of the School Board’s control without written permission of the Supervisor of Technical Services.

Use of the Internet is a privilege, and any inappropriate use may result in disciplinary action and loss of privileges to use the Internet.  Disciplinary action may include, but is not limited to, loss of computer use, monetary reimbursement, suspension, detention, or suspension, or assignment in Behavior Modification Class.  This shall apply to all students.

No student shall be permitted to use the Internet unless a completed and signed consent form is on file.

WARRANTY OF SERVICE

The West Feliciana Parish School Board makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing.  The West Feliciana Parish School Board shall not be responsible for any damages suffered.  This includes loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by the district’s negligence or the user’s errors or omissions.  Use of any information obtained via the Internet is at the user’s risk.  The West Feliciana Parish School Board specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of material or information obtained through its services.

Ref:    20 USC 7131 (Internet Safety)

47 USC 254 (Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA))

47 CFR 54.520 (Children's Internet Protection Act Certifications for Schools and Libraries)

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:100.7, 17:280, 17:410

Board minutes 10-28-97, 7-22-03, 8-7-07, 1-27-09, 7-27-10, 2-28-13, 10-16-18

West Feliciana Parish School Board