Acceptable Use

Parents must give consent via the Rockdale School District 84 Agreement for the Use of Computers and Telecommunications Form for student use of district telecommunications resources. Students must sign off on the Agreement for Use Form. They must agree to voluntarily abide with all terms and conditions of the district Acceptable Use Policy for Computers and Telecommunications. All students must sign in on the appropriate sign-in sheet each time they use a computer with date and time. Student users are not allowed to go to sites unapproved by staff.

Computing, data storage, and information retrieval systems are designed to serve the students, faculty, staff, and volunteers of the school. Network and Internet access is provided to further the legitimate educational goals of this institution. The school provides computing and network resources for the use of students, employees, and others affiliated with the school, including the use of Chromebooks for students. The student will be responsible for the cost to replace lost, damaged or stolen Chromebooks. Members of the school are encouraged to use computers, software packages, electronic mail (e-mail), or the efficient exchange of useful information. However, the equipment, software, and network capacities provided through school computer services are and remain the property of the school. All users are expected to conduct their on-line activities in an ethical and legal fashion.

The use of these resources is a privilege, not a right. Misuse of these resources will result in the suspension or loss of these privileges, as well as disciplinary, legal and/or monetary consequences.

Appropriate educational use of these resources include:

• Accessing the internet to retrieve information from libraries, databases, and the World Wide Web to enrich and expand curriculum

• E-mail capacities to facilitate distance learning projects

• Utilizing programs and applications approved by and installed by the district

• Listservs and newsgroups to gain access to current information on local, state, national, and world events

No student should print material without permission of the teacher. Examples of inappropriate or unacceptable use of these resources include, but are not limited to, those uses that violate the law, the rules of network etiquette, or hamper the integrity or security of any network connected to the internet.

Some unacceptable practices include:

• Transmission of any material in violation of any state or U.S. law, including but not limited to: copyrighted material; threatening, harassing, pornographic, obscene material; or material protected by trade secret. The transmission of copyrighted materials without written permission of the authorized creator through school e-mail or other network resources may not be used in a manner that is disruptive to the work of the educational environment. The display of and transmission of messages and images that are sexually explicit constitutes harassment which is prohibited by the school.

• The use for personal financial or commercial product advertisement, political lobbying, or the sending of unsolicited junk or inappropriate letters is prohibited.

• Vandalism is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, any attempts to harm or destroy the data of another user, the network/internet, or any networks or sites connected to the network internet. Attempts to breach security codes and/or passwords will also be considered a form of vandalism.

• The creation, propagation, and/or use of computer viruses is prohibited.

• The forging, reading, deleting, copying, or modifying of electronic mail messages of others is prohibited.

• Deleting, examining, copying, or modifying files and/or data belonging to other users is prohibited.

• Willful destruction of computer hardware or software, or attempts to exceed or modify the parameters of the system is prohibited. Nothing in this policy shall prohibit the school operator from intercepting and stopping e-mail messages which have the capacity to overload the computer resources. Access to the school’s e-mail and similar electronic communication systems is a privilege and certain responsibilities accompany that privilege. School users are expected to demonstrate the same ethical and professional manner as is required in face-to-face or written communications. Anonymous or forged messages will be treated as a violation of this policy.

• Unauthorized attempts to access another person’s e-mail or similar electronic communications or to use another’s name, e-mail, or computer address or workstation to send e-mail or similar electronic communications is prohibited and may subject the individual to disciplinary action.

• All users must understand that the school cannot guarantee the privacy or confidentiality of electronic documents and any messages that are confidential as a matter of law should not be communicated over the e-mail.

• The school reserves the right to access e-mail to retrieve information and records, to engage in routine computer maintenance and housekeeping, to carry out internal investigations, or to disclose messages, data or files to law enforcement authorities.

Any information contained on the school’s computers’ hard drives or other devices which are purchased by the school are considered property of Rockdale School District #84. This agreement applies to stand alone units as well as units connected to the network or the internet. Any attempt to violate the provisions of this agreement will result in revocation of user’s privileges, regardless of the success or failure of the attempt. In addition, school disciplinary action, pertaining to the appropriate use of the technology or telecommunication resources is final. Students will be responsible for the cost to replace lost, stolen, or damaged equipment. Restitution will be sought for damage necessitating repair or replacement of equipment.