North Attleborough Schools: Internet Safety/Technology Use Policy

North Attleborough Technology Mission Statement

Through the integration of technology in the North Attleborough School District, we seek to develop students who can communicate, think critically and participate in group decision-making and who have the competence to contribute to local, national and global communities. This Use Policy shall apply to all student use of the School District’s technology equipment, networks, web site(s), and Internet access.

First and foremost the user takes full responsibility for his or her own actions. The North Attleborough School District will not be liable for the actions of anyone connecting to the Internet. All users shall assume full liability, legal, financial, or otherwise, for their actions. Parents and students must understand that the information available on the Internet is not always age appropriate or accurate. While the District shall attempt to monitor use, it is impossible to guarantee that students will not accidentally or purposely access inappropriate material.

It is hereby understood and acknowledged that Internet technology is a rapidly and constantly changing field. Because of this continuous flux of technology, the School District may make changes in this policy and in the School District’s Contract for Internet/Technology Use at any time, with or without prior notice to students or other users, or parents.

Students and parents are required to sign the Contract for Internet/Technology Use indicating they understand and agree to abide by the established guidelines. All students upon reviewing, signing, and returning this contract will be eligible for Internet access at the school he or she attends. If a student is under 18 years of age, the parent/guardian must sign the contract as well.

Listed below are the provisions of the Policy regarding network and Internet use.

I. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

By signing the Contract, the user agrees to follow all rules outlined in the Policy and to report violations of the Policy by other students to the site administrator (e.g., teacher, lab assistant, paraprofessional, media specialist, building administrator). Use of the School District’s technology equipment, networks, web site(s), and Internet access is a privilege and not an entitlement. It is expressly agreed that the School District may, acting in its sole discretion, limit or deny that privilege to any user at any time.

II. TERM OF THE PERMITTED USE

A student who returns a properly signed Contract will have computer network and Internet access. For elementary and middle school students this Contract must be renewed annually. The student and the parent/guardian must sign the Contract. Any student over 18 years of age must sign the Contract himself or herself.

III. ACCEPTABLE USES

A. Educational/Administrative Uses. The North Attleborough School District provides access to its computer networks and the Internet for educational and administrative purposes only. This may include educational or vocational uses that support a student’s educational growth, such as post-secondary school searches and vocational searches. Specific approved uses include, but are not limited to, research, distance learning, communication and activities that support our educational mission.

Unacceptable Uses of Network.

The following uses are considered unacceptable:

1. Use that violates the law or encourages others to violate the law.

2. Transmittal of offensive or harassing messages.

3. Use that is primarily commercial in nature, with no related educational purpose.

4. Use of the Internet to view, transmit or download pornographic or otherwise
    objectionable materials.

5. Use of the Internet to transmit confidential materials.

6. Use of the Internet to download any program, partial program or game without the
    express permission of the supervising teacher or the North Attleborough School
    District’s Technology Coordinator.

7. Use of the Internet that causes harm to others or their property.

8. Improper use of passwords.

9. Programming vandalism.

10. Hacking activities.

11. Activities designed to, or reasonably expected to, expose school district or other
      computers to computer viruses.

12. Providing private information about oneself and any other individual over the
      Internet including credit card or social security numbers (unless for approved
      uses, such as college or employment applications).

13. Downloading digital music files and movie clips without site administrator
      authorization.

14. Copyright violations.

15. Plagiarism.

16. Spamming.

17. Any other use deemed unacceptable by the School District.

C. Netiquette.

All users must abide by rules of network etiquette, which include the following:

1. Be polite. Use appropriate language: no swearing, vulgarities, suggestive, sexual,
    racial, defamatory, obscene, belligerent, or threatening language.

2. Avoid language and uses that may be offensive to other users. Do not use,
    distribute, or redistribute jokes, stories, or other materials that are based upon
    slurs or stereotypes relating to race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or
    sexual orientation.

3. Do not assume that a sender of e-mail is giving his or her permission to forward or
    redistribute the message to third parties or to give his or her e-mail address to
    third parties. This should only be done with permission.

4. Be considerate when sending attachments with e-mail.

IV. INTERNET SAFETY

A. 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 pupils. Every user must take responsibility for his or her use of the computer network and Internet. If a student finds that other users are visiting offensive or harmful sites, he or she is encouraged to report such use to the site administrator.

A user violates this Policy if he or she permits another to use his or her account or password to access the computer network or Internet, including any user whose access has been denied or terminated.

B. Personal Safety. Users accessing the computer network and Internet will not reveal personal information such as home address or telephone numbers, except for expressly approved purposes, such as post-secondary school or employment applications or requests for post-secondary or employment information. If someone attempts to arrange a meeting as a result of an Internet contact, the student is to report the communication immediately to the site administrator.

C. Hacking and Other Illegal Activities. It is a violation of this Policy to use the district’s computer network or the Internet to gain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to other computers or computer systems. Any use that violates state/federal law relating to copyright or the distribution of obscene or pornographic materials is strictly prohibited.

D. 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/guardian, or if the student is 18 or over, the permission of the student. Users should never give out private or confidential information about themselves or others on the Internet. Users are urged not to provide any information about themselves over the Internet that the user does not want to be available to the general public. This includes information requested during educational or vocational search related activities. If the user has any doubts or questions about providing information over the Internet, the user is urged to contact the site administrator, supervising teacher, or Technology Coordinator, before providing such information.

E. Active Restrictive Measures. The district, either by itself or in combination with the Internet Service Provider (ISP), will utilize filtering or blocking software or other monitoring technologies to prevent students from accessing visual depictions that are (1) obscene, (2) pornographic, or (3) harmful to minors. Direct observation will also be used as a monitoring technique at individual schools.

The term "harmful to minors" is defined by the Communications Act of 1934 (47 USC Section 254 [h] [7], 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.

Although the filtering program’s database is updated frequently, there is always the possibility that a new pornographic or hate site will appear. For that reason, teachers, librarians, and other staff members also monitor and supervise students’ Internet access. Records of Internet access are also stored in computer log files, which are monitored periodically. Any student who attempts to access sites that are filtered or blocked will be disciplined.

Although filtering software and monitoring efforts are designed to make the Internet an educational and safe experience, they cannot completely eliminate the risk that students will be able to access inappropriate material.

V. PRIVACY

The North Attleborough School District reserves the right to monitor, inspect, copy, review, and store at any time without prior notice any and all use of the computer network and Internet and any and all information transmitted or received in connection with such usage. All files shall be and remain the property of the North Attleborough School District, and no user shall have any expectation of privacy regarding such materials. Likewise, all users shall have the expectation that the North Attleborough School District will not use information stored on their servers for the School District’s commercial purposes. However, all information maintained by the School District on its technology equipment, networks, and/or web site(s) is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records law, and The School

District may be required to make any such information available to members of the public, regardless of the anticipated use of such information.

VI. FAILURE TO FOLLOW POLICY

The privilege of Internet/network access may be denied to any user who violates this Policy. The site manager in conjunction with building level administrators shall determine whether to revoke a user’s Internet privileges, and any additional disciplinary actions. Such additional disciplinary actions may include referral to law enforcement agencies.

VII. WARRANTIES/INDEMNIFICATION

The North Attleborough School District makes no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, in connection with its provision of access to and use of its computer networks and the Internet provided under this Policy. The School District shall not be responsible for any claims, losses, damages or costs (including fees) of any kind suffered or incurred, directly or indirectly, by any user or his or her parent/guardian arising from use of School District’s technology equipment, networks, web site(s), and Internet access. The user or, if the user is a minor, the user's parent/guardian agrees to cooperate with the district in the event of the School's initiating an investigation of a user's access to its computer network and the Internet, whether that use is on a School computer or on another computer outside the North Attleborough School District's network.

VIII. LIABILITY

The North Attleborough School District shall not be liable for users' inappropriate use of electronic resources or violations of copyright restrictions, users' mistakes or negligence, or costs incurred by users. The North Attleborough School District shall not be responsible for ensuring the accuracy, safety, harmlessness, or usability of any information found on the Internet. The School District shall not be responsible for any claims, losses, damages or costs (including fees) of any kind suffered or incurred, directly or indirectly, by any user or his or her parent/guardian arising from use of the School District’s technology equipment, networks, web site(s), and Internet access.

By signing this Contract, the parent/guardian and/or user take full responsibility and agree to indemnify and hold harmless the North Attleborough School District, its Internet Service Provider (ISP), and all of the School District’s and ISP’s officers, employees, agents, servants, representatives, administrators, teachers, volunteers and staff from any and all losses, injuries, costs, fees, claims or damages resulting from the user's access to its computer network and the Internet, including, but not limited to, any fees or charges incurred through purchases of goods or services by the user.

IX. UPDATES

Users, and if appropriate, the user's parent/guardian, may be required from time to time to provide new or additional registration and account information or to sign a new Contract, at the sole discretion of the School District, for example, to reflect developments in the law or technology. The user and/or a parent/guardian must provide such information, or such new Contract must be signed if the user wishes to continue to use the School District’s technology equipment, networks, web site(s), and Internet access. If the account information initially provided changes, it is the user’s responsibility to report such changes immediately to the site administrator.

X. PUBLISHING ON THE INTERNET

The North Attleborough School District requires that all publications of school, grade, department, group or project pages that are displayed on any North Attleborough School District’s Web Page be created and reviewed within the guidelines established by the North Attleborough Schools.

A. North Attleborough School District’s Web site. The purpose of the North Attleborough School District’s Web site is to encourage and enhance teaching and learning and to provide school users and electronic visitors with accurate and timely information about our school system.

1. All Web pages will be official publications of the North Attleborough School District.

2. The North Attleborough School District will administer the schools’ Web site
    development and content.

3. The District Technology Coordinator will operate and maintain all North
    Attleborough School District Web sites.

B. Publishing Guidelines. The North Attleborough School District have established guidelines for publishing on the district’s web site:

1. North Attleborough School District’s pages must have common elements of
    consistent form and quality content. The format and content for each page must be
    tested prior to submission.

2. Members of the school are encouraged to have input into the web site, but all
    content is overseen by the Technology Coordinator, his or her designee, or
    another designee of the Superintendent of Schools.

3. Individual teachers will review their students’ material before publication for quality
    and completeness. All work must follow copyright laws and software licensing
    regulations (North Attleborough School District Computer Software Policy, approved by
    the School Committee, June 8, 1998).

C. Safety Procedures for Publishing on the Internet

1. No pictures that include the names and/or faces of students should be posted if
    the parents/guardians have not signed the Contract.

2. Team/group/club photos are acceptable only for high school pages as indicated in
     the North Attleborough High School Student Handbook.

3. No home addresses, telephone numbers or e-mail addresses of students will be
    posted.

4. Students shall not be identified by their full name.

D. General Release for Publishing on the Internet

All users and/or their parents/guardians who sign the Contract for Internet/Technology Use, expressly agree thereby to the publication on the North Attleborough School District’s web site(s) of: photographs of any user; any user’s first name, and any user’s scholastic and extracurricular activities.

XI. E-MAIL, INSTANT MESSAGING, AND CHAT ROOMS

E-mail, instant messaging, and chat rooms are prohibited unless those applications are required for instructional purposes. If a student receives a threatening or harassing e-mail or message, it should not be erased. It is the student’s responsibility to immediately notify the site administrator.

North Attleborough Public Schools
Amended: June 3, 2002

Student Contract for Internet/Technology Use


	North Attleborough Schools Internet Safety and Technology Use Policy Preparing all students to become life-long learners and responsible citizens