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  2. Acceptable Use Policy

Acceptable Use Policy

Internet Safety and Acceptable Use Policy New Boston Independent School District

1. Introduction

It is the policy of the New Boston Independent School District to: (a) prevent user access by adults and minors over its computer network to, or transmission of, inappropriate material via Internet, electronic mail, or other forms of direct electronic communications; (b) prevent unauthorized access and other unlawful online activity; (c) prevent unauthorized online disclosure, use, or dissemination of personal identification information of minors; (d) adhere to the policy governing different levels of filtering for teachers, students and administrator; and (e) comply with the Children’s Internet Protection Act [Pub. L. No. 106-554 and 47 USC 254(h) and (i)].

2. Children’s Internet Protection Act

Access to Inappropriate Material - Under the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA, 2000), New Boston ISD is required to inform parents and students of the use of filtering technologies to block students’ access to inappropriate web sites. To the extent practical, technology protection measures (or “Internet filters”) shall be used to block or filter Internet, or other forms of electronic communications, access to inappropriate information. Specifically, as required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act, blocking shall be applied to visual depictions of material deemed obscene or child pornography, or to any material deemed harmful to minors. Subject to staff supervision, technology protection measures may be disabled by an authorized person or, in the case of minors, minimized only for bona fide research or other lawful purposes. New Boston ISD will continue to provide sufficient Internet filtering to restrict access by minors to obscene material on the Internet either as part of a bundled services agreement from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) or as a separate service or on-site appliance as long as Internet Access is available to minors.

Inappropriate Network Usage - To the extent practical, steps shall be taken to promote the safety and security of users of the New Boston Independent School District online computer network when using electronic mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, and other forms of direct electronic communications. Specifically, as required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act, prevention of inappropriate network usage includes: (a) unauthorized access, including so-called “hacking,” and other unlawful activities; and (b) unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal identification information regarding minors.

Education, Supervision, and Monitoring – It is the responsibility of all New Boston ISD staff to educate, supervise and monitor use of the online computer network and access to the Internet at all times in accordance with this policy, New Boston ISD Board Policy FFF(Local) and CQ(Local), the Children’s Internet Protection Act, the Neighborhood Children’s Internet Protection Act, and the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act. Procedures for the disabling or otherwise modifying any technology protection measures shall be the responsibility of the Superintendent or designated representatives.

FFF

Board Approved: May 21, 2012

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New Boston ISD will monitor student use of the Internet to (a) prohibit access by minors to inappropriate material on the Internet and the World Wide Web; (b) insure the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications; (c) prohibit unauthorized access, including so-called “hacking,” and other unlawful activities by minors, (d) prohibit unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors; and (e) utilize measures designed to restrict minors’ access to materials harmful to minors.

New Boston ISD will provide age-appropriate training for students who use the school’s Internet facilities. The training provided will be designed to promote the New Boston ISD’s commitment

to:

  • The standards and acceptable use of Internet services as set forth in the New Boston ISD

    Internet Safety / Acceptable Use Policy;

  • Student safety with regard to:

    safety on the Internet;
    appropriate behavior while on online, on social networking Web sites,

    and in chat rooms; and
    cyberbullying awareness and response.

  • Compliance with the E-rate requirements of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”).

  • Following receipt of this training, the student will acknowledge that he/she received the training, understood it, and will follow the provisions of the District's acceptable use policies.

    3. Children’s On-Line Privacy Protection Act

    Students have the right not to give out personal information to commercial website operators as provided by The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. Commercial website operators must get parental consent before collecting any personal information from children under the age of 13. New Boston ISD teachers are allowed to act on behalf of a parent and allow a student to give out personal information under COPPA.

Board Approved: May 21, 2012

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FFF

1. Purpose of Internet Access

Acceptable Use

We are pleased to provide network services for Internet Access for educational purposes and for use in connection with official duties, subject to these Acceptable Use Policies. These services are provided as a privilege to educate the user and this Acceptable Use Policy provides an opportunity to educate the user on the school’s expectations and the responsibilities of the user.

2. Definitions

As used in this document, ”Internet Access,” the “Network” or the “System” refer to Internet Access, E-mail Service and the local area network provided by NBISD. The term “Teacher” includes teachers of the District as well as school librarians and other computer facilities provided for Users of Internet Access. ”User” refers to students or other individuals, including Teachers and other School employees, using the service described herein.

3. Network access

A. Eligibility. All district employees and students in grades K-12 will be granted such Internet Access as deemed appropriate by NBISD. Access to Internet Access is a privilege, not a right.
B. Services provided. NBISD provides access to the World Wide Web (“WWW”), excluding sites blocked by the service provider and/or the school as inappropriate for users and other sites or services prohibited by these guidelines or by teachers. While reasonable efforts will be made to block access to inappropriate materials, this process is an inexact science and the teachers and NBISD provide no guarantee that access to all inappropriate material will be blocked. Other Internet services may be made available from time to time for specific class-related activities under teacher supervision.
C. Agreement to Acceptable Use Guidelines required. No user may use Internet Access until he or she and/or the user’s parent or guardian (if the user is under the age of 18) returns a signed agreement to the school. Student agreements are included in the Student Handbook. District employee agreements are included in the Employee Handbook.
D. Location. There are networked computers (networked meaning the computers that are connected to the Internet, email, personal and shared folders) accessible to students, teachers and staff members in classrooms, computer labs and libraries.

4. Prohibited uses

A. Prohibited service. The following Internet service or uses are prohibited unless expressly approved and supervised by a teacher for a class-related activity: Internet Relay Chat (“IRC”); other “chat” rooms or services; electronic mail “(e-mail”); “free-mail” accounts such as Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, etc.; Usenet Newsgroups; or any posting of messages on websites which allow the posing of messages. Other services prohibited under this section are File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”); Telnet; archives of Usenet Newsgroups found on the World Wide Web; Listservs; and Gopher. Users may not upload, transfer, download or install software or any executable files without the express permission and supervision of a teacher.
B. Restrictions relating to personal safety. Users may not post personal contact mail addresses, etc., about themselves or other people, except with the express approval of a teacher. Students may not arrange to meet any other person contacted through Internet Access except with the express written approval of teacher and the student’s parent or guardian.
C. Disruption of system, introduction of computer viruses. Users may not engage in any activity that disrupts the System, or other users’ use of the System, including, but not limited to, introducing computer viruses to the System, hacking, bombing, spoofing, spamming or other improper use of the System. Deliberate violations may result in suspension or revocation of an access to the System and/or other disciplinary action.

D. Illegal activities or activities inconsistent with school policy. Users may not use Internet Access for any illegal or improper purposes, including, but not limited to, vandalism, harassment, defamation, libel, attempts to make unauthorized entry into computer systems, or other activities inconsistent with school policy.

E. Impersonation. Users must use their real names and must not send or attempt to send messages that purport to be from some other person or entity.
F. Use of inappropriate language. Users will use only language appropriate for situations as indicated by school codes of conduct.
G. Plagiarism and copyright infringement. Users will properly attribute material they obtain through Internet Access and not infringe the copyrights of others.
H. Access to inappropriate material. Users will not access any material not related to educational purpose of the Internet Access, or attempt to access a site which has been blocked or to which access has been prohibited by their teacher(s) or parent/guardian. Users may not access any material that is obscene or which advocates illegal acts. Users may not access material that advocates discrimination or violence towards other people, except for educational purposes under the direct supervision of a teacher.
I. Commercial activities. Students may not use Internet Access to conduct a business, to offer, provide, buy or sell products or services, or to engage in any other commercial activities.
J. Use by unauthorized users. Users will not allow, encourage or facilitate use of Internet Access by unauthorized users.
K. Encryption. Students may not encrypt communications or files, except as specifically authorized by a teacher.
L. Users may not alter the software or hardware configuration of the computer used for system access in any manner, or attempt to bypass security or filtering systems set in place by NBISD.
M. Users may not initiate communications into the System from other computers (for example, home computers) that are inconsistent with intended purposes of the System or with any of these Acceptable Use Guidelines. These guidelines do not attempt to list all the required or proscribed behaviors by Users. A Student’s use of Internet Access and the System is subject to the supervision and discretion of NBISD and any further restrictions placed on student’s use by parents or guardians, if such restrictions are communicated in writing to the school.

5. Student responsibilities

In addition to observing all the other guidelines and school policies when using Internet Access of the System, students are responsible for:

A. Protection of system security. Students must notify their teacher if they become aware of any problem with or threat to the System and/or Internet Access.
B. Respect for privacy. Users must not post private information about another person or repost a message sent to them privately without the permission of the author of the message.

C. Respect for resource limits and appropriate uses. Users will use the System and/or Internet Access only in a reasonable manner and for purposes described in Section 1.

6. Consequences for inappropriate use

Internet Access is a privilege, not a right. All school policies regarding student conduct extend to student conduct while using Internet Access. Users are responsible for good behavior while using Internet Access and the System just as they are responsible for good behavior in classrooms, hallways and other facilities and grounds of the school. Failure to abide by these Acceptable Use Guidelines may result in suspension or revocation of a student’s access to Internet Access or the System, as well as other disciplinary action appropriate according to school policy, and/or other legal action, in accordance with applicable laws.

7. Privacy limitations

Users have no reasonable expectation of privacy in their use of Internet Access or the System. Teachers or other school officials may, without prior notice, monitor users’ use of Internet Access and the System, including e-mail when use of e-mail is permitted, as well as stored communications and files.

8. Parent/Guardian’s responsibilities

A. Parents or guardians signing this form for a student under the age of 18 years may counsel their children on any further restrictions on their use of Internet Access. Any such restrictions will be observed by the school to the fullest extent, if they are communicated to the school in writing.
B. Parents or guardians signing this form for a student under the age 18 agree to counsel their children on personal safety and responsibility when using Internet Access or the System.

9. Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability

NBISD Internet Access and E-mail services are provided on an “as is”, “as available” basis. NBISD makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, including, without limitation, those of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any of the Internet services provided by NBISD, including any information obtained through the Internet. This limitation of liability includes loss of data, service delays or interruptions, and is in addition to any other limitations of liability as may be provided by law. NBISD specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through NBISD Internet Access and E-mail services, or for access or receipt by users of inappropriate content. Use of any information obtained through Internet Access and E-mail services is at the participant and user’s own risk.

10. Indemnification

Students and their parents or guardians agree to indemnify and hold the School, Teachers, and their affiliates, officers, agents, or partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, due to or arising out of use or misuse of Internet Access by any student or other user, or arising from any user’s violation of these Acceptable Use Guidelines.

Board Approved.