District: Policy: Internet Employee Policy

Employee Internet Use Policy

USD 263

Mulvane School District
Network & Internet Policy

POLICY ON EMPLOYEE ACCEPTABLE USE OF
THE MULVANE PUBLIC SCHOOLS NETWORK

PURPOSE:

This policy is designed to enhance training and learning by promoting the use of telecommunication and networking technologies in the classroom from grades K through 12. The specific goal of the Mulvane computer network is to enhance the education of Mulvane students. By preparing Mulvane educators and administrators to utilize telecommunication and networking technologies as nstructional tools in schools, network access and high quality standardized training will be provided. In promoting these goals, Mulvane may provide Internet access and electronic mail ("e-mail") accounts to educators. This access is referred to as the "Mulvane Network". The Mulvane educators using the Mulvane Network shall be referred to as "Mulvane Staff". Use of the Mulvane Network by Mulvane Staff shall be consistent with the purpose and goals articulated in this Policy on Acceptable Use. This Policy establishes standards governing Mulvane Members' access to local, national and international sources of information. Pursuant
o Policy standards, information resources must be used consistent with the purposes for which they have been provided; in a manner which does not violate the public trust and in accordance with this Policy and regulations established from time-to-time by the Mulvane School Board as well as state and federal agencies.

POLICY TEXT:

I. USE OF MATERIALS AND SERVICES

Access to the Mulvane Network is a privilege and must be treated as such by all users of the network and its associated systems. To assure that the Mulvane Network remains secure, each and every Mulvane Staff must protect the rights of the community. Each Mulvane Staff must learn and abide by the rules applicable to the Mulvane Network. As part of the responsible use of the Mulvane Network, the following activities are expressly prohibited:

Use of the Mulvane Network for or in support of, illegal, obscene or inappropriate purposes:
1. "Illegal activities" include, but are not limited to, any activities in violation of local, state, and/or federal laws;
2. "Obscene activities" include activities in violation of generally accepted social standards for use of a publicly owned and operated communication vehicle;
3. "Inappropriate use" includes any activities conducted in violation of this Policy;
Use of the Mulvane Network for the transaction of any non-Mulvane related business and/or any commercial purposes,
Use of Mulvane Network for any product advertisement and/or any political lobbying,
Intentionally disrupting the use of the Mulvane Network for other users, including but not limited to use of any process program, or tool to ascertain passwords or engaging in "hacking" of any kind, including, but not limited to, the unlawful entry into an electronic system to access confidential information;
Violation of institutional or third party copyrights or interference with license agreements, and other contracts;
1. As provided by federal law and international treaties, copyrighted materials (e.g. images, text, and programs) shall not be uploaded using the Mulvane Network, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Except as expressly permitted, materials under copyright shall not be distributed to others. Copyrighted materials shall not be altered, nor shall the author attribution or copyright notices be modified,
2. Public Domain materials may be downloaded or uploaded using the Mulvane Network. Mulvane Staff may also redistribute materials in the Public Domain. However, the Mulvane Staff assumes all responsibility regarding the determination of whether the materials are in the Public Domain,
3. Some materials on the global Internet are called "Shareware". These materials may be downloaded and used, but they are copyighted materials. The pyright holder usually ives permission to use the material for examination. If Network Members choose to continue using these materials, the copyright holder often requests that the users register his/her usage and may ask that a license fee is paid. The Mulvane Staff assumes responsibility for all license fees charged for the utilization of Shareware materials,
4. Any software programs that staff purchases or acquires on their own must be OK'd by the building principal before use in the building,
Seeking to gain or gaining unauthorized access to information resources, including, but not limited to, information obtained in violation of the Kansas School Student Records Act;
Destruction, alteration, dismantlement, disfigurement, prevention of rightful access to or interference with the integrity of computer-based information and/or information resources, without authorization;
Interference with the privacy rights of individuals or entities which are creators, authors, users, or subjects of the information resources, without authorization;
Providing access to unauthorized individuals;
Use should not interfere or supercede the primary employment responsibilities. Sites will be checked before classroom demonstrations.

II. RIGHT OF ACCOUNT REVIEW

The Mulvane Staff acknowledges that none of his/her communications and information accessible through the Mulvane Network is considered private or confidential and the Mulvane Public Schools reserves the right to access all Mulvane Staff accounts, including electronic mail, at any time. Highly confidential information should not be transmitted electronically.
Any Mulvane Network user's traffic, which traverses another network, may be subject to that network's acceptabl use policy.

III. ASSUMPTION OF RISK

Mulvane Network will make a good faith effort to keep the system and its availabe information accurate. However, the Mulvane Members acknowledge that the Mulvane Network makes no warranty of any kind, either express or implied, regarding the accuracy, quality, or validity of any of the data or information available. For example, and without limitation, Mulvane does not arrant that the Mulvane Network will be error free or free of computer "viruses."
In making use of the Mulvane Network, the Mulvane Staff agrees to release the Mulvane School Board from all claims of any kind. Including claims for direct or indirect, incidental, or consequential damages of any nature, arising from any use or inability to use Mulvane Network, and from any claim for negligence in connection with the operation of the Mulvane Network.
The Mulvane Staff further acknowledges that the information available through interconnecting networks may be inaccurate. Mulvane Network has no ability to maintain such information and has no authority over these materials. Mulvane Network makes no warranty of any kind, either express or implied, regarding the accuracy, quality, or validity of the data and/or information residing on or passing through the Mulvane Network from outside networks. Use of the Mulvane Network is at the risk of the Mulvane Staff.

IV. INDEMNIFICATION

The Mulvane Staff indemnifies and holds harmless the Mulvane School Board from any claims, including attorney's fees, resulting from the Mulvane Staff's activities while utilizing the Mulvane Network, that cause direct or indirect damage to the Mulvane Network or third parties.

V. POLICY MODIFICATIONS

It is not the responsibility of the Mulvane Network to update Mulvane Members regarding any changes to this Policy. An online version of this Policy will be available to all Mulvane Members on the Mulvane Network Server. Use of the Mulvane Network shall constitute acceptance of this Policy and all future amendments, which may be adopted. Any user, who determines that he/she cannot comply with all terms and conditions of this Policy, may notify the Technology Coordinator to terminate his/her account.

VI. COMMENTS AND INTERPRETATIONS

Only the authorized Mulvane Staff shall use Mulvane Network accounts for authorized purposes. Mulvane Members are ultimately responsible for all activities under their own account. Violations of this Policy that are attributable to a member account shall result in the revocation of Mulvane Network membership and Mulvane Network access. Nothing in this Policy is intended to prohibit a Mulvane Staff from using his or her account in a classroom setting, as long as the Mulvane Staff is supervising the use of the Mulvane Network and is careful to protect the security of other Mulvane Members' names and passwords.

Mulvane Members are cautioned to exercise prudence in the shared use of this resource, as shared use may result in the abuse of access time, which is prohibited under this Policy.

VII. VIOLATION OF POLICY

Any violation or abuse of this Policy is just cause for taking disciplinary action, removal of all Mulvane Network privileges and accounts, and/or legal action, up to and including termination. It is anticipated that such actions can be avoided since they add significant costs to the Mulvane Network and cause problems for all concerned. To keep the Mulvane Network viable and user friendly, all members need to work cooperatively and responsibly.

Should a court of competent jurisdiction deem any part of the Mulvane Network Acceptable Use Policy invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the Policy will remain in effect as though the invalidated section was not included.

VIII. ENFORCEMENT

If a Mulvane Network Staff is determined to have violated this Policy, the building Principal will revoke the Mulvane Staff's access. If a Mulvane Staff is removed from the Mulvane Network, he/she has the right to appeal the revocation within thirty (30) days, in writing, to the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent's decision shall be final and there shall be no obligation to afford subsequent pportunity for access to the Mulvane Network.

Mulvane School District Computer Software Policy
Computer Software Copyright Regulations

It is the intent of Mulvane School District to adhere to the provisions of copyright laws in the area of microcomputer programs. Though there continues to be controversy regarding interpretation of those copyright laws, the following procedures represent a sincere effort to operate legally. We recognize that computer software piracy is a major problem for the industry and that violations of computer copyright laws contribute to higher costs and greater efforts to prevent copies and / or lessen incentives for the development of good educational software. All of these results are detrimental to the development of effective educational uses of microcomputers. Therefore, in an effort to discourage violation of copyright
laws and to prevent such illegal activities:

The legal, ethical, and practical problems caused by software piracy will be taught in all schools in the district.
District employees will be expected to adhere to the provisions of Public Law 96-517, Section 7(b) which amends Section 1 17 of Tides 17 of the United States Code to allow for the making of a backup copy of computer programs. This states that "it is not an infringement for the owner of a copy of a computer program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation of that computer program provided:
1. that such a new copy or adaptation is created as an essential step in the utilization of the computer program in conjunction with a machine and that it is used in no other manner, or
2. that such a new copy and adaptation is for archival purposes only and that all archival copies are destroyed in the event that continued possession of the computer program should cease to be rightful."
When copyrighted software is to be used on a disk-sharing system, efforts will be made to secure this software from copying.
Illegal copies of copyright programs may not be made or used on school equipment. It is the policy of the district that there be no copying of copyrighted or proprietary programs on computer belonging to the district and that illegal copies of such programs shall be affixed with a permanent sign which contains the following restriction: Illegal copies of copyrighted programs may not be made or used on computer systems belonging to the district. The legal and/or insurance protection of the district will not be extended to employees who violate copyright laws.
The Superintendent or designee of this school district is the only individual who may sign license agreements for software for schools in the district.
No employee of the district shall surreptitiously or illegally access any database or electronic bulletin board.
No employee of the district shall encourage or allow any student to surreptitiously or illegally access any database or electronic bulletin board. The principal of each school site is responsible for establishing practices, which will enforce this policy at the school level.

EMPLOYEE ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
NETWORK ACCESS AGREEMENT

All use of the Internet must be in support of education and research and must be consistent with the purposes of U.S.D. 263.
Any use of the network to facilitate illegal activity is prohibited. K.S.A. 21-3755
Any use of the network for commercial or for profit purposes is prohibited.
Use of the network for non-school related communication is prohibited
Any use of the network for product advertisement or political lobbying is prohibited.
Network accounts are to be used only by those authorized to use the account for authorized purposes.
Communications via the network should not be assumed to be private or privileged information.
No use of the network shall serve to disrupt the use of the network by others. Hardware or software shall not be destroyed, modified, or abused in any way.
No use of the network to develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer's computing system and/or damage the software components of a computer or computing system is prohibited.
Hate mail, harassment, discriminatory remarks, and other anti-social behavior are prohibited.
The illegal installation of copyrighted software for use on computers is prohibited.
Use of the network to access obscene, objectionable, or pornographic material is prohibited.
Use of the network to transmit material likely to be offensive or objectionable is prohibited
Each building principal or their designated representative and the District Technology Director will control access to the Network in each building. Abuse of the use privilege may result in temporary or permanent loss of Network access.
A detailed copy of the U.S.D. 263 NETWORK CONDITIONS, RULES, AND ACCEPTABLE USE AGREEMENT is available in each school office for student/parent review.