ACCEPTABLE
USE POLICY FOR TECHNOLOGY AND THE INTERNET 4550
―
SCHOOL
DISTRICT
EMPLOYEES ―
The
following Policy must be agreed to by the employee before access will be
provided to School District computer and Internet facilities. Use of such facilities after receipt of this
Policy is deemed to constitute agreement.
Introduction
The
City School District of New Rochelle (“School District”) furnishes computers and network
facilities and equipment, and provides access to the Internet, in order to
support learning and enhance instruction.
By providing access to the Internet, a vast information highway
connecting thousands of computers all over the world, the School
District intends to promote educational excellence and to prepare
students for an increasingly technological world. This use should facilitate
resource sharing, research, innovation and communication.
However, the School District
also recognizes that with this access come uses and the availability of
material which are unrelated to scholarship, and which in many instances are
inappropriate for places of work and/or learning.
For this reason, computer, network and Internet
facilities (including, without limitation, e-mail, discussion groups and
Web-based tools) are to be used only for purposes directly related to work,
teaching or scholarship. Except for strictly limited incidental (and in all
instances, appropriate) use, employees should use their own computers and their
own Internet access arrangements for all other purposes.
Much of the responsibility for appropriate use of School District computers, network facilities and
Internet access must rest on employees themselves. Therefore, the School District requires that employees act responsibly
by reading and following the policies outlined below.
Employees must understand that access to School District computers, network and Internet
facilities is a revocable privilege, and not a right. Use of the system can and
will be monitored by the School District, and
there is no expectation of privacy in employee use.
Applicability
and General Principles
These policies apply to all
employees who use School District computers, networked hardware, or who
otherwise gain access to School District network facilities and/or the Internet
via computer equipment and/or access lines located in the School
District or elsewhere. This includes any remote access which
employees may gain from off-site, but which involves the use of School District sites, servers, intranet facilities,
e-mail accounts or software.
Except for limited incidental and appropriate use, as aforesaid, all
access to and use of School District computers, network facilities and Internet
access must be for the purposes of work, teaching or scholarship consistent
with the educational goals of the School District.
Employees must make efficient, ethical and legal utilization of network
resources. Employees must be aware that
material created, stored on, or transmitted from or via the system is not
guaranteed to be private. In addition to
the fact that the Internet use is inherently insecure, School
District network administrators may review any and all individual
computers and/or areas of the network at any time to ensure that the system is
being used properly. For this reason,
employees should expect that e-mails, materials placed on personal Web pages,
and other work that is created on the network may be viewed by a third party.
Both internal and external network and
Internet access will be provided to authorized users by the assignment of
unique log-in identification codes (“usernames” and passwords) and, where
appropriate, with limited hard disk space on School District hardware, for
their own individual use. Authorized
users will be personally responsible for maintaining the integrity of the School District’s access policy, and may not permit other
persons to use their usernames, passwords, accounts or disk space, or disclose
their usernames, passwords or account information to any third party.
Usernames and passwords will be furnished
subject to the provisions of this Policy, and such updates or modifications as
may hereafter be promulgated.
Computer and
network users must
respect the integrity and security of the School District’s
systems and network, and the access privileges, privacy and reasonable
preferences of other users. The School District
reserves the right to limit access time and disk space in order to optimize an equitable
allocation of resources among users.
The School District
makes no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, for the service it
is providing. It is not responsible for any damages, including loss of data
resulting from delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, or service
interruptions, whether caused by the School District’s
negligence, or by a user’s errors or omissions. Information obtained from the
Internet is used at the user’s own risk, and the School District specifically
disclaims any
responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained by employees
via access provided by or through the School District.
The following policies are intentionally broad in scope and, therefore,
may include references to resources, technology and uses not yet available.
Rules of Conduct and Compliance
Employees who violate this Acceptable Use Policy may have their access
privileges suspended or revoked by the network administrator. In addition,
further disciplinary action may be taken as permitted by applicable law and the
terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Except as otherwise indicated below, all policies and prohibitions
regarding users of the network also apply to users of individual School District computers.
1. The network
may not be used to download, upload copy, or modify materials which are the
subject of any third-party copyright, specifically including third-party still,
video and audio media files, and text files without the express prior approval
of a network administrator. For the purposes of this prohibition, “third-party
copyright” refers to materials created by third parties not employed by or
enrolled as students in the School District. This prohibition shall not apply to “fair
use” for teaching or scholarly purposes, as permitted by the United States
copyright laws, where such use is strictly limited to small excerpts from a work no greater than
required for a permitted purpose; but in the case of any doubt, “fair use” questions
should be referred to a network administrator and/or the School District’s
library professionals prior to any such downloading, uploading, copying or
storage.
2. Computer and
network users may not add (or attempt to add) any software, shareware, freeware or other applications to the School District’s network or computers, or add to or
modify any existing software or applications, without the express permission of
the network administrator. Any software
which is installed must be properly acquired by the School District and
licensed to the School District from the
copyright owner thereof, and any modifications must comply with the terms of
the applicable license(s). Software installation requests will not be
implemented until required proof of ownership and license status has been
reviewed and approved.
3. The School District’s computers and network (including the
use of such computers or the network to access the Internet) may not be used
for any commercial purposes, and users may not buy or sell products or services
through the system.
4. The School District’s computers and network (including the
use of such computers or the network to access the Internet) may not be used
for advertising, political campaigning, or political lobbying.
5. The School
District’s computers and network (including the use of such computers or the
network to access the Internet) may not be used for any activity, or to
transmit any material, that violates United
States, New
York State
or local laws. This includes, but is not limited to, fraudulent acts,
violations of copyright laws, and any threat or act of intimidation or
harassment against another person.
6. The School District is a place of tolerance and good
manners. Use of the network or any
School District computer facilities for hate mail, defamatory statements,
statements intended to injure or humiliate others by disclosure of personal
information (whether true or false), personal attacks on others, and statements
expressing animus towards any person or group by reason of race, color,
religion, use vulgar, derogatory, or obscene language is prohibited. Network
users may not post anonymous messages or forge e-mail or other messages.
7. Computer and
network users are strongly advised to use caution about revealing any
information on the Internet, or storing such information on the School District’s computers or the network, which would
enable others to exploit them or their identities: this includes last names,
home addresses, Social Security numbers, passwords, credit card numbers or
financial institution account information, and photographs. Under no
circumstances should a user reveal such information about another person
without that person’s express or prior consent.
8. Computer and
network users may not log on to someone else’s account, attempt to access
another user’s files, or permit anyone else to log on to their own
accounts. Users may not try to gain
unauthorized access (“hacking”) to the files or computer systems of any other
person or organization. However, employees must be aware that any information
stored on or communicated through the School District network may be
susceptible to “hacking” by a third party, and such information may be reviewed
by the School District at any time, with or
without prior notice.
9. Computer and
network users may not access Web sites, newsgroups, or chat areas that contain
material that is obscene or that promotes illegal acts. Likewise, use of the
network to access, process or store pornographic material (whether visual or
written), or material which contains dangerous recipes, formulas or
instructions, is prohibited.
10. The attention of all computer and network users is
specifically directed to the School District’s separate Internet Safety Policy,
which applies to all users of School District
computer and network facilities, and which is incorporated herein by reference.
Any attempt to bypass, defeat or circumvent the Internet Safety Policy
Technology Prevention Measures, which are designed to prevent access to visual
depictions that are obscene, involve child pornography, or are harmful to
minors is punishable as a violation of this Acceptable Use Policy. In addition,
evidence of use of any computer or the network to access, store or disseminate
child pornography will be referred to law enforcement authorities for
investigation and prosecution as may be appropriate.
11. Computer and
network users may not access newsgroups, blogs, chat rooms, social networking
websites (including but not limited to MySpace and Facebook), list servers, or
other services where they may communicate with people outside of the School
District (specifically including e-mail) except for District business. This
prohibition shall not apply to blog or social networking access which is used
as an integral part of classroom instruction. While incidental personal use of
e-mail facilities may be permitted, such incidental use will not be deemed a
waiver of the School District’s right to
prohibit all such use, either on an individually-applicable or on a
generally-applicable basis.
12. Computer and
network users may not engage in “spamming” (sending irrelevant or inappropriate
electronic communications individually or en masse) or participate in broadcast
electronic communications (such as chain letters or other mass communications)
other than for official School District
purposes.
13. Computer and
network users who maliciously access, alter, delete, damage or destroy any
computer system, computer network, computer program, or data may be subject to
criminal prosecution as well as to disciplinary action by the School
District. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to,
changing or deleting another user's account; changing the password of another
user; using an unauthorized account; damaging any files; altering the system;
using the system to make money illegally; destroying, modifying, vandalizing,
defacing or abusing hardware, software, furniture or any School District
property. Users may not develop programs
that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computer system and/or
damage the software components of a computer or computer system (e.g., create
viruses, worms).
14. Computer and network users may
not intentionally disrupt information network traffic or crash the network and
connected systems; they must not degrade or disrupt equipment or system performance. They must not
download or save excessively large files without the express approval of the
network administrator. Computer and network users may not add any
software or applications to the School District’s
network or computers, or add to or modify any existing software or
applications, without the express permission of the network administrator.
15. Computer and network users may
not use such facilities to plagiarize, which is a serious academic offense.
Plagiarism is “taking ideas or writings from another person and offering them
as your own.” Credit must always be given to the person who created the article
or the idea. A person who, by cutting
and pasting, or otherwise reproducing, text or data, leads readers to believe
that what they are reading is the person's original work when it is not, is
guilty of plagiarism.
16. Computer and
network users may not copy any copyrighted or licensed software from the
Internet or from the network without the express permission of the copyright
holder. Software must be purchased or licensed before it can legally be used.
17. Computer and network users may not take data, equipment, software or
supplies (paper, toner cartridges, disks, etc.) for their own personal use.
Such taking will be treated as theft.
Use of School District printers and
paper must be reasonable.
18. The City School District of New
Rochelle assumes no responsibility for student,
faculty or staff websites created and hosted outside of the District
network. Decisions to provide access to
such external websites from the District network will be made on a case-by-case
basis.
Violations and Consequences
Consequences
of violations include but are not limited to:
· Suspension or revocation of information
network access;
· Suspension or revocation of network
privileges;
· Suspension or revocation of computer access;
· Disciplinary action, up to and including
termination of services;
● Criminal prosecution.
In
addition, the School District may seek monetary compensation for
damages in appropriate cases. Repeated or
severe violations will result in more serious penalties than one-time or minor
infractions.
This Acceptable Use Policy is subject to
change. The School District reserves the right
to restrict or terminate information network access at any time for any reason.
The School District further reserves the right
to monitor network activity as it sees fit in order to maintain the integrity
of the network and to monitor acceptable use. School and District-wide
administrators will make final determination as to what constitutes
unacceptable use.
Disciplinary penalties involving adverse
employment action will be determined in accordance with applicable state law
and the terms of applicable collective bargaining agreements. However, suspension or revocation of access
privileges will be determined by the network administrator, acting in
consultation with school and District-wide administrators.
Cross-Ref.: Policy No. 5550, Acceptable Use Policy for
Technology and the Internet – Students
Policy No. 6550, Internet Safety
Policy
Policy
Adopted: Res. No. 02-132 – Nov. 7, 2001 CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF
Revised: Res. No. 02-146 – Dec. 4, 2001 NEW ROCHELLE
Revised: Res. No. 02-162 – Jan. 8, 2002 New Rochelle, New York
Revised: Res. No. 05-104 – Oct. 5, 2004
Revised:
Res. No. 09-189 – Feb. 3, 2009
INTERNET SAFETY POLICY
6550
Introduction
It is the policy of the City
School District of New Rochelle (“The School District”) to: (a) prevent user
access 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; and (d) comply with the
Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”) [Pub. L. No. 106-554 and 47 USC § 254(h)]. It is the goal of this policy not
only to prevent and protect, but to educate employees, students, parents and
the community of New Rochelle
in Internet safety. The CIPA guidelines for an Internet
Safety Policy have also been incorporated by the School
District into its Acceptable Use Agreement.
The
Children’s Internet Protection Act, enacted December 21, 2000, requires recipients of
federal technology funds to comply with certain Internet filtering and policy
requirements. Schools and libraries receiving funds for Internet access and/or
internal connection services must also meet the Internet safety policies of the
Neighborhood Children’s Internet Protection Act that addresses the broader
issues of electronic messaging, disclosure of personal information of minors,
and unlawful online activities.
This
policy is intended to be read together with the School District’s Acceptable
Use Policies for Technology and the Internet (Policy No. 4550 as applicable to
School District employees, and Policy No. 5550 as applicable to School District students). All limitations and penalties set forth in
the Acceptable Use Policies are deemed to be incorporated into this policy.
Terms used in this policy which also appear in the Children’s Internet
Protection Act have the meanings defined in the Children’s Internet Protection
Act.
COMPLIANCE WITH THE
REQUIREMENTS OF CIPA:
Technology Protection
Measures
A Technology Protection Measure is a specific technology that blocks or
filters Internet access. It must protect
against access by adults and minors to visual depictions that are obscene,
involve child pornography, or are harmful to minors. In addition to the
filtering system that is incorporated with the Internet service provided by
Southern Westchester BOCES, the School District
subscribes to a content filtering system, on all computers that access the
Internet, which is compliant with CIPA and NCIPA.
Access to Inappropriate
Material
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 and textual 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 or, in the case of
minors, minimized only for bona fide research or other lawful purposes.
Any attempt to bypass, defeat
or circumvent the Technology Prevention Measures is punishable as a violation
of this policy and of the Acceptable Use Policies.
Inappropriate Network Usage
To the extent practical, steps
shall be taken to promote the safety and security of users of the City School
District of New Rochelle online computer network when using electronic mail,
chat rooms, blogging, instant messaging, online discussions and other forms of
direct electronic communications.
Without limiting the foregoing, access to such means of communication is
strictly limited by the Acceptable Use Policies.
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.
Supervision and Monitoring
It shall be the responsibility of
all professional employees (pedagogical and administrative staff) of the City
School District of New Rochelle to supervise and monitor usage of the School District’s computers, computer network and access
to the Internet in accordance with this policy, the Acceptable Use Policies,
and the Children’s Internet Protection Act. Procedures for the disabling or
otherwise modifying any technology protection measures shall be the
responsibility of the Director of Technology or designated representatives.
Education
The City School District of New Rochelle will advocate and educate
employees, students, parents and the New
Rochelle community on Internet safety and
“cyber-bullying.” Education will be
provided through such means as professional development training and materials
to employees, PTA presentations,
and community outreach opportunities such as local public access television and
School District websites.
Cyber-bullying
The
Acceptable Use Policies include provisions intended to prohibit and establish
penalties for inappropriate and oppressive conduct, including
cyber-bullying.
The School
District is a place of tolerance and good manners. Students may not use the network or any
School District computer facilities for hate mail, defamatory statements, statements
intended to injure or humiliate others by disclosure of personal information
(whether true or false), personal attacks on others, and statements expressing
animus towards any person or group by reason of race, color, religion, national
origin, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
Network
users may not use vulgar, derogatory, or obscene language.
Network
users may not post anonymous messages or forge e-mail or other messages.
Furthermore, School District computers
and network facilities may not be used for any activity, or to transmit any
material, that violates United States,
New York State or local laws. This includes, but
is not limited to any threat or act of intimidation or harassment against
another person.
Cross-Ref.: Policy No. 4550,
Acceptable Use Policy for Technology and the Internet – School District
Employees
Policy No. 5550, Acceptable Use Policy
for Technology and the Internet – Students
Policy
Adopted: Res. No. 09-191 – Feb. 3, 2009 CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT OF
NEW ROCHELLE
New Rochelle, New York