IFBGA, Computer and Internet Use

COMPUTER AND INTERNET USE

The purpose of the Ascension Parish School Board School Internet Program is to enhance student learning by providing students with the latest technological advances thus making learning relevant to goals of the work place by facilitating student research, augmenting student communication skills, and motivating students to become life-long learners. The Ascension Parish School Board is pleased to bring this access to Ascension Parish and believes the Internet offers vast, diverse, and unique resources to both students and teachers.

THE INTERNET

The Internet is an international network of computer users encompassing elementary and secondary schools, universities, government agencies, businesses and corporations, and millions of individuals. This telecommunications network will allow students and teachers to have access to:

	·	research institutions, i.e., NASA, etc.
	·	electronic mail communication with people all over the world
	·	other computers and their data bases
	·	access to many university library catalogs, Library of Congress, etc.
	·	public domain software and shareware of all types
	·	world wide web sites

With access to computers and people all over the world comes the availability of material that may not be considered to be of educational value in the context of the school setting. The Ascension Parish School System has taken precautions to restrict access to controversial materials through the use of software, Surf Watch, which helps educators reduce the risk of students uncovering inappropriate material on the Internet. Surf Watch screens Internet newsgroups, World Wide Web, FTP Gopher, and other services. However, on a global network it is impossible to completely control all materials that an industrious user may uncover. The Ascension Parish School System firmly believes that the valuable information and interaction available on this worldwide network far outweighs the possibility that users may procure material that is not consistent with the educational goals of the district. The Board shall incorporate the use of computer-related technology or the use of Internet service provider technology designed to block access or exposure to any harmful materials or information, such as sites that contain obscene, pornographic, pervasively vulgar, excessively violent, or sexually harassing information or material. Sites which contain information on the manufacturing of bombs or other incendiary devices shall also be prohibited. However, the School Board does not prohibit authorized employees or students from having unfiltered or unrestricted access to Internet or online services, including online services of newspapers with daily circulation of at least 1,000, for legitimate scientific or educational purposes approved by the Board.

Internet access is coordinated through a complex association of government agencies, and regional and state networks. In addition, the smooth operation of the network relies upon the proper conduct of the users who must adhere to strict guidelines. These guidelines are provided here so that the user is aware of the responsibilities that he/she is about to acquire. In general, this requires efficient, ethical, and legal utilization of the network resources. Violation of provisions (any/all) of this policy shall result in the temporary or permanent suspension of computer/ Internet use. The signature(s) on the Ascension Parish Use of Internet Agreement is (are) legally binding and indicates the party (parties) who signed has (have) read the terms and conditions of this policy and agreement carefully and understand(s) their significance. The Ascension Parish School System hereby makes it known that it shall use its authority to assist state and federal authorities in enforcing copyright, intellectual property rights, and network abuse laws.

USER RESPONSIBILITIES

Access to the Internet provided by the Ascension Parish School System is a privilege and not a right. Users are executed to act with utmost honesty, integrity, and respect for the rights of others. Users are required to adhere to all federal, state, and local rules and laws governing electronic communications and all guidelines developed by the Ascension Parish School System. Users failing to comply with this policy shall be denied access privileges and disciplined according to school discipline policies as outlined in each school's handbook.

Authorized users are defined as students, teachers, and staff members of elementary, middle, high schools, headstart and vocational centers belonging to the Ascension Parish School System and who have a signed Acceptable Use Agreement on file at the school site. Any other user is hereby declared as an unauthorized user. The Ascension Parish School System is not responsible for any actions of unauthorized users or uses of the networked system outside of the educational setting. Authorized users are limited to Internet access during regular school hours, i.e., 7a.m. - 5p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

GUIDELINES

To ensure proper use of Internet privileges, users shall abide by the following guidelines:

1.1

Students shall be supervised during on-line activities.

All computers which allow Internet access are placed in supervised areas classrooms, media centers, labs, etc. The classroom teacher or designated system administrator shall be present at all times when students (PreK 12) are using Internet resources. The teacher shall attempt to monitor students' computer use and shall take appropriate action if these resources are used inappropriately. Any student or unauthorized user accessing the Internet, disregarding guidelines, signing on without proper supervision, shall be subject to disciplinary action as stated in the school's handbook.

1.2

Users shall be held responsible for their actions and activities involving the Internet and/or computer workstation. Unacceptable uses of the network will result in the suspension or revocation of these privileges.

Some examples of such unacceptable use include but are not limited to:

Using the Internet for any illegal activity, including violation of copyright or other contracts;

Using the Internet for financial or commercial gain;

Degrading or disrupting equipment, software or system performance;

Vandalizing the data of another user;

Wastefully using finite resources;

Gaining unauthorized access to resources or entities;

Invading the privacy of individuals;

Posting personal communications without the original author's consent;

Posting anonymous messages;

Accessing, downloading, storing, or printing files or messages that are profane, obscene, or that use language that offends or tends to degrade others;

Accessing, downloading, storing, or printing files relative to the manufacture of bombs or other incendiary devices; and

Violating the Broadcast/Publication Guidelines as follows:

Users will be allowed to produce materials for electronic publication and/or broadcast on the Internet. System administrators (teachers) shall monitor these materials to ensure compliance with content standards. The content of materials is subject to the following restrictions:

·	No personal information about an individual will be allowed. This includes home telephone numbers and addresses as well as information regarding the specific location of any individual at any given time;
·	All user works, such as e-mail, must be signed with the user's full name;
·	Individuals in pictures, movies, or sound recording may be identified only by initials (e.g. JQP for John Q. Public). Absolutely no first or last names may appear in reference to individuals in any image, movie, or sound recording;
·	No text, image, movie or sound that contains pornography, profanity, obscenity, or language that offends or tends to degrade others shall be allowed;
·	No text, image, movie or sound that contains information relative to the manufacture of bombs or other incendiary devices shall be allowed.

1.3

Users are responsible for all actions taken while using Internet facilities.

The use of Internet facilities is a privilege not a right, which may be temporarily or permanently revoked at any time for abusive conduct. Such conduct would include but is not limited to:

a.	the placing of unlawful information on a system;
b.	the use of objectionable language in public or private messages;
c.	the sending of messages that are likely to result in the loss of other users work on a system
d.	the sending of "chain letters" or "broadcast" messages to lists or individuals and
e.	any other types of use which would cause congestion of the system or otherwise interfere with the work of others.

The District cannot be held liable for any losses, including lost revenues, or for any claims or demands against the user by any other party. The District cannot be held responsible for any damages due to loss of output, loss of data, time delay, system performance, software performance, incorrect advice from a consultant, or any other damages arising from the use of the District's computer facilities.

Faculty cannot be held liable for the student's use of the network. Students may access the network for individual use or in the context of another class. The faculty is responsible for attempting to instruct the student on acceptable use of the network and proper network etiquette.

1.4

The user is responsible for following local, state, and international laws.

The Ascension Parish School System declares unethical and unacceptable behavior just cause for taking disciplinary action, revoking networking privileges, and/or initiating legal action for any activity through which an individual:

uses the network for illegal, inappropriate, or obscene purposes, or support of such activities. Illegal activities shall be defined as violation of local, state, and/or federal laws. Inappropriate use shall be defined as a violation of the intended use of the Internet/ network, and/or purpose and goal. Obscene activities shall be defined as a violation of generally accepted social standards for use of a publiclyowned and operated communication vehicle.

uses the network for any illegal activity, including violation of copyrights or other contracts violating such matters as institutional or third party copyright, license agreements and other contracts. Copyright violation is defined as the unauthorized copying of licensed software and is considered a theft and a violation of the copyright laws. Plagiarism is defined as the copying of a student's computer assignment.

1.5

All online Internet activities should support learning and teaching and is to be used for educational purposes only.

All online Internet activities should support learning and teaching and is to be used for educational purposes only. No illegal activity is permitted and proper courtesy should be observed at all times. Due to the open nature of the Internet, no liability shall be assumed by the Ascension Parish School Board, any parish employee, or any other participant in the Internet program. It is the responsibility of each user to make good decisions as to what information is retrieved and what is done with that information.

1.6

Users are responsible for respecting the policies of other networks which they access and to adhere to them.

Included in the Internet privilege is the use of other agencies' networks. Each network or system has its own set of policies and procedures. It is the user's responsibility to abide by the policies and procedures of these other systems.

1.7

Users may not perform any deliberate action which damages or disrupts a network or computer system, change its performance or make it malfunction.

Abuse is defined as any willful action which results in the expenditure of time to correct system performance. In addition, vandalism will result in cancellation of privileges. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user. This includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses.

1.8

No computer system shall be used to intimidate or harass others.

Because the Ascension Parish School Board Internet privilege is used as part of each individual school's activities, the school's code of conduct applies to Internet activities as well. Therefore, the Computer and Internet Use policy is an extension of the school's behavior code, i.e., the disciplinary handbook. These rules apply to vandalism of computer equipment, unauthorized access to information, computer piracy, hacking, tampering with hardware and/or software, electronic use of harassing, and abusive or obscene language.

1.9

Use of the Internet is a privilege, not a right.

Inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of privileges. Parish computing resources cannot be used to intimidate or create an atmosphere of harassment based upon gender, race, religion, ethnic origin, creed or sexual orientation.

1.10

Internet use maybe revoked for abusive conduct.

The system administrator (teacher) may revoke Internet privilege at any time and the decision shall be final. The administration, faculty and staff may request the system administrator to deny, revoke, or suspend Internet use.

1.11

Security is a high priority. The Ascension Parish School Board makes no warranties of any kind.

If any user identifies a security problem, they must notify a system administrator immediately. Do not show or identify the problem to others. Do not use another individuals account.

The Ascension Parish School Board makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. The Ascension Parish School Board, individual school systems, its faculty and staff, will not be responsible for any damages suffered including loss of data. Furthermore, the district will not be responsible for the quality of information obtained through this Internet connection.

Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:100.7

Board minutes, 8-3-99

Ascension Parish School Board