Walker County Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for Students
Board Policy Code: IFBG
Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for Students Board Adoption Date: July 18, 2011
It is the belief of the Walker County Board of Education that the use of technology for the purpose of information acquisition, retrieval, manipulation, distribution and storage is an important part of ensuring all students graduate - ready for college, ready for work, ready for life! The Board further believes that a “technology rich” classroom can significantly enhance both the teaching and learning process. This technology includes computer hardware, software, local and wide area networks, and access to the Internet. Due to the complex nature of these systems and the magnitude of information available via the Internet, the Walker County Board of Education believes guidelines regarding acceptable use are warranted in order to serve the educational needs of students.
It shall be the policy of the Walker County Board of Education that the school system shall have in continuous operation, with respect to any computers belonging to the school having access to the Internet via the school district’s network:
1. A qualifying “technology protection measure,” as that term is defined in Section 1703(b)(1) of the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000; and
2. Procedures or guidelines developed by the superintendent, administrators and/or other appropriate personnel which provide for monitoring the online activities of users and the use of the chosen technology protection measure to protect against access through such computers to visual depictions that are (i) obscene, (ii) child pornography, or (iii) harmful to minors, as those terms are defined in Section 1703(b)(1) and (2) of the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000. Such procedures or guidelines shall be designed to:
a. Provide for monitoring the online activities of users to prevent, to the extent practicable,
access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and the World Wide Web;
b. Educate minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other
individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness
and response as required by the Children's Internet Protection Act;
c. Prevent unauthorized access, including so-called “hacking,” and other unauthorized
activities by minors online;
d. Prevent the unauthorized disclosure, use and dissemination of personal identification
information regarding minors; and
e. Restrict minors’ access to materials “harmful to minors,” as that term is defined in
Section 1703(b)(2) of the Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000.
The district’s technology resources are provided for educational purposes that promote and are consistent with the instructional goals of the Walker County School System. Use of computers and network resources outside the scope of this educational purpose is strictly prohibited. Students and employees accessing network services or any school computer shall comply with the district’s acceptable use guidelines. The district reserves the right to monitor, access, and disclose the contents of any user’s files, activities, or communications.
It must also be understood that the Internet is a global, fluid community, which remains largely unregulated. While it is an extremely valuable tool for educational research, there are sections that are not commensurate with community, school, or family standards. It is the belief of the Board that the Internet’s advantages far outweigh its disadvantages. The Walker County Board of Education will,
through its administrative staff, provide an Internet screening system which blocks access to a large percentage of inappropriate sites. It should not be assumed, however, that users are completely prevented from accessing inappropriate materials or from sending or receiving objectionable communications.
Additionally, access to the Internet and computer resources is a privilege, not a right. Therefore, users violating the Walker County Board of Education’s acceptable use policy shall be subject to revocation of these privileges and potential disciplinary action.
The Superintendent and the Superintendent’s appropriate designees shall have the ability to override any or all protection measures and waive portions of the Acceptable Use Policy as deemed necessary for accomplishing the mission of the Walker County School System.
Please read the following carefully. Violations of the Acceptable Use Guidelines may cause a student’s access privileges to be revoked, disciplinary action and/or appropriate legal action may be taken.
Any student who utilizes the computer lab(s) or any computer equipment at the school must be aware of certain policies for use of the equipment and/or facilities. Procedures are in place for the protection of students and equipment. Students will be held accountable for any violation of the following policies (as would be the case for any classroom disciplinary matter). A student and his/her parents will be responsible for damages and will be liable for costs incurred for investigation, service or repair.
Students are only allowed to utilize the computers and network to retrieve information and run specific software applications as directed by their teacher. Students are not permitted to explore the configuration of the computer, operating system or network, run programs not on the menu, or attempt to do anything they are not specifically authorized to do.
Students are responsible for ensuring that any computers or computing devices, diskettes, CDs, memory sticks, USB flash drives, or other forms of storage media that they bring in from outside the school are virus free and do not contain any unauthorized or inappropriate files.
In some situations, students may be permitted to connect to the district network via the secure wireless connection provided by the school system, but all access must be in accordance with this Acceptable Use Policy. Students are NOT permitted to use their own computing devices to access the Internet via personal Wi-Fi accounts or by any manner other than connecting through the secure wireless connection provided by the school system.
Safety Issues:
1. Any on-line communication should always be at the direction and with the supervision of a teacher.
2. Never provide last name, address, telephone number, or school name online.
3. Never respond to, and always report to the teacher or parent, any messages that make you feel
uncomfortable or that are from an unknown origin.
4. Never send a photo of yourself or anyone else.
5. Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone you met on-line.
6. Never open attachments or files from unknown senders.
7. Always report to a teacher any inappropriate sites that you observe being accessed by another user
or that you browse to accidentally.
Examples of prohibited conduct include but are not limited to the following:
1. Accessing, sending, creating or posting materials or communications that are:
a. Damaging to another person’s reputation,
b. Abusive,
c. Obscene,
d. Sexually oriented,
e. Threatening or demeaning to another person,
f. Contrary to the school’s policy on harassment,
g. Harassing, or
h. Illegal
2. Using the network for financial gain or advertising.
3. Posting or plagiarizing work created by another person without their consent.
4. Posting anonymous or forging electronic mail messages.
5. Attempting to read, alter, delete, or copy the electronic mail messages of other system users.
6. Giving out personal information such as phone numbers, addresses, driver’s license or social
security numbers, bankcard or checking account information.
7. Using the school’s computer hardware or network for any illegal activity such as copying or
downloading copyrighted software, music or images, or violation of copyright laws.
8. Downloading, installing, or using games, music files, public domain, shareware or any
other unauthorized program on any school’s computer or computer system.
9. Purposely bringing on premises or infecting any school computer or network with a virus, trojan,
or program designed to damage, alter, destroy or provide access to unauthorized data or information.
10. Gaining access or attempting to access unauthorized or restricted network resources or the data
and documents of another person.
11. Using or attempting to use the password or account of another person or utilizing a computer while
logged on under another user’s account.
12. Using the school’s computers or network while access privileges have been suspended.
13. Using the school’s computer hardware, network, or Internet link in a manner that is inconsistent
with a teacher’s directions and generally accepted network etiquette.
14. Altering or attempting to alter the configuration of a computer, network electronics, the
operating system, or any of the software.
15. Attempting to vandalize, disconnect or disassemble any network or computer component.
16. Utilizing the computers and network to retrieve information or run software
applications not assigned by their teacher or inconsistent with school policy.
17. Providing another student with user account information or passwords.
18. Connecting to or installing any computer hardware, components, or software which are not
school system property to or in the district’s technology resources without prior approval
of the district technology supervisory personnel. Students may be permitted to connect
to the district network via the secure wireless connection provided by the school system,
but all access must be in accordance with this Acceptable Use Policy. Students are NOT
permitted to use their own computing devices to access the Internet via personal
Wi-Fi accounts or by any manner other than connecting through the secure wireless connection
provided by the school system.
19. Bringing on premises any computer, disk or storage device that contains a software application
or utility that could be used to alter the configuration of the operating system or network equipment,
scan or probe the network, or provide access to unauthorized areas or data.
20. Downloading or accessing via e-mail or file sharing, any software or programs not
specifically authorized by Technology personnel.
21. Bypassing or attempting to circumvent network security, virus protection,
network filtering, or policies.
22. Possessing or accessing information on school property related to “Hacking”, or altering,
or bypassing network security or policies.
23. Participating on message boards without teacher direction, or in live chat using but
not limited to AIM, Yahoo, or MSN Messenger.
24. Students should follow the guidelines below when performing Internet searches.
Elementary:
Students in grades K-5 may visit sites pre-selected by a teacher and must be done with teacher supervision.
Middle:
Students in grades 6-8 may only perform Internet searches with teacher supervision.
High:
If students in grades 9-12 use any search engines other than a child-friendly search engine, they must use the advanced search page of internet search engines in order to develop more reliable, useful, and relevant search results.
