Technology Department - Acceptable Use Guidelines

All guidelines, rules, and underlying principles of this document are to be considered as applying to all uses of technology in the corporation, including all local area networks (LAN) and the wide area network (WAN), radio or TV studios, phones, phone systems, photographic and video equipment.

Whitley County Consolidated Schools offers Internet access for student and staff use. Our goal in providing this service to teachers and students is to promote educational excellence in schools by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, research, and communication. It has not been established as a public access or public forum and the Whitley County Consolidated school system and this school have the right to place reasonable restrictions on the material you access or post, the training you need to have before you are allowed to use the system, and enforce all rules set forth in the school code and the laws of the state of Indiana. Further, you may not use this system for commercial purposes to offer, provide, or purchase products or services through the system or use the system for political lobbying. Access to the Internet within WCCS is available subject to the guidelines set forth by the administration of each individual school in keeping with Board policy and only with the written permission of a student's parents/guardians. Students and school personnel are expected to adhere to the Internet guidelines outlined in this acceptable use agreement. Students must have a copy of the Internet Use Agreement signed by the student, parent/guardian, and school official designated by the building principal.

Ultimately, parents and guardians of minors are responsible for setting and conveying the standards that their child should follow. To that end, WCCS supports and respects each family's right to decide whether or not to apply for Internet access. Parents of students who choose not to apply for access will have alternate activities not requiring the Internet.

The following guidelines define acceptable and unacceptable use of the WCCS local area networks (LAN,) wide area network (WAN,) and Internet connection:

  1. Personal Safety
    1. You will not post contact information (e.g. address, phone number, credit card number) about yourself or any other person.
    2. You will not agree to meet with someone you have met online without approval of your parents. Any contact of this nature or the receipt of any message you feel is inappropriate or makes you feel uncomfortable should be reported to school authorities immediately.
  2. Illegal Activities
    1. You will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to this or any other computer system or go beyond your authorized access by entering another person's account number or accessing another person's files.
    2. You will not deliberately attempt to disrupt the computer system or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means.
    3. You will not use your school computer privileges to engage in any other illegal act, such as arranging for a drug sale or the purchase of alcohol, engaging in criminal gang activity, threatening the safety of a person, etc.
  3. System security
    1. You are responsible for your individual account and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use your account. Under no condition should you give your password to another person.
    2. Attempts to logon to the LAN, WAN, or Internet as a system administrator by anyone not expressly given this privilege by the building administrator will result in cancellation of use privileges.
    3. Anyone identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer systems may be denied access to any or all WCCS computer resources.
    4. You will immediately notify a teacher or the system administrator if you have identified a possible security problem. Do not look for security problems; this may be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access.
    5. You will not intentionally disrupt the operation of any technology services provided in, by, or through the schools such as, but not limited to, the following: networks, individual computer stations, radio or TV equipment and studio, phones, phone systems, photographic and video equipment.
    6. You will avoid the inadvertent spread of computer viruses by never downloading software except at the direction of the building computer administrator and following district virus protection procedures when downloading.
  4. Inappropriate Language
    1. On any and all uses of the Internet, whether in application to public or private messages or material posted on the Web pages, you will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful language. You will not post information that could cause danger or disruption or engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks. You will not harass another person by a persistent action that distresses or annoys another person and you must stop if asked to do so.
  5. Respect for privacy
    1. You will not repost a message that was sent to you privately without permission of the person who sent you the message.
    2. You will not post private information about yourself or another person.
    3. You will not post anonymous messages
  6. Respecting Resource Limits
    1. You will use the system only for educational and career development activities and limited, high-quality, self-discovery activities.
    2. You will not post chain letters or engage in "spamming" (that is, sending an annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people.)
    3. You will check your e-mail frequently and delete unwanted messages promptly.
    4. You will subscribe only to high-quality discussion group mail lists that are relevant to your education or career development.
    5. You will not use any of the WCCS technology for personal financial or commercial gain.
  7. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement
    1. You will not plagiarize words that you find on the Internet. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were yours.
    2. You will respect the right of copyright owners. Copyright infringement occurs when you inappropriately reproduce a work that is protected by copyright. If a work contains language that specifies appropriate use of that work, you should follow the expressed requirement. If you are unsure whether or not you can use a work, you should request permission from the copyright owner. Unless information found on the Internet states that it may be freely reproduced, it should be assumed to be protected by U.S. copyright laws. Direct any questions regarding copyright law to a teacher or administrator in your building.
  8. Inappropriate Access to Material
    1. You will not use the school computers to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography) or that advocates illegal acts or violence or discrimination toward other people (hate literature). A special exception may be made for hate literature if the purpose of the access is to conduct research with both teacher and parental approval.
    2. If you mistakenly access inappropriate information, you should immediately tell your teacher or other district employee or other person designated by the school. This will protect you against a claim of intentional violation of this policy.
    3. Your parents should instruct you if there is additional material they think would be inappropriate for you to access. The district fully expects that you will follow your parents' instruction in this matter.
    4. During school, teachers of younger students will guide them toward appropriate materials. Outside of school, families bear responsibility for such guidance as they must also exercise with information sources such as television, telephones, movies, radio, and other potentially offensive media.
  9. Your Rights
    1. The use of the Internet is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in sanctions. Students will be instructed in proper use and will not access the Internet without teacher permission. The system administrators will deem what is inappropriate use and their decision is final.
    2. Free Speech. Your right to free speech, as set forth in the school disciplinary code, applies also to your communication on the Internet. The Internet is considered a limited forum, similar to the school newspaper, and therefore the district may restrict your right to free speech for valid educational reasons. The district will not restrict your right to free speech on the basis of its disagreement with the opinions you express.
    3. Search and Seizure. All components of the LAN and WAN are the property of Whitley County Consolidated Schools; therefore, you should expect no privacy of the contents of your personal files on the district system. They may be treated like school lockers. This includes not only computer storage devices, but also other electronic storage areas or devices including, but not limited to, video or audio tapes. Routine maintenance and monitoring of the system may lead to discovery that you have violated this policy, the school code, or the law.
    4. Due Process. The district will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation related to illegal activities conducted through the corporation's computer networks (LAN or WAN). In the event of a claim that you have violated this policy, the school disciplinary code, or the law in your use of the computer system, you will be given written notice of suspected violations and an opportunity to present an explanation according to school code and/or state and federal law. Additional restrictions may be placed on your use of the Internet.
    5. An individual search will be conducted if there is reasonable suspicion that you have violated this policy, the school disciplinary code, or the law. The investigation will be reasonable and related to the suspected violation. Your parents have the right at any time to see the contents of your e-mail files.
    6. Your personal files on the LAN should be considered no more private than any other portfolio of your student work which may be kept in hard copy files. You should expect that teachers or administrators may look at your electronic portfolio for the purpose of assessing your student work. Storage devices brought to school and used on school equipment are subject to the same scrutiny and rules.
  10. Liability
    1. The district makes no guarantee that the functions or the services provided by or through the district system will be error-free or without defect.
    2. The district will not be responsible for any damage you may suffer including, but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service.
    3. The district is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information attained through or stored on the system.
    4. The district will not be responsible for financial obligations arising from unauthorized use of the system.
  11. Sanctions that may result from violation of this policy include:
    1. Loss of access
    2. Additional disciplinary action determined at the building level in line with existing practice regarding inappropriate language or behavior
    3. Contacting law enforcement agencies when applicable

When you are using the system, it may feel like you can more easily break a rule and not get caught. This is not true. Electronic footprints are imprinted on the system whenever an action is performed. Therefore, you are likely to be caught if you break the rules.