Student Technology and Acceptable Use Policy

Acceptable Use Policy

Introduction

North Warren is pleased to offer students access to the District’s Information Technology resources. Students, together with their parents/guardians, must sign the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources in the Schools form on the parent portal to use these resources. Parents/guardians should discuss these rules with their students to ensure they understand them.

General Computer Network Use

District Information Technology resources, including Internet access, are provided for educational purposes. Students can conduct research, complete classwork and assignments, communicate with others, and publish their work online. Students agree to conduct themselves in a considerate, ethical and responsible manner on school computer networks, the same as in any classroom or school hallway. The Student Code of Conduct applies to the use of school technology resources, and students must honor the agreements they have signed. Beyond the clarification of such standards, the District is not responsible for restricting, monitoring, or controlling the communications of individuals utilizing the network.

Students must not assume that actions on the school network are private. Network storage areas, files, system logs, and web activity logs are similar to school lockers. Administrators may review them to maintain system integrity, ensure responsible use, and may furnish evidence of crime to law enforcement.

When using school technology resources students may not:

1. Obtain or use any other person’s username and password, or share their own username and password with anyone
2. Access any other person's folders or files without permission
3. Attempt or acquire unauthorized access to District data and systems
4. Damage equipment, systems, or services, or otherwise disrupt the operation of the school’s technology resources
5. Deface equipment
6. Move equipment
7. Modify cables, plugs, connectors, or configuration settings
8. Install software on school computers
9. Use obscene language, harass, attack, or insult others
10. Create, display, or intentionally access offensive messages or pictures
11. Share personal information on the public web such as complete name, phone number, address, or photo
12. Plagiarize or violate copyright laws
13. Deliberately waste limited shared resources (e.g. paper or Internet bandwidth)
14. Use the network for commercial purposes, financial gain, or fraud

Internet, the World Wide Web, Email, and Internet Safety

Our intent is to make internet access available in ways that respect freedom of speech, access to information, and further educational goals and objectives. Parents/guardians should be aware that students may be able to access material that is illegal, defamatory, inaccurate, or offensive to some people. In compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act, internet protection measures are in place on all devices that use the school’s internet service. However, it is technically impossible for any internet filtering system to identify every piece of inappropriate content on the internet.  Similarly, valid educational resources are sometimes blocked by the filtering system. If the content filter is not working correctly, students should ask the teacher to inform Information Technology Services. Students may not attempt to bypass the content filter.

Although most students' work at North Warren is carried out on the school’s private network within a closed environment, students will occasionally publish work to the web. This provides students with an opportunity to share their work to a global audience and receive feedback. Students agree to only use their first names, and not disclose their last names or other personal identifying information such as age, address, phone number, photos, etc. Students should not publish work that contains copyrighted materials without proper permission and/or citation when appropriate.

Acceptable Use Consent Duration

Students may not use the North Warren computer network if the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources in the Schools form is not signed and on file. The agreement is in effect for the duration of the student’s school career at North Warren unless the form and/or the underlying policy and regulation is changed, in which case the student will be required to submit a new form.

Consequences for Violation

Consequences are handled by the Director of Student Services through the procedural mechanisms of the Student Code of Conduct. The District has identified five categories of Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) violations. Each category has a different severity based on the level of threat to the integrity of the District’s technology systems, and threats to the privacy and well-being of the District technology user community. These categories are listed in sequence below:

1. Inappropriate Use of Equipment: May include, but is not limited to, offenses that are mischievous in nature but do not corrupt settings, software or physically damage equipment. Violations will result in implementation of the the Student Code of Conduct. Further consequences may apply based on Administration’s discretion.
2. Vandalism and Defacing Equipment: May include, but is not limited to, defacing equipment, damaging equipment, tampering with, moving or removing equipment, changing cabling and connections, tampering with configuration settings, and installing software. After confirmation of an offense, the student’s computer network access will be discontinued. If any network lockout could jeopardize a student’s grades, or other student’s work, temporary access for these activities will be provided under direct supervision. Further consequences may apply based on implementation of the Student Code of Conduct and Administration’s discretion. Whether the District uses a contracted service or in-house personnel to restore service, students will be billed for time and materials required to investigate, troubleshoot, perform repairs, replace equipment, or restore data and systems.
3. Cyberbullying, Cyber-harassment, or Sexting: After confirmation of an offense, the student’s computer network access will be discontinued. If any network lockout could jeopardize a student’s grades, or another student’s work, temporary access for these activities will be provided under direct supervision.  Further consequences may apply based on implementation of the Student Code of Conduct and Administration’s discretion.
4. Plagiarism and Copying: After confirmation of an offense according to the District Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism policy, consequences may apply based on implementation of the Student Code of Conduct and Administration’s discretion.
5. Attempting to, or acquiring unauthorized access to District data or systems: May include, but is not limited to, attempting to bypass network permission levels or network security systems such as the web content filter, attempting to bypass firewalls, using another person’s network username and password to gain access to District computing resources, attempting to hack into, or otherwise gain unauthorized access to District data or systems, attempting to disrupt the service of the North Warren computer network. After confirmation of an offense, the student’s computer network access will be discontinued. If any network lockout could jeopardize a student’s grades, or another student’s work, temporary access for these activities will be provided under direct supervision. Further consequences may apply based on implementation of the Student Code of Conduct and Administration’s discretion. In cases of identity theft or data theft, law enforcement may be notified. Whether the District uses a contracted service or in-house personnel to restore service, students will be billed for time and materials required to investigate, troubleshoot, perform repairs, replace equipment, or restore data and systems.