INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USAGE POLICY

PREAMBLE

The Roosevelt Union Free School District appreciates the educational value of providing students and staff access to the Internet. Positive educational use of the Internet will result in powerful learning experiences. The Board considers access to the Internet to be an important educational research tool for students and staff in the 21st Century.
A number of studies and government projects have indicated the benefits to be gained through the appropriate use of the Internet in education. These benefits include:

· Access to world-wide educational resources including museums and art galleries.
· Information and cultural exchanges between students.
· Discussion with experts in many fields for students and staff.
· Staff professional development-access to educational materials and best curriculum practices.
· Communication with colleagues, professional associations, advisory and support services.
· Exchange of curriculum and administration data with national education organization.

As technology advances, the Internet has become a powerful information resource. Proper use of the Internet can enhance the capabilities of the individual and the educational organization. Because the Internet, however, is largely unregulated and uncensored, the Roosevelt Union Free School District is responsible for placing the appropriate Internet usage restrictions on their users. This policy explains the acceptable and unacceptable uses of the Internet by students and staff of the Roosevelt Union Free School District.

MISSION STATEMENT
The Roosevelt Union Free School District will provide Internet access for students and staff with the intent to improve the processes of teaching and learning as well as facilitate improvements in communication among all members of the learning community, especially between parents and teachers. The Roosevelt Union Free School District will establish a secure and appropriate virtual learning space that will be available during the instructional and extended day for educational purposes. Educational purposes include the use of the Internet by students and staff (for learning activities both in school and at home), employee professional or career development, communication between teachers, students and their parents and the facilitation of information-sharing between teachers and administrators throughout the Roosevelt Union Free School District.
Filtering

The Roosevelt Union Free School District has installed Internet filtering software in an attempt to block user access to inappropriate and/or harmful content on the Internet. The software works by scanning web site addresses, web site content, e-mail and other documents for objectionable words or concepts. Objectionable words and/or concepts are pre-determined by the Roosevelt Union Free School District. When the filtering software finds any such objectionable words or concepts, it denies the user access to them based on the level of access assigned to the word or concept by the District. Filtering technology is not perfect and therefore, may in effect interfere with legitimate educational research.

The default level of access that will be granted to students varies depending on grade level and are referenced in subsections a, b, and c below. A process for modifying the filter or for de-filtering Internet access for students when it is educationally appropriate has been established in the IAUP implementation plan. De-filtering requests are to be approved at the District level with appropriate monitoring mechanisms. In the event that the filtering software is unsuccessful and children gain access to inappropriate and/or harmful material, the Roosevelt Union Free School District will not be liable.

a) Filtering levels for grades Kindergarten through 5: The filter is set at the most restrictive setting (maximum) in restricting access to Internet sites that may contain interactive chat, mail, or any of the categories listed below:

- Adult Only - Illegal
- Alcohol - Jokes
- Auction - Lingerie
- Chat - Message/Bulletin Boards
- Drugs - Murder /Suicide
- Electronic Commerce - News
- Employment Search - Nudity
- Free Mail - Personal Information
- Free Pages - Personals
- Gambling - Pornography
- Hate/Discrimination - Profanity
- Recreational/Entertainment - School Cheating Info
- Sex - Sports
- Swimsuits - Tasteless/Gross Language
- Tobacco - Violence
- Weapons

b) Filtering levels for grades 6 through 8:
- Adult Only - Chat
- Drugs - Free Mail
- Free Pages - Gambling
- Hate/Discrimination - Illegal
- Jokes - Message/Bulletin Boards
- Murder/Suicide - Nudity
- Personal Information - Personals
- Pornography - Profanity
- School Cheating Info - Sex
- Swimsuits - Violence
- Tasteless/Gross Language
- Weapons

c) Filtering levels for grades 9 through 12 and staff:
- Adult Only - Chat
- Free Mail - Free Pages
- Gambling - Hate/Discrimination
- Illegal - Lingerie
- Message/Bulletin Boards - Nudity
- Personal Information - Personals
- Pornography - Profanity
- School Cheating Info - Sex
- Sports - Swimsuits
- Violence - Weapons

The filter is modified to be less restrictive consistent with age and educational goals.

Parental Approval
Parents do not have a general right to opt their child out of classroom use of the Internet as with other curricular offerings and tools. Parental consent, however, is required with respect to certain aspects of Internet use (e.g., posting a child’s photograph or work on a school web page). Parents moreover, are strongly encouraged to discuss and monitor their children’s school Internet use and to discuss any issues or concerns that they may have with the school’s teachers and administrators. Workshops will be provided and materials will be disseminated to parents to help them provide better guidance for their children and make informed decisions.
Privacy

a) As required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act (“CIPA”), the Roosevelt Union Free School District will monitor students’ online activities. Such monitoring may lead to the discovery of user violations or may be violating the District’s Internet Acceptable Use Policy, or the law. The Roosevelt UFSD also reserves the right to monitor other users’ (e.g., non students’) online activities.
b) The Roosevelt UFSD reserves the right to employ and review the results of software that searches, monitors and/or identifies potential violations of the Internet Acceptable Use Policy.
c) Users should be aware that their personal files may be discoverable in court, administrative proceedings, and in accordance with public records laws.
d) No user should have expectation of privacy regarding the contents of his or her personal files and records of online activity while on the Roosevelt UFSD system.
Parental Notification and Responsibility
a) As appropriate, the Roosevelt UFSD will provide students and parents with guidelines and instructions for student safety while using the Internet.
b) The Roosevelt Union Free School District Internet Acceptable Use Policy contains restrictions on accessing inappropriate material, and student use generally will be supervised. Please be advised, however, that there is a wide range of material available on the Internet, some of which may or may not fit the particular values of the students. It is not practicably possible for the Roosevelt UFSD to monitor and enforce a wide range of social values in student use of the Internet. Further, the Roosevelt UFSD recognizes that parents bear primary responsibility for transmitting their particular set of family values to their children. The Roosevelt UFSD will encourage parents to specify to their child(ren) what material is and is not acceptable for their child (ren) to access through the District’s system.
Selection of Material
When using the Internet for class activities, teachers must:
a) Select material that is appropriate in light of the age of the students and that is relevant to the course objectives.
b) Preview the materials and sites they require students to access to determine the appropriateness of the material contained on or accessed through the site.
c) Provide guidelines and lists of resources to assist their students in channeling their research activities effectively and properly.
d) Assist their students in developing the skills to ascertain the reliability of information, distinguish fact from opinion, and engage in discussions about controversial issues while demonstrating tolerance and respect for those who hold divergent views.

Limitations on Internet Usage
A) Personal Safety Violations for Students
1) Student users will not post or transmit photographs or personal contact information about themselves or other people without prior written parental consent from the parent of the student whose information is being posted. Such consent must be delivered to the child’s teacher and kept on file in the classroom and main office. Personal contact information includes, but is not limited to, home address, telephone number, school name, school address and classroom.
2) A student user will not agree to meet with someone he or she has met online without parental approval and participation.
3) Student users will promptly disclose to their teachers or other school employees any message they receive that is inappropriate or makes them feel uncomfortable.
4) A violation of the Internet appropriate usage policy may subject students to discipline pursuant to the Districts code of conduct.

B) System Security Violations1) A user is responsible for the use of his or her account and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use that account. Under no conditions should a user provide his or her password to another person, except that supervisors and/or teachers may require users to provide their passwords.2) Student users will immediately notify a teacher if they identify a possible security problem (such as disclosure of their passwords to other persons) and other users will immediately notify the system administrator.3) Anti-virus software has been installed on the network and is maintained for each computer. Virus Updates, typically referred to as "virus definitions," are updated as recommended by the manufacturer.
C) Inappropriate Language1) Restrictions against inappropriate language apply to public messages, private messages, and material posted on Web pages. 2) Users will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, abusive or disrespectful language. Additionally, using the Internet for the intentional harassment or harm of an individual or organization is prohibited3) Users will not post information that could interfere with the educational process or cause a danger of disruption in the educational environment. 4) Users will not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks. 5) Users will not harass other persons. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person. If a user is told by a person to stop sending messages, he or she must stop. Nothing, however, in this paragraph shall prohibit supervisory use of e-mail in connection with Roosevelt UFSD activities and employment.6) Users will not knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or organization.
D) Privacy Violations1) Users should not repost a message that was sent to them privately without permission of the person who sent them the message. 2) Users should not post private information about another person.
E) Respecting Resource Limits 1) Users will use the system only for educational and professional activities. Staff may not use the Internet for personal use during working hours, except that they may engage in incidental use during their duty-free time (e.g., staff may be permitted to use the Internet for purchasing a book for personal use during their lunch hour, but may not operate a business or engage in any profit-making activity at any time).2) Users will not download large files unless absolutely necessary. If necessary, users will download the file when the system is not being heavily used and immediately remove the file from the computer to a storage medium (CD-R/CD-RW/ Diskette) or their personal computer. The following files are not permitted to be downloaded at anytime: music, video clips, games, and other excessive files. 3) Users will not post chain letters or engage in "spamming.” Spamming is sending an annoying or unsolicited message to many people. Note that an unsolicited message sent by a supervisor, relating to work activity does not constitute spamming. 4) Users will check their e-mail frequently and delete unwanted messages promptly. Users will limit the size of their mailboxes to a district-identified storage limit. The system will notify users when they are approaching the limit and users will not be able to send e-mails once they have exceeded a defined limit, currently 30 megabytes. Users, however, may still be able to receive and view e-mail upon exceeding the limit.5) Users will not send e-mail containing commercial links unless the link is predominantly instructional in nature (as described in Section 8, B, ii, d of this policy).
F) Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement1) Data and files on the Internet must be considered copyrighted material and may not be distributed, copied or published in any form without the written permission of the originator (except as detailed in Title 17 of the United States Code, section 107, "Fair Use Doctrine"). Material does not need to have a copyright on it to be protected under U.S. Copyright Law.2) Users will not plagiarize works that they find on the Internet. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were originally created by the user. 3) Users will respect the rights of copyright owners and not infringe on those rights. Copyright infringement occurs when an individual inappropriately reproduces a work that is protected by a copyright. If a work contains language that specifies acceptable use of that work, the user should follow the expressed requirements. If the user is unsure whether or not he or she can use a work, permission should be requested from the copyright owner.
G) Access to Inappropriate Material1) Users will not use the Roosevelt UFSD network to access material that is profane or obscene (e.g., pornography), that advocates illegal or dangerous acts, or that advocates violence or discrimination towards other people (e.g., hate literature). For students, a special exception may be made if the purpose is to conduct research and is approved in writing by the teacher, the parent and building administration. Roosevelt UFSD employees may access the above material only in the context of legitimate research expressly approved in writing by the employee's supervisor.2) If users inadvertently access such information, they should immediately disclose the inadvertent access as outlined in the IAUP implementation plan. This will protect users against an allegation that they have intentionally violated the Internet Acceptable Use Policy.

H) Other1) Users will not use the Internet for advertising, promotion, commercial purposes or similar objectives, except that employees may make personal purchases online during their duty-free (e.g., lunch) time.2) Users will not use the Internet to conduct for-profit business activities or to engage in religious activities. Users are also prohibited from engaging in any non-governmental-related fund raising or public relations activities such as solicitation for religious purposes, lobbying for political purposes, or soliciting votes. The Department is not responsible for this or any other commercial activities by users. 3) Users will not use Roosevelt UFSD networking services, resources or facilities for any purpose that violates existing state or federal laws, regulations, policies or procedures. Illegal usage will become the responsibility of the district and will lead to disciplinary actions against the employee. I) II) III) I) Failure to Follow Policy 1) RUFSD Retains the Right to Monitor Employee and Student Activities The Department of Instructional Technology and Information Systems will monitor and audit Internet access for the purposes of assuring system security, proper usage, and for performance impact. The employee has no rights of privacy in their use of the Internet.2) Discipline Failure to follow the Internet Usage Policy will lead to an employee’s discipline, which may include reprimand, loss of Internet access, suspension, termination, or legal prosecution. Failure by a student may cause that student to be suspended, reprimanded or may lead to the denial of internet services for that student.