FILE:  EFA

Cf:  EFAA, IFBGA

 

EMPLOYEE ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY FOR

DISTRICT TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES

 

 

The Iberia Parish School District (IPSD) recognizes the role of educational technologies in stimulating innovative approaches to teaching and learning and shifting the way educators and students access and transmit information, share ideas, and contact others.  In addition, technology is a key component in transacting the business of the system and Board.  The connection of schools and offices to the global online community brings new responsibilities as well as opportunities.

 

Technology resources shall be provided for educational purposes and to carry out the legitimate business of the school district.  The term educational purposes include classroom activities and assignments, directed student research, interpersonal communication, professional development, collaborative projects, and dissemination of successful educational practices, methods, and materials.  The School Board expects all employees, students, and School Board members who use IPSD’s technology resources to apply them in appropriate ways to the performance of responsibilities associated with their positions and assignments.  The Superintendent or authorized designee(s) shall be responsible for establishing appropriate guidelines for exploring and using its technology resources within the school district to enhance teaching and learning activities.

 

Acceptable use of these resources shall be consistent with the philosophy, goals and objectives of the School Board.  Terms and Conditions within the district’s Acceptable Use of Technology Resources Agreement are provided so that all employees are aware of the responsibilities they will assume when using IPSD resources.  Responsibilities include efficient, ethical, and legal utilization of the district’s technology resources.  Each employee shall sign the Acceptable Use of Technology Resources Agreement.  The signature shall be legally binding and will indicate that he/she has read the agreement carefully and agrees to abide by all terms and conditions.

 

Technology resources, as used herein, may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:  Internet access, wired and wireless network, servers, cloud services, content filter, desktop computers, mobile computers (laptop, iPad, Chromebook), email, videoconferencing capabilities, electronic files, online collaboration capabilities, and numerous instructional resources delivered with computer technology.

 

INTERNET SAFETY

 

In compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act and all other applicable laws or regulations, the school district shall use a technology protection measure that blocks and/or filters Internet access or exposure to harmful materials or information, such as sites that contain obscene, pornographic, pervasively vulgar, excessively violent, or sexually harassing material or information, or sites that may contain information on the manufacturing of bombs or incendiary devices.  However, the School District shall 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 Superintendent or designee.

 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE

 

The School District does not allow the use of technology resources for any illegal or inappropriate activities and shall not be responsible for such use by employees.  The School District expects all users of district technology resources to apply them in appropriate ways for the performance of responsibilities associated with their positions and assignments.  The following regulations, terms, and conditions for the use of technology resources shall not be all-inclusive, but only representative and illustrative.  An employee who commits an act of misconduct or inappropriateness which is not listed may also be subject to disciplinary action.  All users, including employees, students, or any other user of school district technology resources shall abide by all policies of the School Board and any applicable administrative regulations and procedures.

 

 

    1. Employee shall be accountable for the proper use and care of technology resources and for the repair or replacement of willfully or negligently damaged equipment.

    2. Employee shall appropriately supervise and monitor all students to ensure proper use of technology resources in his/her classroom.

 

 

    1. Employee use of technology resources shall be reserved for educational purposes and the conducting of business aspects of the school system.  Educational purposes include classroom activities and assignments, directed student research, interpersonal communication, professional development, collaborative projects, and dissemination of successful educational practices, methods, and materials.

    2. Employee shall not use IPSD’s technology resources for activities such as online shopping, listening to online radio stations, viewing streaming videos, downloading large files, gaming, and watching movies unless such activity is part of the curriculum or job responsibility as directed by appropriate authorities.

    3. Employees shall not store any personal information (e.g. personal pictures, personal files, etc.) on any district-owned computer or server.

    4. Employee materials or files, such as, but not limited to, lesson plans, schedules, letters, memos, documents, programs, spreadsheets, databases, and/or presentations created using district resources, or during periods for which the employee is compensated by the School Board become the intellectual property of the district.  All files stored on the network shall be treated as district property subject to control and inspection by authorized district personnel.

    5. Employee shall respect copyright materials and other intellectual property.  Employee may not duplicate, copy, or distribute electronic resources without the appropriate permission, documentation, or citation.

    6. Employee shall not download or install copyrighted software from any source on any school device.  Any software not created by the user shall be considered copyrighted.

    7. Employee shall use IPSD-provided email account for educational purposes and school-related communication.  Employee shall be responsible for the content of email messages in his/her account.  Email communication is not a confidential medium for transmitting information and should be viewed as public in nature.  An IT system administrator may review communications to maintain integrity system-wide and ensure that staff members are using the system responsibly.

    8. Employee shall not allow others to have access to or use his/her email account.

    9. Employee email account shall not be readily accessible by others.

    10. Employee shall not post or forward email “chain letters” or send annoying or unnecessary messages to others.

    11. Employee will not use district email to mass email and “spam” any users (internal or external) with unauthorized communications or solicitations.

    12. Employee will subscribe only to high-quality discussion group mail lists that are relevant to educational or professional development activities.

 

 

    1. Employee shall not attempt to gain unauthorized access to or “hack” into the district’s network, any computer system through the district’s network, or go beyond employee authorized access.  This includes attempting to access, alter and/or delete another person’s account or files.

    2. Employee shall not tamper with hardware and/or software and/or make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system performance or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means.

    3. Employee will not use IPSD’s technology resources to transmit any material or to engage in any illegal activity in violation of any national, state, or local law.

    4. Employee shall not use IPSD technology resources for commercial, political, or religious purposes, or for personal or financial gain, fraud, or to engage in any other illegal acts.

    5. Employee will not use IPSD’s technology resources to participate in cyberbullying.  Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else.  Cyberbullying can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation.

    6. Employee will not attempt to impersonate another individual or organization using IPSD technology resources for any reason (i.e. “Phishing” or “Spoofing”).

    7. Employee shall not install any unauthorized or unlicensed school district software on his/her personal computer.

 

 

    1. Employee will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, unprofessional, or disrespectful language in any electronic format using IPSD’s technology resources.  This includes personal attacks or harassment of another person.

    2. Employee shall not use IPSD’s technology resources to access and/or display obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, harmful, unprofessional or disrespectful content in any electronic form including audio, images, video and text.

    3. Employee shall not post information in any electronic format that could cause damage, pose a danger of disruption, or incite confusion or panic, or may result in a disruption of the educational process of the district or school.

    4. Employee shall not attempt to remove, modify, or bypass district content filters, security systems, software, and/or configurations installed in order to access inappropriate content.

    5. Employee shall immediately report to school administration any website inadvertently accessed with inappropriate content.  Note:  IPSD, in compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act, will use its best effort to block content as described above; however, given the ever-changing nature of the Internet, there is no filtering system that is capable of blocking 100% of the objectionable material available on the Internet.

 

 

    1. Employee shall have no expectation of privacy in their use of IPSD’s technology resources.  Employee use of the technology resources will be monitored, accessed, reviewed and retained.  Illegal activity will be reported to appropriate authorities.

    2. Files or programs stored on a computer, server, or external drive that are in violation of this agreement may be removed by an IT system administrator without notice.

    3. Employee’s network activity and/or data stored on the district’s system including but not limited to a district computer, is a matter of public record.

 

 

    1. Employee shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of passwords.  Under no condition should the employee give his/her password to others nor post the password in written form to be viewed by others.  Likewise, using another person’s credentials to gain access is not permitted.

    2. Employee shall not allow others to have access to or use his/her accounts including, but not limited to, computer login credentials, email, district software accounts.

    3. Employee shall log off or lock user account anytime the device is not in use to prevent unauthorized access.

    4. Employee shall immediately notify district technology department authorities if a possible security problem is detected.  Employee shall not search for security problems, attempt to circumvent security safeguards or in any way gain unauthorized access to any system or files.

    5. Employee is responsible for maintaining up-to-date antivirus software, provided by the district, on all devices in his/her charge.  Employee must notify an IT system administrator immediately if computer(s) is not automatically updating.  Employee may not remove, disable, or replace district antivirus solution for any reason.

    6. Employee may only use memory storage devices (i.e. external hard drives, flash drives, etc.) that have been scanned and found to be free of viruses.

    7. Employee shall not download, install, or execute programs from the Internet and/or external devices without permission from an IT system administrator.

    8. Employee shall not attach any device to the network.  This includes personal devices and school purchased technologies acquired without approval from the district technology department.   Devices may include but are not limited to computers, laptops, Chromebooks, printers, wireless routers.  Authorized district level IT staff has the right to confiscate any personally-owned devices.

    9. Employee should not open or distribute files or programs of unknown or untrusted origin.

    10. Employee is expected to take reasonable safeguards against the transmission of security threats over network resources.

    11. Employee shall not use technology resources for unauthorized disclosure of personal or student information protected by Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and/or La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:3914, for inappropriate contact with an employee or student, or for use and/or dissemination of personal identification or confidential information regarding any student or employee.  With proper permission from the Superintendent or his/her designee, an employee may send selected information in an encrypted form.

    12. Employee activity and files residing on IPSD’s technology resources will be treated as district property subject to control, inspection, and/or search by an IT system administrator.

    13. Employee is responsible for immediately reporting the improper use of district’s technology resources by others (employee or student) to an IT system administrator.

 

 

    1. Employee is expected to treat the device with extreme care and caution.  This includes, but is not limited to, no eating or drinking near the device, no loaning the device to family and friends, and maintaining functionality of antivirus.

    2. Employee use of the device shall be reserved for educational purposes and the conducting of business aspects of the school system.  Personal use is strictly prohibited.

    3. Employee shall abide by the same acceptable use policies when using the device off the district network as when on the district network.

    4. Employee shall immediately report any loss, damage, or malfunction of the device to school administration and submit a work order.  In the event of theft, a police report must be filed.  Employee may be financially accountable for any damage resulting from negligence or misuse.

    5. Employee must immediately return device to school administration when employment with the school districts ends.  Failure to do so will be considered theft and law enforcement agencies will be contacted.

    6. Employee is responsible for all activity generated from and all files residing on the device.  The employee is responsible for backing up his/her data.

    7. An IT system administrator has the right to monitor, track, and document the overall activity of the device.  This includes, but is not limited to, auditing the computer for usage, software installed, etc.

 

 

    1. Compliance with this agreement shall be a condition of employment.  Any employee who violates this agreement shall be subject to disciplinary action that may include suspension, termination, legal action and/or prosecution.

    2. The employee shall cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or relating to any illegal activities conducted over the district’s technology resources.

    3. The results of any investigation conducted under this policy shall be considered admissible evidence in any proceeding related to workers’ compensation or claims for unemployment compensation and in any other administrative proceeding, hearing or civil litigation when the inappropriate use of the district’s technology resources is relevant.  Action to discipline/terminate an employee under this agreement shall be subject to any due process hearing that may be required by law and/or School Board policy.

    4. Inappropriate use may require restitution for costs associated with system restoration, hardware, or software costs.

 

DISCLAIMER

 

The School Board’s technology network and computer system is provided on an “as is, as available” basis.  The School Board does not make any warranties, whether expressed or implied, including, without limitation, those of fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any services provided by the system and any information or software contained therein.  The School Board uses a variety of vendor-supplied hardware and software.  Therefore, the School Board does not warrant that the functions or services performed by, or that the information or software contained on the system will meet the user’s requirements.  Neither does the School Board warrant that the system will be uninterrupted or error-free, nor that defects will be corrected.

 

The School Board, its agents or employees shall not be responsible for any damage the employee may suffer occasioned by or arising out of the employee’s use of the technology resources, including, but not limited to, any loss of data or interruptions of service.  The School Board shall not be responsible for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through or stored on the network.  The School Board shall not be responsible for financial obligations that may arise through the unauthorized use of its resources.  The employee shall hold the School Board harmless for any losses sustained as the result of the use of any resources by the employee.

 

Opinions, advice, services, and all other information expressed by system users, information providers, service providers, or other third-party individuals are those of the providers and not necessarily the School Board.

 

The School Board shall cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or relating to misuse of the School Board’s technology resources.

 

Revised:  August 5, 2020

 

 

Ref:    20 USC 7131 (Internet Safety)

47 USC 254 (Children’s Internet Protection Act)

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:100.7, 17:280

Board minutes, 8-5-20

 

Iberia Parish School Board