Staff Acceptable Use Policy

Sussex County Charter School for Technology Acceptable Use Policy Faculty & Staff September, 2009 Access to Electronic Media and other Technologies Terms and Conditions REASONS FOR PROVIDING ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RESOURCES The Sussex County Charter School for Technology (SCCST) feels that technology is a valuable teaching tool that should be utilized whenever possible to enhance student learning and teacher/staff productivity. We encourage the use of all technologies and require they be used correctly and properly. Using the technology of today, we hope to help build our students’ futures. Telecommunications, electronic information services and networked services significantly alter the information landscape by opening schools, classrooms, and library media centers to a broader array of resources. NETWORK ACCESS AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES Sussex County Charter School for Technology network makes information and images available to students, teachers, and staff that would otherwise be impossible to access. Instructional strategies using these resources should include, but not limited to: research, communications, individual and group projects, collaboration, curriculum materials, and idea sharing. Decisions regarding student access to the SCCST Network should be based on the mission, goals, and objectives of the school. The use of technology resources should support and enrich the curriculum. RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOCAL TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES AND INTERNET USAGE Access is a privilege, not a right. Access entails responsibility. SITE RESPONSIBILITIES • The facility should not reveal staff’s personal identity or post a picture of a staff member or the staff’s work on the Internet with personally identifiable information unless they have signed the Acceptable Use Policy. • A proxy fileserver tracks the staff member’s activities on the Internet and is checked regularly with those who violate the agreement being subject to consequences. These logs are kept and may be viewed at any time. • Staff members are permitted to have an e-mail account. • Electronic mail is not guaranteed to be private. Authorized personnel can, and may be required sporadically, to scan electronic mail. • The facility will not be responsible for supervising or continually monitoring every communication and Internet session for every staff member beyond the scope of supervision defined in the user agreement. • Signed policies will be kept on file in staff’s personnel folder at the main office.

USER RESPONSIBILITIES

The network services are provided for educationally related communications, research, and other activities. Access to the Sussex County Charter School network services will be provided to users who agree to act in a considerate and responsible manner. •

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The use of your account should be in support of education and research and consistent with the educational objectives of SCCST. School access should not be used for private, business or personal, non-school related communications. Any electronic communication, outside of that provided by SCCST could be construed as inappropriate. Students will use appropriate educational websites that have been selected and documented in lesson plans and only perform Internet searches under direct supervision of a trained staff member. You may not give your password to any unauthorized person to access the Internet or any other network applications. You may not login on any other person’s user ID or password, including, but not limited to: Email, Network or Internet. Users should not reveal their name and personal information to or establish relationships with “strangers” on the Internet. You may not break in or attempt to break in to other computer networks. You may not create or share computer viruses. You may not destroy another person’s data. You may not monopolize the resources of the SCCST’s Network by doing such things as running large programs and applications over the network during the day, sending massive amounts of mail to other users, or using system resources for games or downloads. Transmission of any materials in violation of any U.S. or state regulation is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, copyrighted material, threatening, obscene or sexually explicit material, or material protected by trade secret. Use of product advertisement or political lobbying that is not consistent with the purpose of SCCST is inappropriate. Illegal activities are strictly prohibited. Copyrights must be respected. Copyrighted software and other instructional materials must not be copied or transferred to another except as provided under the license agreement or copyright notice. Authorship and/or publishers of information in electronic form must be appropriately acknowledged in writing and research (footnotes, bibliographies, etc.) Unauthorized publication of writings, photos, music or student created works is not permitted unless written consent is obtained. Users should notify a trained staff member of any violations of this acceptable use policy-taking place by other users or outside parties. This may be done anonymously. Any authorized staff member maintains the right at any time to randomly check the history of users to show where they have been on the Internet. You should expect only limited privacy in the contents of your personal files on the district system. You are not to participate in chat lines or instant messengers. You may not use social networking (MySpace, FaceBook, Chatrooms, etc.) to communicate with students over the internet. If a user discovers they are in an inappropriate web site, they will notify the technology coordinator immediately. A random check of where the users have been on the Internet will be conducted periodically. If it is discovered that the user did not report that he had been in an inappropriate web site, they will be subject to disciplinary action. Remember the computer keeps a record of the web sites you visit. Users should understand that information on the Internet is uncensored. This simply means that some of the information on the Internet may or may not be true. Information may also be one

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sided. When communicating with a student outside of the normal classroom, the following guidelines are to be followed: o Use School letterhead and mail any correspondence through your school’s office. o Use the school-provided email system to communicate electronically with a student only on school related matters. o Use of telephone is only acceptable when contacting parents/guardians first and relaying all communications through them. o School Messenger should be used to record messages for students involved in extracurricular activities. Information about this system can be obtained from the school’s office.

Electronic Mail Regulations • • • • • • • • • •

Do not send or attach documents containing pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit material. Do not use electronic mail for communications that are not directly related to instruction, sanctioned school activities, or a person’s job. Do not use electronic mail, for instance, for private business or personal, non-work related communications. Do not access, copy, or transmit another’s message without permission Use appropriate language. Do not use obscene, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful language. Restrictions against inappropriate language apply to public messages, private messages, and materials posted on Web pages. Do not reveal your personal address or phone number of students or colleagues. Electronic mail is not guaranteed to be private. People who operate the system do have access to all mail and it may be monitored periodically. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities will be reported to the authorities. No web based E-mail may be accessed (Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, Instant Messenger, etc.) on SCCST network. Do not post information that could cause damage or a danger of disruption. Do not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks. Do not harass another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person. If you are told by a person to stop sending messages, you must stop.

Telecommunication Devices •

CELLULAR TELEPHONES AND PAGERS o Employees will be allowed to use cellular phones and pagers during planning time or lunch breaks in accordance with the following guidelines:  Cell phones are not to be used in the presence of students.  Cell phone usage will not be permitted during instruction time.  Cell phones are to be turned off during instructional time unless a land line is not available.  Administrative and office staff may set their cell phones to silent or vibrate before entering a school. If a call is received while at a school, s/he will immediately move to a private area to take the call.  Cell phones are allowed on field trips by teachers for communication between buses and in case of emergency.  Cellular phones should never be used by anyone who is in the process transporting children. If an emergency arises while students are being transported, the driver must stop the vehicle before using a cellular phone.

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Text messaging is not permitted for communicating with students due to the lack of parental/guardian supervision.

CONSEQUENCES OF VIOLATIONS/SCHOOL YEAR A-1st Offense Supervisor will have a conversation with employee and incident will be written up. B-2nd Offense Employee will be given a written reprimand. This will be put in their permanent record. C-3rd Offense The cell phone will be confiscated and taken to the Principal. The employee will then make arrangements with the Principal to pick the cell phone up. • SCHOOL TELEPHONES School telephones are to be used during the school day only for school purposes; personal calls should be kept at a minimum, especially during instructional time. School telephones are to be used in accordance with the following guidelines: o Incoming calls to teachers will be received at the front office where the teaching schedule will guide how the call is delivered. Except for emergencies, if the call arrives during instructional time, a message will be taken and the teacher will be directed to return the call. o Staff may use internal extensions to communicate instructional concerns. Teacher should not receive internal calls during instructional time. o If any employee places an emergency (911) call, s/he should notify the front office immediately. o Long-distance calling should be restricted to planning time and must be limited to school business. o All parents should be notified as to how to reach a teacher and when is the most appropriate time. • TWO-WAY RADIOS Employees are expected to use two-way radios in a professional manner with utmost concern for privacy and confidentiality for each student and staff member. A student’s name should never be used except in case of emergency. Users of two-way radios are to use appropriate tones and respectful language when addressing other employees. Responsibility for Damages: Individuals shall reimburse the Board for repair or replacement of school property lost, stolen, damaged, or vandalized while under their care. Disregard of Rules: Authorized or unauthorized users who are in violation of District rules governing the use of District technology shall be subject to the immediate restriction or loss of network privileges including, but not limited to, the Internet and may be eliminated from future access. If the violation is of such a nature that Board and/or school policy or other legal conditions are violated, additional actions(s) may be taken by the appropriate school authority according to Board and/or policies.

Acceptable Use Policy Faculty/Staff Form 2009-2010 I have read the above information about the appropriate use of all technology related equipment and programs at the Sussex County Charter School for Technology, including the use of cell phones e-mail and the Internet, and I will abide by the rules set forth in this document. Further, I consent to the consequences of violations as set forth in this document. I understand this agreement will be kept on file at the facility as a legal and binding document. User Name (print): ___________________________________ User Signature: _______________________________________ Date: ________________________________________________ I understand that from time-to-time the school may wish to publish staff member’s names along with examples of projects, photographs of staff, and other work on an Internet accessible world-wide web server, in the local newspapers or on video. Please select one the following by placing a check mark in the blank: _______My name and work along with photographs and videos can be published on any of the above listed media forms. ______I would prefer that my name and work/pictures not be published on the Internet, in the newspaper, or on television. User Name (print): ___________________________________ User Signature: _______________________________________ Date: __________________________________________ ______