Red River Parish School District
P.O. Box 1369 — 1922 Alonzo Street — Coushatta, LA 71019
(318) 932-4081— FAX (318) 932-3081
Acceptable Use Policy
for
Red River Parish Computer
System and the Internet
RATIONALE
In
an effort to provide students and faculty with the vast resources accessible
through a computerized information resource system such as the Internet, the
Red River Parish School District believes it is necessary for all users to
become aware of an acceptable use policy.
The benefit of having access to resources from all over the world must
be weighed against objectionable materials found on the Internet. In essence we must balance value with
liability.
It
is the policy of the Red River Parish School District to maintain an
environment that promotes ethical and responsible conduct in all online network
activities by staff and students. It
shall be a violation of this policy for any employee or student to engage in
any activity that does not conform to the established purpose and general rules
and policies of the network.
All
network users will be granted free and equal access to as many network services
as their technology hardware allows.
Exploration of the Internet is encouraged within the bounds of the Red
River Parish mission statement.
The
use of the Red River Parish School District’s network is a privilege, not a
right, and inappropriate use will result in cancellation of that privilege.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Use
of school computers or the Red River Parish Computer System (RRPCS) will be
reserved for academic or administrative use.
All users using a school computer, RRPCS [including the Principal’s
Administrative Management System (PAMS)] located on school property, or
computers accessing the Internet through the RRPCS will be held accountable for
their use. This includes, but is not
limited to, (a) unauthorized use resulting in expense to the school or school
system; (b) equipment damage; (c) use of unauthorized software; (d) privacy and
copyrights; (e) tampering; (f) accessing obscene, pornographic, child
pornography, any material deemed “harmful to minors”, or any materials
otherwise inappropriate for educational uses; (g) sending or soliciting
inflammatory, abusive, harassing, vulgar, or obscene messages or language; and
(h) any action that is deemed inappropriate by the supervisory personnel. Files on the network (RRPCS) will be treated
as district property subject to control and inspection, rather than private
property which cannot be searched without just cause. Access codes and passwords will be assigned by the RRPCS
administrator. The Principal and/or
his/her designee will keep records of these accounts in case an inspection is
warranted.
UNAUTHORIZED AND ILLEGAL USE
Students must be under
the supervision of a teacher, monitor, principal, librarian, or supervisor
while using the RRPCS or any school computer.
Faculty and staff must be prudent while using the RRPCS or any school
computer. Direct supervision for
faculty and staff will not be required.
Tampering
with selection menus, procedures, or icons for the purpose of misleading or
confusing other users is prohibited.
Any use of the RRPCS by any person that incurs expenses to the school or
school system other than the regular monthly fees and rates is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, the RRPCS will not be used for
commercial, political, or religious purposes.
Use
of the RRPCS for any hacking or illegal activities is prohibited. Hacking or illegal activity includes but is
not limited to (a) tampering with computer hardware and software, (b)
unauthorized entry into computers and files, (c) knowledgeable vandalism or
destruction of equipment, and (d) deletion of computer files. Such activity is considered a crime under
state and federal law.
If
an account system is used, users will have full responsibility for the use of
their account. All violations of this
policy that can be traced to an individual account name will be treated as the
sole responsibility of the owner of that account. Under no conditions should an account code or password be given
to another user. Impersonations,
pseudonyms, and anonymity is not permitted.
Real names must be used.
COPYRIGHTS AND PRIVACY
All
users must adhere to copyright rules regarding software, authorship, and
copying information. The unauthorized
copying or transfer of copyrighted materials may result in the loss of network
privileges. All software is distributed
with a license, which governs its use.
Most licenses allow for the copying of the original media (disks or cd-roms)
for backup purposes only and for the installation of the software on only one
computer. If the software is to be
installed on additional computers, additional licenses or original copies of
the program must be obtained. If
additional licenses or original copies are not obtained, the software must be
deleted off the first computer before being installed on a second
computer. Users are NOT to bring
software from home to school, to install software on school computers without
permission, and to violate software copyrights & licenses.
Re-posting
personal communications without the original author’s prior consent is
prohibited. To do this is a violation
of the author’s privacy. However, all
messages posted in a public forum such as newsgroups or listservs (a means of
broadcasting an E-mail message for the purpose of maintaining a discussion
list) may be copied in subsequent communications, so long as proper credit is
given. All E-mail must be deleted as
soon as possible after reading in order to conserve file space.
Users
are not to access information and files belonging to other staff members,
teachers, or students. This includes
grades, counseling information, schedules, discipline records, transcripts,
test scores, health records, special education records, E-mail, word processing
files, and any information protected by law [R.S. 17:1941 and Section 438, PL
93-380].
To
protect the online privacy of minors in accordance with the Children’s Internet
Privacy Act (CIPA), students shall not disclose personal information, such as
name, school, address, and telephone number outside of the school network,
specifically on the Internet.
INSTALLING PRANK SOFTWARE & VIRUSES
No software is to be
added without the permission of the administration.
Avoid the knowing and
inadvertent spread of computer viruses.
“Computer Viruses” are programs that have been developed as pranks, and
can destroy valuable programs and data.
To reduce the risk of spreading a computer virus, do not import files or
programs from home or from unknown or disreputable sources. If you do obtain software or files from
remote sources, follow proper procedures to check for viruses before use. All disks should be scanned for viruses
before each use on the RRPCS. State and
federal law consider deliberate attempts to degrade or disrupt the RRPCS or the
performance of the network or any spreading of computer viruses to be criminal
activity.
OBJECTIONABLE MATERIALS
Profanity
or obscenity will not be tolerated on the network. All users should use language appropriate for school situations
as indicated by school rules and codes of conduct. Avoid offensive or inflammatory speech. The rights of others must be respected both in the local network
and the Internet at large. Personal
attacks are an unacceptable use of the network. If you are the victim of a “flame”, a harsh critical or abusive
statement, bring the incident to the attention of an administrator. It is usually better not to respond. Furthermore, retrieving and/or viewing
pornographic or obscene materials will not be allowed.
ENFORCEMENT OF POLICY
- Red River Parish School District uses a technology protection
measure that blocks or filters Internet access to block access to some
Internet sites that are not in accordance with the policy of Red River
Parish School District.
- The technology protection measure that blocks or filters Internet
access may be disabled by a Red River Parish School District staff member
for bona fide research purposes by an adult.
- A Red River Parish School District staff member may override the
technology protection measure that blocks or filters Internet access for a
student to access a site with legitimate educational value that is wrongly
blocked by the technology protection measure that blocks or filters Internet
access.
- Red River Parish School District staff will monitor students' use
of the Internet, through either direct supervision, or by monitoring
Internet use history, to ensure enforcement of the policy.
Any violation of school policy and rules may result
in loss of school-provided access to the Internet. Additional disciplinary action may be determined in keeping with
existing procedures and practices regarding inappropriate language or behavior. When and where applicable, law enforcement
agencies may be involved.
This policy may be amended by the school district or
school to include further restrictions in order to meet special needs, provided
that school board policy is not violated.
Approved by Red River Parish School Board on the 4th
day of September 2001.
RED RIVER PARISH PUBLIC SCHOOLS
P.O. Box 1369 — 1922 Alonzo Street — Coushatta, LA 71019
(318) 932-4081 — FAX (318) 932-3081
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY SIGNATURE FORM
I (as the user or student, parent/guardian, and
teacher) have been provided a copy and I have read the district’s policy and
regulations concerning use of the school’s computers and RED RIVER PARISH
COMPUTER SYSTEM (RRPCS). I understand
that some materials available through external computer networks may be
inappropriate and objectionable; however, I acknowledge that it is impossible
for the district to screen or review all of the materials. I accept responsibility to abide by the
standards written in the district’s policy for appropriate and acceptable use
when using the RRPCS or any other electronic media or communications. In addition, I agree to release any Red
River Parish School, the Board of Education, its agents, and employees, who
while acting in an official capacity, from any and all claims of any nature
arising from my use or the use by those under my supervision of the RRPCS in
any manner whatsoever, unless negligence is shown in a court of law.
STUDENT OR USER: I
have read and agree to abide by the terms of the Red River Parish School
District Acceptable Use Policy. I
further understand that any violation of school policy and rules may result in
loss of school-provided access to the Internet. Additional disciplinary action may be determined in keeping with
existing procedures and practices regarding inappropriate language or behavior. When and where applicable, law enforcement
agencies may be involved.
________________________________________________ __________________
User’s Signature (Student or Faculty) Date
PARENT OR GUARDIAN: I
have read the Red River Parish Acceptable Use Policy and have discussed it with
the above student. I understand that
access to the computer network is designed for educational purposes. Although the Red River Parish School
District has taken precautions to eliminate controversial material, I
understand that it is impossible for the district to eliminate access to all
controversial materials. I will not
hold the district responsible for materials acquired on the network. Further, I accept full responsibility for
supervising the above student when my child’s use of the computer network is
not in a school setting. I hereby give
permission to issue an account to my child and certify that the information
contained on this and/or the application form is correct.
________________________________________________ __________________
Parent/Guardian’s Signature (Required for all Students) Date
TEACHER: I have read
the Red River Parish Acceptable Use Policy and have discussed it with the above
student. I agree to supervise the above
student’s use of the computer network as defined by the Acceptable Use Policy
while the student is in my class(es).
________________________________________________ __________________
Teacher’s
Signature (Required for all Students) Date