FILE:  EFA

Cf:  GAMIA, GBRA, IFBGA

COMPUTER AND INTERNET USE FOR EMPLOYEES

The Bossier Parish School Board shall authorize the Superintendent and staff to establish appropriate guidelines for exploring and using Internet resources within the school district to enhance learning and teaching activities.  Acceptable use of these resources shall be consistent with the philosophy, goals, and objectives of the Bossier Parish School Board.  Any employee who wishes to use school district computers, including the Internet and/or e-mail services, shall abide by all district regulations.

The School Board shall incorporate the use of computer-related technology or the use of Internet service provider technology designed to block access or exposure to any harmful materials or information, such as sites that contain obscene, pornographic, pervasively vulgar, excessively violent, or sexually harassing information or material.  Sites which contain information on the manufacturing of bombs or other incendiary devices shall also be prohibited.  However, the School Board does 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 Board.

INTERNET USAGE

Any use of the Internet that adversely affects its operation in pursuit of teaching and learning or jeopardizes its use or performance for other community members is prohibited and may result in loss of Internet privileges, suspension or other appropriate disciplinary action.  The provisions of this policy shall also apply to the use of private e-mail accounts when access is attained using School Board equipment or networks and to access attained through any authorized personal digital device while on School Board property.  The Bossier Parish School Board does not condone the use of the Internet for any illegal or inappropriate activities and shall not be responsible for any such use by staff or students.

The School Board may suspend or terminate any privilege to use the Internet at any time solely at the School Board's discretion.  Any policies and/or regulations of the School Board defining use of the Internet serve as guidelines but do not warrant or guarantee access to or use of the Internet.  Consequently, the School Board may, at any time and in its sole discretion, end the privilege of any individual to use the Internet without notice, cause, or reason.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Faculty and staff use of school computers or the Internet shall be reserved for academic purposes and the conducting of business aspects of the school system.  All personnel using school computers or a computer network located on school property, or computers accessing the Internet shall be accountable for their use.  Teacher or class files on the network shall be treated as district property subject to control and inspection by School Board personnel.  Access codes or passwords shall be kept on file in a secured location by the principal or his/her designee in case an inspection is warranted. Use of the Internet and/or any computers shall be considered a privilege and any inappropriate use may result in appropriate disciplinary action and loss of privileges to use district computers or the Internet.

UNAUTHORIZED AND ILLEGAL USE

Faculty and staff shall not be under direct supervision but must abide by School Board policy. Tampering with selection menus, procedures, or icons for the purpose of misleading or confusing other users shall be prohibited.  Any use by any person of the district's internal network that incurs expenses to the school other than the monthly user fees and rates shall be strictly prohibited.  Furthermore, the computer system shall not be used for commercial, political or religious purposes.

Use of the network for any illegal activities shall also be prohibited.  Illegal activities may include such actions as (a) tampering with computer hardware or software, (b) unauthorized entry into computers and files (hacking), (c) knowledgeable vandalism or destruction of equipment, and (d) deletion of computer files.  Such activity is considered a crime under state and federal law.

SECURITY

Teachers and personnel who have computers in their charge shall be responsible for the security of those computers in terms of both hardware and software.  Computers must be secured such that students acting without the consent or supervision of a teacher or administrator cannot enter the system or the Internet.

REGULATIONS FOR COMPUTER USE

The following regulations, terms, and conditions for the use of computers and other technology equipment and the School Board’s network and Internet resources are not all-inclusive, but are only representative and illustrative.  A user who commits an act of misconduct or inappropriateness which is not listed may also be subject to disciplinary action or suspension, or termination, or be subject to appropriate criminal or civil prosecution.

1. The user shall abide by such laws, policies, regulations, and procedures concerning technology use within the schools.
   
   

2. In general, employees are expected to communicate in a professional manner consistent with state laws governing the behavior of school employees and with federal laws governing copyright.  Electronic mail and telecommunications are not to be utilized for unauthorized disclosure, inappropriate contact with employees or students, use and dissemination of personal identification or confidential information regarding any student or employee.

1. 1. Employees shall not post any e-mail or other messages or materials on school or district networks or the Internet that are indecent, vulgar, lewd, slanderous, abusive, threatening, sexually harassing, or terrorizing, or considered inappropriate by Board standards.
      
      

   2. Employees shall not abuse or waste network resources through frivolous and non-educational use or send chain letters or annoying unnecessary letters to large numbers of people.

3. The Bossier Parish School Board reserves the right to review any stored record files or programs to which users have access and shall edit or remove any material which the School Board, through its Superintendent, or his/her designee, believes is in violation of its policies and procedures.  As a user of the School Board's technology and networks, including but not limited to the Internet, the user shall consent to the monitoring, access and review by the Superintendent or his/her designee of any stored electronic communications, including but not limited to E-mail transmission.
   
   

4. Any software not created by the user is copyrighted.  A user shall not copy or distribute copyrighted or proprietary material without the written consent of the copyright holder nor violate copyright or patent laws or the license concerning computer software, documentation or other tangible assets.
   
   

5. The user shall not install any software without consent from the appropriate supervisor.
   
   

6. In consideration for the privilege of using the system, the user shall release the Bossier Parish School Board from any and all claims arising from the use/inability to use the technology systems and networks.
   
   

7. The user shall agree to indemnify the Bossier Parish School Board for any loss suffered to the Board by reason of improper use of the system, and to compensate anyone harmed by the improper use of the system.
   
   

8. The information provided through the technology systems and networks shall be offered as a service and shall not be a substitute for individual professional consultation.
   
   

9. The proper use of any user ID/password which may be assigned is the ultimate responsibility of the individual whose name it has been assigned.  User ID's and passwords are not to be shared under any circumstances.
   
   

10. The use of technology is a privilege which may be revoked any time for any violation of laws, policies and procedures.  The Superintendent shall decide what is inappropriate use and such decision shall be final.  Such violations would include, but not be limited to,

1. • participation in network activities that place a strain on computer resources

   • the placing of unlawful information on the system      

   • commercial use of the system

   • political lobbying

   • the use of obscene, abusive, harassing or otherwise objectionable language in either public or private messages

   • contact by electronic communications with students or employees that would be considered unacceptable in content by a reasonable person

   • vandalism

   • theft

   • e-mail, chat rooms, and sites involving or which access visual depictions that are obscene, pornographic, or harmful to minors  information regarding the manufacture of bombs or other incendiary devices are expressly forbidden.

   • willful introduction of a computer virus, worm, or other harmful program to any computer or network

   • downloading non-work related files or accessing or downloading files from sites delivering streaming audio or video

11. No personal or student information which is protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act shall be disseminated on or through the School Board's technology systems and networks, including but not limited to the Internet.
    
    

12. The above acceptable use practices are not all-inclusive, but are only representative and illustrative.  A user who commits an act of misconduct, which is not listed, may also be subject to disciplinary action or termination.

CONSEQUENCES OF INAPPROPRIATE USE

The use of the Internet is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use may result in the temporary or permanent cancellation of that privilege and/or other disciplinary action (including suspension, expulsion, or legal action) as deemed appropriate by administration, faculty, and staff.  Inappropriate use of the network may also result in legal action and/or prosecution, and may require restitution for costs associated with system restoration, hardware, or software costs.

No information on the network (including email and personal files) is guaranteed to be private.  Information relating to or in support of illegal activities must be reported to the authorities.

Users bringing illegal and/or inappropriate materials onto the network shall be subject to disciplinary action.

DISCLAIMER

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

The School Board will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or relating to misuse of the School Board’s computer systems and networks.  

Ref:    20 USC 7131 (Internet Safety)

47 USC 254 (Children’s Internet Protection Act)

La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:100.7

Bossier Parish School Board