General User Policy

Approved by Board action on March 14, 2002

A. Purpose

1. Richmond County Board of Education is providing employees and students with access to the District's electronic communication system, which includes Internet access. 

2.  The purpose of the District system is to assist in preparing students for success in life and work in the 21st century by providing them with electronic access to a wide range of information and the ability to communicate with people from throughout the world. Additionally, the system will be used to increase District intracommunication, enhance productivity, and assist District employees in upgrading their skills through greater exchange of educational information with their peers. The District system will also assist the District in sharing information with the local community, including parents, social service agencies, government agencies, and businesses.

3. Users may not use the District system for commercial purposes, defined as offering or providing goods or services or purchasing goods or services for personal use. District acquisition policies will be followed for District purchase of goods or services through the District system.

4. Users may not use the system for political lobbying, as defined by Richmond County Board of Education. For educational purposes District employees and students may use the system to communicate with their elected representatives and to express their opinion on political issues.

5. The term "educational purpose" includes use of the system for classroom activities and professional or career development.

6. Employees shall comply with the Uniform Code of Ethics for Educators set forth by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.

B. District Responsibilities

1. The Richmond County Board of Education Director of Educational Media and Technology will serve as the coordinator to oversee the District system and will work with other regional or state organizations as necessary.

2. The building principal will serve as the building-level coordinator for the District system, will approve building-level activities, ensure teachers receive proper training in the use of the system and the requirements of this policy, establish a system to ensure adequate supervision of employees using the system, maintain executed user agreements, and be responsible for interpreting the District Acceptable Use Policy at the building level.

3. The Richmond County Board of Education Director of Educational Media and Technology and the Director of Data Processing will establish a process for setting-up individual accounts, set quotas for disk usage on the system, establish a retention schedule, establish a District virus protection process, and other activities.

4. At Least annually, school level and departmental level administrators shall review this policy with all staff members and obtain written confirmation that this policy was discussed.

C. Technical Services Provided through District System

1. E-mail. E-mail will allow employees to communicate with people from throughout the world. Users will also be able to subscribe to listservs to engage in group discussions related to educational subjects.

2. World Wide Web. The Web provides access to a wide range of information in the form of text, graphics, photographs, video, and sound, from throughout the world. The Web is a valuable research tool for students and employees.

3. Telnet. Telnet allows the user to log in to remote computers.

4. File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP allows users to download large files and computer software.

5. Newsgroups. Newsgroups are discussion groups that are similar to maillists. The District will provide access to selected newsgroups that relate to subjects that are appropriate to the educational purpose of the system.

6. Chat. Chat provides the capability of engaging in "real-time" discussions, such as "The Jason Project". The District will provide access to Chat only for specifically defined educational activities.

7. Blocking software. The District will maintain software designed to block access to certain sites.

D. Access to the System

1. The District's Acceptable Use Policy, set forth in Section K will govern all use of the District system. 

2. World Wide Web. All District employees will have access to the Web through the District's networked computers. The agreement required would be guidelines stated in Section K: The District's Acceptable Use Policy.

3. Individual E-mail Accounts for District Employees. District employees may access  individual e-mail accounts through free accounts or issued accounts from Data Processing. The agreement for using these accounts during school hours will be the same as outlined in Section K the District's Acceptable Use Policy for using the Internet.

4. Guest Accounts. Guests may receive an individual account with the approval of a District administrator if there is a specific, District-related purpose requiring such access. Use of the system by a guest must be specifically limited to the District-related purpose. The agreement for using these accounts will be the same as outlined in Section K: the District's Acceptable Use Policy for using the Internet.

E. District Limitation of Liability

1. The District makes no warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied, that the functions or the services provided by or through the District system will be error-free or without defect. The District will not be responsible for any damage users may suffer, including but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service. The District is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through or stored on the system. The District will not be responsible for financial obligations arising through the unauthorized use of the system.

F. Due Process

1. The District will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or relating to any illegal activities conducted through the District system.

2. In the event there is an allegation that an employee has violated the District Acceptable Use Policy, the employee will be provided with a written notice of the alleged violation and an opportunity to present an explanation before the Superintendent of Schools or his designee. The Superintendent may discipline employees in accordance with his authority and local policies and procedures. Certified employees shall have such due process rights as are provided by the grievance policy and the laws of the State of Georgia.

3. Employee violations of the District Acceptable Use Policy will be handled in accord with Richmond County Board of Education District policy.

4. The District administrator may terminate the account privileges of a guest user by providing notice to the user. Guest accounts not active for more than 30 days may be removed, along with the user's files without notice to the user.

G. Search and Seizure

1. System users have a limited privacy expectation in the contents of their personal files on the District system.

2. Periodic maintenance and monitoring of the system may lead to discovery that the user has or is violating the District Acceptable Use Policy, the Richmond County Board of Education code of conduct, or the law.

3. An individual search will be conducted if there is reasonable suspicion that a user has violated the law or the Richmond County Board of Education discipline procedures, code of ethics or the law. The nature of the investigation will be reasonable and in the context of the nature of the alleged violation.

4. District employees should be aware that their personal files are discoverable under Georgia state public records laws.

H. Copyright and Plagiarism

1. District policies on copyright will govern the use of material accessed through the District system. Because the extent of copyright protection of certain works found on the Internet is unclear, employees will make a standard practice of requesting permission from the holder of the work if their use of the material has the potential of being considered an infringement. Teachers will instruct students to respect copyright and to request permission when appropriate.

2. District policies on plagiarism will govern use of material accessed through the District system. Teachers will instruct students in appropriate research and citation practices.

I. Academic Freedom, Selection of Material, Student Rights to Free Speech

1. Board policies on Academic Freedom and Free Speech will govern the use of the Internet.

2. When using the Internet for class activities, teachers will select material that is appropriate in light of the age of the students and that is the relevant to the course objectives. Teachers will preview the materials and sites they require or recommend students access to determine the appropriateness of the material contained on or accessed through the site. Teachers will provide guidelines and lists of resources to assist their students in channeling their research activities effectively and properly. Teachers will assist their students in developing the skills to ascertain the truthfulness of information, distinguish fact from opinion, and engage in discussions about controversial issues while demonstrating tolerance and respect for those who hold divergent views.

J. District Web Site

1. District Web Site. The District will maintain a Web site and links that will present information concerning the Richmond County Board of Education system and pertinent educational resources.  The Webmaster, appointed by the Director of Educational Media and Technology, will be responsible for maintaining the District Web site. Departments will be responsible for maintaining their Web information and make quarterly updates. Web information may be updated more frequently if necessary.

2. School Web Pages. Schools may establish Web pages that present information about the school activities. The building principal will designate an individual to be responsible for managing the school Web site. The principal, or his/her designee, is responsible for the appropriateness/accuracy of content and the continuous review of the pages. Principals will give final approval before posting.

3. Extracurricular Organization Web Pages. With the approval of the building principal, extracurricular organizations may establish Web pages. The principal will establish a process and criteria for the establishment and posting of material, including pointers to other sites, on these pages. The principal, or his/her designee, is responsible for the appropriateness/accuracy of content and the continuous review of the pages.

K. District Acceptable Use Policy

The following uses of the District system are considered unacceptable:

1. Illegal Activities

a. Users will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the District system or to any other computer system through the District System, or go beyond their authorized access. This includes attempting to log in through another person's account or access another person's files. These actions are illegal, even if only for the purposes of "browsing".

b. Users will not make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system performance or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means. 

c. Users will not use the District system to engage in any other illegal act or criminal activity, such as arranging for a drug sale or the purchase of alcohol, weapons or pornographic paraphernalia, threatening the safety of a person, or persons, and sexual harassment...

d. Users will not download any internet sites that contain illegal activities or content that may bring embarrassment to the Richmond County Board of Education.

2. System Security

a. Users are responsible for the use of their individual account and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use their account. Under no conditions should a user provide their password to another person.

b. Users will immediately notify their building principal, who in turn will notify Richmond County Board of Education's system administrator if they have identified a possible security problem. Users will not go looking for security problems, because this may be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access.

c. Users will avoid the inadvertent spread of computer viruses by insuring that virus protection software is installed and updated routinely. 

3. Inappropriate Language

a. Restrictions against Inappropriate Language apply to public messages, private messages, and material posted on Web pages.

b. Users will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful language.

c. Users will not post information that, if acted upon, could cause damage or a danger of disruption.

d. Users will not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks.

e. Users will not harass another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person. If a user is told by a person to stop sending them messages, they must stop.

f. Users will not knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or organization.

4. Respect for Privacy: Users will not post private information about another person.

5. Respecting Resource Limits.

a. Users will use the system only for educational and professional career development activities recognizing appropriate time considerations. Sites are to represent high-quality content. 

b. Users will not download large size files unless absolutely necessary. If necessary, users will download the file at a time when the system is not being heavily used and immediately remove the file from the system computer to their personal computer.

c. Users will not post chain letters or engage in "spamming". Spamming is sending an annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people.

d. Users will check their e-mail frequently, delete unwanted messages promptly, and stay within their designated e-mail quota.

e. Users will subscribe only to high quality discussion group maillists that are relevant to their education or professional/career development.

f. Users will not send email for the purpose of personal advertising, soliciting or selling.

g. Users email content, must comply with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission's Uniform Code of Ethics for Educators.

6. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement

a. 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 original to the user.

b. Users will respect the rights of copyright owners. 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 they can use a work, they should request permission from the copyright owner.

7. Inappropriate Access to Material

a. Users will not use the District system to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography), that advocates illegal acts, or that advocates violence or discrimination towards other people (hate literature). District employees may access the above material only in the context of legitimate research.

b. If a user inadvertently accesses such information, they should immediately disclose the inadvertent access in a manner specified by their school. This will protect users against an allegation that they have intentionally violated the Acceptable Use Policy.