ACCEPTABLE
USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Policy Statement
All users of the Eastern School Board’s information
and communications technology (ICT) systems must agree to conform to specific
parameters and guidelines with respect to the acceptable usage of these ICT
systems, as defined under Administrative Regulations.
Rationale
The Eastern School Board invests significant resources
in the purchase, development and utilization of ICT for both the delivery of
education and the administrative efficiency of Board operations. The Board’s
ICT network and the services offer valuable learning experiences for students
as well as resources for trustees, teachers, and other Board personnel.
However, there are also potential hazards inherent in Internet access. Similar
to other modes of communication, there are opportunities for individuals to
create and distribute inappropriate materials and to conduct themselves in ways
that are unacceptable. This Acceptable Use Policy acts as a contract between
the user and the Eastern School Board. It defines access privileges, rules of
online behaviour, and the consequences for violating
those rules.
Scope
Eastern School Board systems are made available on a
needs basis as determined by the CEO/Director of Education to all trustees,
employees, students, and other selected authorized persons. Consequently all
users of Eastern School Board ICT systems are impacted by this policy and it
applies whether access to the Eastern School Board ICT system is gained from
inside or outside of the Board’s facilities. The ICT infrastructure will be
administered by the Manager of Information Technology under the authority of
the Administrative Council. All users must sign an Acceptable Use Agreement.
Definitions
The Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) System refers to computers which are operating as stand-alone
units or connected via cabling and/or wireless technology, as well as any other
devices which may be attached to this network infrastructure. The broad term network
refers to all interconnected devices and associated software
systems; in the context of this policy, this includes electronic mail and World
Wide Web browsing. The term user will mean a trustee, employee,
or student of the Eastern School Board, or any other person authorized by the
CEO/Director of Education to use the network. School ICT systems will be
treated as synonymous with the Board ICT System as all school network
facilities and equipment are legally owned by the Board.
Procedures
The development of Administrative Regulations
regarding Acceptable Use of Information and Communications Technology will
be the responsibility of the Director of Education or his / her designate. The
Administrative Regulations will be reviewed annually by the Director of
Education or his / her designate in consultation with Administrative Council
and the Regional Administrative Councils.
ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATIONS
Regulations
1. Access to, and use of,
Board ICT services shall only be granted to authorized persons. Users are
personally responsible for all activity that occurs within their
password-protected account.
2. The Eastern School Board, its schools and agents,
have the right, but not the obligation, to monitor all computer use (both
student and adult) to ensure compliance with the regulations and expectations
set forth in this policy. All users are advised that computer systems are the
Board’s property and may be inspected or monitored at any time without prior
notice if misuse is suspected.
3. Prior to issuing access to students, each school
which offers Internet access to their students will clearly communicate with
students and parents the purpose, benefits, and risks associated with the use
of Internet resources.
3.1. Parents/guardians must sign the Acceptable Use
Agreement before students may be granted Internet access.
3.2. The Principal or designate shall ensure all
signed Acceptable Use Agreements are kept on file at the school.
4. Effective searching on the Internet is a skill – as
such it is expected different grades will have different levels of access.
4.1 Primary students (k-3) MUST be monitored
closely by a teacher or other designated adult and shall only access
the Internet through “bookmarked” sites that have been examined and approved by
their teachers.
4.2 Elementary students shall primarily access
the Internet through “bookmarked” sites that have been examined and approved by
their teachers. On occasions when elementary students are conducting Internet
searches that are not bookmarked, they must be monitored
directly by a teacher or other designated adult at a ratio of 5 students
(recommended maximum) per monitor.
4.3 Intermediate and high school students are taught
the searching skills required to help ensure only appropriate sites are found;
however, searches must be under the supervision of a teacher or other
designated adult,
4.4 At any grade level, should inappropriate
content/websites appear on the screen, students should close the browser and
inform their teacher or other supervising adult of the incident immediately.
5. When interacting with other users on the Board
network and/or Internet, students are expected to behave as they would in any other environment where
they represent their school/Board. It is important that students conduct
themselves in a responsible, ethical, and polite manner in accordance with the
standards of the Board.
6. Student Pictures with identifying names shall
not be posted on school web pages.
6.1. If student pictures are to be used, it is the
responsibility of the school to obtain prior permission, in writing, from the
student’s parents/guardians.
6.2. Schools shall not post any student bibliographic
information to the Internet.
6.3. Students should not agree to meet with someone
they have met online without a parent’s/guardian’s consent; a parent/guardian
should accompany their son/daughter if a meeting is consented.
7. The Eastern School Board’s networks are intended
for educational purposes. Reasonable recreational and other personal uses shall
be allowed, provided such use does not interfere with educational use or
contravene articles of this policy.
8. Using the Board’s network and/or the Internet for
illegal, obscene, harassing or inappropriate purposes, or in support of such
activities, is prohibited. Inappropriate use of network services includes, but
is not limited to, the following:
8.1. Transmitting any material in violation of
Canadian laws;
8.2. Duplicating, storing, or transmitting
pornographic materials;
8.3. Transmitting or post threatening, abusive,
obscene or harassing material;
8.4. Unlawful duplicating, storing, or transmitting
copyrighted material;
8.5. Using web or video audio players to download
audio or video from the Internet unless for education purposes; students also
must have prior approval by their teacher;
8.6. Using network share programs, e.g. Napster;
8.7 Using the Board’s network for personal commercial,
financial, or political purposes or other personal gain.
8.8. Installing software of any type onto computers
without the direct permission of the local network administrator.
9. Individuals may not violate, or attempt to violate,
the security of the school’s computers, data or network equipment or services.
Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with
other computer systems may be denied access to the Board’s network and
services. In particular users must not:
9.8.1. Attempt to gain unauthorized access to
school/other’s data,
9.8.2. Attempt to vandalize the Board’s systems,
9.8.3. Use another individual’s password-protected account,
9.8.4. Share password(s) with others,
9.8.5. Distribute or use anyone’s
else’s account name and password,
9.8.6. Use abusive, vulgar, profane, obscene,
harassing, or other inappropriate language,
9.8.7. Post chain letters or engage in “spamming”,
9.8.8. Re-post personal electronic mail received to
public forums (e.g. list servers, newsgroups) without the permission of the
author,
9.8.9. Reveal anyone else’s personal address, phone
number, or picture,
9.9. Harass individuals,
9.10. Engage in any other “hacking” activities not
explicitly listed herein. Hacking is broadly defined as attempting to access, modify,
or damage data/equipment owned by the Board, or other machines/networks that
are connected to the Board, including Internet sites. This includes, but is not
limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses.
10. Network administrators have the ability to grant
access to the Board systems; the following regulations govern this role:
10.1 The principal may designate a teaching staff
member(s) as network administrator(s) for their school.
10.2 The number of persons with network administrative
rights must be limited to the minimum required for efficient operation of the
school (recommended maximum of 2~3 in large schools). Under no circumstances
may students be granted any network administrative rights.
10.3.As per the section of
“privacy” following these procedures, system storage media provided and the
data contained therein remain the property of the Board. However within this
context, network administrators must not access any other user’s information
unless:
10.3.1 doing so in the course
of their duties in monitoring student activity,
10.3.2 expressly directed to
do so by the principal or Board management personnel,
10.3.3 permission to access
data is granted by the account holder (eg. for
purposes of troubleshooting/administration).
Penalties
The severity of the infraction of the above
regulations and expectations will determine the penalty; the Board is not bound
to apply penalties progressively. Specifically, school / Board penalties
include, but are not limited to, the following:
1.Warning,
2.Suspension of computer and/or Internet privileges;
3.Termination of computer and/or Internet privileges;
4.Expulsion from a computer course or computer/Internet aspect of
course,
5. Disciplinary action by the school and/or Board,
including suspension and/or expulsion;
6. In the case of School Board employees (support
staff, teachers, administrators, student assistants, etc.), sanctions up to and
including termination of employment contract may also occur. Users are advised
that inappropriate use could result in
a) criminal prosecutions
under the Criminal Code and other Canadian or Provincial laws;
b) Civil actions where appropriate (e.g. intentional
damage to the computer network, computer hardware, software, etc);
Privacy
Though the School Board and its agents respect
everyone’s right to privacy, it must be understood that expectations of privacy
are limited within the school setting. Students, teachers, and other computer
account holders should view storage space on computer networks as analogous to
physical storage space in student lockers and other school property. The
account holder does not “own” the storage space; the school is providing this
space for the convenience of the account holders. As a result, the School Board
and its agents or representatives have the right to conduct random searches of
all ”computer accounts” to ensure compliance with the rules, regulations, and
expectations set forth in this policy. Furthermore, account holders should be
aware that the school computer network has software that creates regular backup
files of all data and information contained in user accounts. These backup
files may also be examined to ensure compliance with the rules, regulations,
and expectations set forth in this policy. In the case of legal issues, these
backup files will be made available to the appropriate authorities.
Disclaimer
Although this policy has been carefully drafted and
reviewed, the School Board assumes no liability for any errors, omissions or
misinformation. The School Board makes no warranties of any kind, whether
express or implied, for the service that is provided. The School Board shall
not be responsible for any damages suffered by the account holder, including,
but not limited to, loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries,
misplaced deliveries, or service interruptions, whether caused by
negligence or otherwise of the School and/or School Board, by the errors or
omissions of the account holder, or by third parties. The School Board makes no
guarantees of complete privacy. The School Board expressly denies any
responsibility for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained via the
Internet, and use of any information so obtained by the account holder is at
the sole risk of the account holder