Burlington Community School District is providing students access to the district’s electronic network. This network includes Internet access, computer services, videoconferencing, computer equipment and related equipment for educational purposes. The purpose of this network 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 throughout the world. This document contains the rules and procedures for students’ acceptable use of the Burlington Community School District electronic network.
- The Burlington Community School District electronic network has been established for a limited educational purpose. The term “educational purpose” includes classroom activities, career development and limited high-quality self-discovery activities.
- The Burlington Community School District electronic network has not been established as a public access service or a public forum. Burlington Community School District has the right to place reasonable restrictions on material that is accessed or posted throughout the network.
- Parent/guardian permission is required for all students under the age of 18. Access is a privilege – not a right.
- It is presumed that students will honor this agreement they and their parent/guardian have signed. The district is not responsible for the actions of students who violate them beyond the clarification of standards outlined in this policy.
- The school district will monitor the online activities of students and will educate students about appropriate online behavior, including interacting on social networking sites and chat rooms. Students will also be educated on cyber bullying, including awareness and response. Employees will provide age appropriate training for students who use the Internet. The training provided will be designed to promote the school district’s commitment to:
- The standards and acceptable use of Internet services as set forth in the Internet Safety Policy;
- Student safety with regard to:
- safety on the Internet;
- appropriate behavior while on online, on social networking Web sites, and
- in chat rooms; and
- cyber bullying awareness and response.
- Compliance with the E-rate requirements of the Children’s Internet Protection Act
- Students will indemnify the district for any damage that is caused by students’ inappropriate use of the network.
- Students are expected to follow the same rules, good manners and common sense guidelines that are used with other daily school activities as well as the law in the use of the Burlington Community School District electronic network.
General Unacceptable Behavior
While utilizing any portion of the Burlington Community School District electronic network, unacceptable behaviors include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Students will not post information that, if acted upon, could cause damage or danger of disruption.
- Students will not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks.
- Students will not harass another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person. If a student is told by a person to stop sending messages, they must stop.
- Students will not knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or organization.
- Students will not use criminal speech or speech in the course of committing a crime such as threats to the president, instructions on breaking into computer networks, child pornography, drug dealing, purchase of alcohol, gang activities, threats to an individual, etc.
- Students will not use speech that is inappropriate in an educational setting or violates district rules.
- Students will not abuse network resources such as sending chain letters or “spamming”.
- Students will not display, access or send offensive messages or pictures.
- Students will not use the Burlington Community School District electronic network for commercial purposes. Students will not offer, provide or purchase products or services through this network.
- Students will not use the Burlington Community School District electronic network for political lobbying. Students may use the system to communicate with elected representatives and to express their opinions on political issues.
- Students will not attempt to access non-instructional district systems, such as student information systems or business systems.
- Students will not use district equipment, network or credentials to threaten employees, or cause a disruption to the educational program.
- Students will not use the district equipment, network or credentials to send or post electronic messages that are abusive, obscene, sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, damaging to another’s reputation, or illegal.
Email (Note: The district will monitor student e-mail activity)
- High school and middle school students may be provided with e-mail accounts for specific educational projects or activities.
- Students will not repost a message that was sent to them privately without the permission of the person who sent them the message.
- Students will not post private information about another person.
Telnet and FTP (Note: Telnet and FTP are typically not given to students)
- Telnet and FTP services will be available to students. However, all aspects of this policy are applicable to material accessed or downloaded. Message Board/Usenet Groups (Note: Usenet access is not typically given to students)
- The district will provide access to selected newsgroups that relate to subjects appropriate for educational use. Messages posted locally that are in violation of this policy will be removed. The district reserves the right to immediately terminate an account of a student who misuses the messages boards or Usenet groups. Web Sites
- Elementary and Middle School Level – Group pictures without identification of individual students are permitted. Student work may be posted with either the student first name only or other school-developed identifier (such as an alias or a number).
- High School Level – Students may be identified by their full name with parental approval. Group or individual pictures of students with student identification are permitted with parental approval.
- Material placed on student Web pages are expected to meet academic standards of proper spelling, grammar and accuracy of information.
- Material (graphic, text, sound, etc.) that is the ownership of someone other than the student may not be used on Web Sites unless proper copyright law requirements are fulfilled.
- All student Web pages should have a link back to the home page of the classroom, school or district, as appropriate. Personal Safety
- Students will not share personal contact information about themselves or other people. Personal contact information includes address, telephone, school address or work address.
- Elementary and middle school students will not disclose their full name or any other personal contact information for any purpose.
- High school students will not disclose personal contact information, except to education institutes for educational purposes, companies or other entities for career development purposes, or without specific building administrative approval.
- Students will not agree to meet with someone they have met online.
- Students will promptly disclose to a teacher or other school employee any message received that is inappropriate or makes the student feel uncomfortable.
System Security
- Students are responsible for their individual accounts and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use them. Under no conditions should students provide their password to another person.
- Students must immediately notify a teacher or the system administrator if they have identified a possible security problem. Students should not go looking for security problems, because this may be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access.
- Students will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Burlington Community School District electronic network. This includes attempting to log in through another person’s account or access another person’s folders, work or files. These actions are illegal, even if only for the purposes of “browsing”.
- Students will not make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means. These actions are illegal.
- Users will not attempt to access Web sites blocked by district policy, including the use of proxy services, software, or Web sites.
- Users will not use sniffing or remote access technology to monitor the network or other user’s activity.
Software and Files
- Software is available to students to be used as an educational resource. No student may install, upload or download software without permission from the district technology department.
- A student’s account may be limited or terminated if a student intentionally misuses software on any district-owned equipment.
- Files stored on the network are treated in the same manner as other school storage areas, such as lockers. Routine maintenance and monitoring of the Burlington Community School District electronic network may lead to discovery that a student has violated this policy or the law. Students should not expect that files stored on district servers are private.
Technology Hardware
- Hardware and peripherals are provided as tools for student use for educational purposes. Students are not permitted to relocate hardware (except for portable devices), install peripheral or modify settings to equipment without the consent of the district technology department.
Vandalism
- Any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data, the network, other network components connected to the network backbone, hardware or software will result in cancellation of network privileges. Disciplinary measure in compliance with the district’s discipline code and policies will be enforced.
Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement
- Students will not plagiarize works founds on the Internet. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were the students’.
- District policies on copyright will govern the use of material accessed and use through the district system.
- Copyrighted material will not be placed on any system without the author’s permission. Permission may be specified in the document, on the system or must be obtained directly from the author.
Videoconference
- Videoconferencing is a way that students can communicate with other students, speakers, museums, etc. from other parts of the country and the world. With videoconferencing equipment, students can see, hear, and speak with other students, speakers, museum personnel, etc. in real-time.
- Videoconference sessions may be videotaped by district personnel or by a participating school involved in the exchange in order to share the experience within the building or district.
- Students’ voices, physical presence and participation in the videoconference are transmitted to participating sites during each session. Rules and procedures relative to acceptable use and behavior by students apply during all videoconference sessions.
Student Rights
- Students’ right to free speech applies to communication on the Internet. The Burlington Community School District electronic network is considered a limited forum, similar to the school newspaper, and therefore the district may restrict a student’s speech for valid educational reasons. The district will not restrict a student’s speech on the basis of a disagreement with the opinions that are being expressed.
- An individual search will be conducted if there is reasonable suspicion that a student has violated this policy or the law. The investigation will be reasonable and related to the suspected violation.
Due Process
The district will cooperate fully with local, state or federal officials in any investigation related to any illegal activities conducted through the district network.
- In the event there is an allegation that a student has violated the district acceptable use regulation and policy, the student will be provided with a written notice of the alleged violation and an opportunity to be heard in the manner set forth in the student disciplinary code. Disciplinary actions will be tailored to meet specific concerns related to the violation and to assist the student in gaining the self-discipline necessary to behave appropriately on an electronic network. Violations of the acceptable use regulations and policy may result in a loss of access as well as other disciplinary or legal action.
- If the violation also involves a violation of other provisions of other school rules, it will be handled in a manner described in the school rules. Additional restrictions may be placed on a student’s use of his/her network account. Limitation of Liability
- The district makes no guarantee that the functions or the services provided by or through the district network will be error-free or without defect. The district will not be responsible for any damage suffered, 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 network. The district will not be responsible for financial obligations arising through the unauthorized use of the network.
Violations of the Acceptable Use Policy
Violations of this policy may result in loss of access as well as other disciplinary or legal action. Students’ violation of this policy shall be subject to the consequences as indicated within this policy as well as other appropriate discipline, which includes but is not limited to:
- Use of district network only under direct supervision
- Suspension of network privileges
- Revocation of network privileges
- Suspension of device privileges
- Suspension from school
- Expulsion from school and/or
- Legal action and prosecution by the authorities
The particular consequences for violations of this policy shall be determined by the school administrators. The superintendent or designee and the board shall determine when school expulsion and/or legal action or actions by the authorities are the appropriate course of action.
The school district will monitor the online activities of students and will educate students about appropriate online behavior, including interacting on social networking sites and chat rooms. Students will also be educated on cyber bullying, including awareness and response. Employees will provide age appropriate training for students who use the Internet. The training provided will be designed to promote the school district’s commitment to:
- The standards and acceptable use of Internet services as set forth in the Internet Safety Policy;
- Student safety with regard to:
- safety on the Internet;
- appropriate behavior while on online, on social networking Web sites, and
- in chat rooms; and
- cyber bullying awareness and response.
- Compliance with the E-rate requirements of the Children’s Internet Protection Act In compliance with federal law, this policy will be maintained at least five years beyond the termination of funding under the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) or E-rate.
- First Adoption:
- 2013-02-11
- Reviewed Dates:
- April 9, 2017/ May 8, 2022
- Legal Reference:
- 256.11, 279.8, 280.3, 280.14, Code of Iowa; 281 I.A.C. 12.5(10)