No. 815
YORK COUNTY
SCHOOL OF
TECHNOLOGY
SECTION:
OPERATIONS
TITLE:
ACCEPTABLE USE OF YCST
ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY
ADOPTED:
August 28, 2003
REVISED:
March 30, 2006
August 26, 2010
ACCEPTABLE USE OF YCST ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY
1. Purpose
The York County School of Technology (“YCST”) provides its students and staff
with access to electronic technology, which includes hardware, software, voice
mail, e-mail, the Internet and its computer network.
The Joint Operating Committee supports the use of electronic technology in the
school‟s instructional program for the advancement of educational goals,
academic research and as a vehicle for school-related communication to benefit
the students and staff of YCST.
The use of the school‟s electronic technology shall be consistent with the
legitimate professional needs of the staff, the curriculum adopted by YCST as
well as the varied instructional needs, learning styles, abilities, and
developmental levels of students.
2. Definition
For the purpose of this policy the term “electronic technology” shall mean (i) a
system that allows students and staff to communicate with others through the
electronic transmission of written or verbal communications, (ii) a system that
allows teachers, students and staff access to a wide variety of information from
electronic networks found on local, state, national and international databases,
(iii) a system that allows students and staff to create and store electronic files
on the school‟s computer network, and (iv) any CDE/DVD/audio cassette tape
player, cellular telephone, digital audio player (iPods or MP3 players), digital
camera, digital video recorder, electronic emailing device, laptop computer,
pager, portable game player, smart phone, video camera or any device that
provides a wireless connection to the Internet that is owned by the YCST and
being used by a student or staff member.
3. Authority
The electronic information available to students and staff does not imply YCST
endorsement of the content, nor does the school guarantee the accuracy of
information received on the Internet. The school shall not be responsible for
any information that may be lost, damaged or unavailable when using the
network, or for any information that is retrieved via the Internet.
The YCST shall not be responsible for any unauthorized charges or fees resulting
from access to the Internet through the school‟s computer system.
YCST students, staff and authorized guests do not have any expectation of
privacy or confidentiality when using school-owned electronic technology. The
YCST reserves the right to log e-mail, network use, monitor file server space
utilization by school users and to inspect electronic communications and files
generated or stored on its electronic technology. Students and staff should not
use the school‟s electronic technology to create, send, receive or view nonschool related communications that they wish to keep private or confidential.
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The Joint Operating Committee establishes that use of the school‟s electronic
technology is a privilege, not a right; and inappropriate, unauthorized or illegal
use will result in the suspension of or cancellation of those privileges,
appropriate disciplinary action and the reporting of any alleged criminal conduct
to law enforcement officials.
4. Delegation of
Responsibility
The school shall make every effort to ensure that students and staff use its
electronic technology responsibly, and that the use is consistent with its
educational and professional purposes. The School has the responsibility to
educate students regarding appropriate on-line behavior and internet safety.
Students, staff, and guests have the responsibility to respect and protect the
rights of every other user in the school and on the Internet.
The building administrator shall have the authority to determine what
constitutes inappropriate use of electronic technology, and his/her decision shall
be final.
5. Guidelines
While it is impossible to predict every situation that may arise in the use of
electronic technology, the Joint Operating Committee has established the
guidelines which to follow for appropriate and acceptable use. Every user,
student, and staff member is charged with the responsibility for adhering to
these guidelines.
Network accounts shall be used only by the authorized account user for its
authorized purpose.
In accordance with the U.S. Children‟s Internet Protection Act of 2000 and Act
197 of 2004, YCST has implemented a technology protection measure (Internet
filtering software) to prevent all users of the network from accessing
inappropriate Internet sites containing obscenity, child pornography and other
material that is harmful to minors. Filtering is updated daily.
Users may encounter material, which is controversial, and which students,
parents, teachers, or administrators may consider inappropriate or offensive.
On a global network, it is impossible to filter all controversial material, and an
industrious user may discover it. It is the user‟s responsibility not to purposely
initiate access to such material and immediately report to the
teacher/administration any inappropriate sites that may be discovered. The
immediate disclosure of inappropriate sites will protect users against allegations
that they violated this policy.
Information accessed and communications shared, using the school‟s electronic
technology, although private in nature, remain the property of YCST. The YCST
Administrative Director or his or her designee reserves the right to monitor
activities and communications.
Signing of Agreement
Each school year all students and their parents/guardians will be asked to sign
the YCST Student Account Agreement to indicate their cooperation with the
YCST Acceptable Use of Electronic Technology Policy. These agreements will be
filed by the Principal or his or her designee to assure that students understand
their responsibility to use the school‟s electronic technology in a manner
consistent with this policy. YCST staff will be annually apprised of this policy
through the appropriate employee manual or handbook.
All staff using
electronic technology shall annually sign an Employee Account Agreement
acknowledging that they reviewed and understood the YCST„s Acceptable Use of
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Electronic Technology Policy. A copy of this policy shall be distributed to all
students and staff using electronic technology whenever it is revised, and
otherwise made available for inspection on the YCST‟s official website.
Prohibitions
When using the school‟s electronic technology students, staff, and guests are
expected to act in a responsible, ethical and legal manner in accordance with the
district policy, accepted rules of network etiquette, and Federal and State law.
Specifically, the following list of uses are prohibited, but should not be
considered an all-inclusive list:
1.
Use of the electronic technology to facilitate illegal activity.
2.
Use of the e-mail for commercial or for-profit purposes.
3.
Use of the e-mail for product advertisement or political activity.
4.
Use of the e-mail for hate mail, discriminatory remarks, harassment and
offensive or inflammatory communications.
5.
Unauthorized or illegal installation, distribution, storage, reproduction, or
use of copyrighted material.
6.
Use of the Internet to access obscene or pornographic material and other
material harmful to minors or unrelated to school-related research or
professional responsibilities.
7.
Use of inappropriate language or profanity when communicating with others
using electronic technology.
8.
Use of the network to transmit material likely to be offensive or
objectionable.
9.
Use of the network to intentionally obtain or modify files, passwords, and
data belonging to other users. Bypassing network security and gaining
others passwords is not to be attempted.
10. Impersonation of another user while using electronic technology.
11. Use of network facilities for fraudulent copying, communications, or
modification of materials in violation of copyright laws.
12. Downloading, storing, loading or the use of unauthorized games, programs,
files, or other electronic media.
This includes, but is not limited to,
shareware, freeware, trial version programs, games and files.
13. Use of the network to disrupt the work of other users.
14. Destruction, modification, or abuse of network hardware and software.
15. Quoting personal communications in public forum without the original
author‟s prior consent.
16. Revealing personal addresses or phone numbers of students or staff or
improperly disclosing information whose confidentiality is protected by state
or federal law (i.e. FERPA, HIPAA, etc.).
17. Students creating or accessing personal email accounts or personal accounts
on social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, etc.) while using YCST‟s
electronic technology without prior permission. Staff members may only
authorize students to access personal email during the instructional day, or
employees caught engaging in such activity during their assigned work day,
may be subject to disciplinary action for such conduct.
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18. The use of YCST electronic technology to engage in instant messaging or to
engage in other non-school related communications.
Students caught
engaging in such activity during the instructional day, or employees caught
engaging in such activity during their assigned work day, may be subject to
disciplinary action for such conduct.
19. Deliberate attempts to access, change or damage electronic files or
computer systems of others (i.e. “hacking”) using the school‟s electronic
technology.
20. The unreasonable use of e-mail and/or social networking during the school
day for personal communication that is unrelated to academic work or
professional responsibilities.
System Security
Students and faculty who have computer accounts at YCST must guard their
passwords. Students and staff shall not reveal their passwords to another
individual, unless such disclosure is necessary to inspect, repair or maintain the
school‟s computer system. Someone who logs in using another person‟s name
and password can access his/her private files and can blame any action on that
person. Therefore, it is important for passwords to be private and somewhat
covert. Students and staff shall not try to obtain another person‟s password or
try to log in as someone else.
Security on the school‟s computer system is a major issue. Anyone who
identifies a security problem on the YCST system is responsible for conveying
the details of that problem to the faculty supervisor without discussing it with
other students.
Copyright
The illegal use of copyrighted software or electronic material by students and
staff is prohibited.
Any data uploaded or downloaded using electronic
technology shall be done in compliance with all “fair use” guidelines.
Consequences for Inappropriate Use
Any student, employee, or other party using electronic technology shall be
responsible for any damages to equipment, systems, or software resulting from
deliberate or wrongful acts. Failure to follow the authorized or appropriate
actions may result in the loss of access to electronic technology.
Any student or staff member found violating this policy may have his or her
electronic technology privileges suspended or terminated and are subject to
disciplinary action in accordance to the district‟s discipline policy.
Illegal use of the network or e-mail, intentional deletion of or damage to files
belonging to others, copyright violations, theft of services, or the use of
electronic technology to facilitate criminal activity will be reported to the
appropriate local, state or federal law enforcement authorities.
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Appendix A
ACCEPTABLE USE OF YCST ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY
YORK COUNTY SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
Employee Account Agreement
Name (Print)
Position
Building
I have read and understand the York County School of Technology Acceptable Use of YCST Electronic
Technology Policy. I agree to follow the rules contained in this Policy. I understand that if I violate the rules, I
may face disciplinary action in accordance with the York County School of Technology Board Policy Manual.
I hereby release the school, its personnel, and any institutions with which it is affiliated, from any and all claims
and damages of any nature arising from my use of, or inability to use, the School Network or YCST electronic
technology, including but not limited to claims that may arise from purchases of products or services, the
loss/deletion of electronic data, files or messages.
Signature
Date
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