REGION 15:  THE ACCEPTABLE USE OF TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES

It is the policy of the Region 15 Board of Education that computer-based systems and Electronic Information Resources, such as local and wide area networks, CD-ROMs, printers, software programs, and the Internet, may be used in the schools to educate and to inform. The District’s connections to the Internet will provide access to local, national, and international sources of information and collaboration opportunities which are vital to intellectual inquiry in our schools.

To the greatest possible extent, the District shall take steps to protect the Region 15 community from the possible abuses of electronic information and communication resources, such as using filtering programs, access control, and monitoring by staff. On a global information network, such as the Internet, however, it is impossible to restrict access to all controversial or potentially inappropriate materials or to predict with certainty what information the user might locate. The availability of such electronic information does not imply endorsement by the Board of its content nor of the use of such information by students and staff.

It is the responsibility of students, parents, and staff to learn and abide by this Technology Use Policy to ensure that the access to electronic information resources provided by the District is undertaken for educational and research purposes only and is not abused.

The following is a list of rules and regulations established by Regional School District 15 governing the use of Electronic Information Resources, computers, photocopiers, scanners, and other technologies.

1. The computer systems, e-mail systems, voice-mail systems, and similar systems are the sole property of the School District.
2. All technology resources and facilities are provided solely for legitimate and authorized academic, instructional, research, administrative and public service purposes consistent with the educational objectives of the Region 15 Board of Education. Personal use for any reason (including commercial use) is prohibited.
3. Authorized personnel of Region 15's schools reserve the right to set priorities on the use of the Region's technology facilities.
4. No user of District technology resources shall knowingly degrade or disrupt the equipment, services, or electronic information resources; this includes, but is not limited to, tampering with computer hardware and software, modifying data without permission, invoking computer viruses, or attempting to gain access to restricted or unauthorized networks or network services. No user will install hardware, software, or make any modifications to systems without express permission from the building level technology coordinator.
5. District technology users must respect any copyright regarding software, information, and attributions of authorship. The transmission, reception, or duplication of any copyrighted or other legally protected material is prohibited.
6. Confidential or sensitive information shall not be transmitted by any risky means of communication including all unsecured electronic means. Further, users shall not post any e-mail or personal information that they would not be willing to have accessed by District authorities.
7. Users of electronic information resources shall not give out any personal information about himself, herself, or anyone else while using these resources except as part of a formal approved classroom project.
8. Region 15 web-pages will be designed to protect the identity of Region 15 students. Identification of student work to be published will be limited to first name and grade level. Photographs and videos of students will not identify students by name or teacher.
9. The transmission of any harassing, threatening, or intimidating message is prohibited. Further, the transmission of any illegal message, or the transmission of any message for an illegal purpose or in an illegal manner, is prohibited.
10. No person shall use, create, transmit, or download any images that are pornographic or defamatory.
11. Employees and students with knowledge of any illegal or improper use of such systems, or of any security problems, shall report such knowledge immediately to the appropriate administrator.
12. Users have full responsibility for the use of their account. All violations of this policy that can be
traced to an individual account name will be treated as the sole responsibility of the owner of that account. Under no circumstances shall a user’s password be given to another user.
13. No user shall enter any other account, whether it is assigned to another student, the school, or the district. If a user finds himself/herself in another account, he/she shall log off immediately.
14. Impersonations, anonymity, or pseudonyms are not permitted. As an educational network, Region 15 believes that individuals must take responsibility for their actions and words.
15. Use appropriate language. Profanity and obscenity will not be tolerated on the district systems or through district accounts. All users shall use language appropriate for school situations as indicated by school codes of conduct.
16. Any user who violates Region 15's policies governing the use of technology may have his/her account and/or user privilege denied and any such violation may result in disciplinary and/or legal action up to and including possible suspension and/or expulsion.
17. No one shall assist another in violating any aspect of this policy.

Security

Users must not attempt to defeat any security measure or otherwise try to gain access to secure system resources, individual user folders other than their own, or to inflict damage to the operational integrity of computers, printer, data, and other components that comprise the Region’s technology resources. Efforts to defeat security measures may result in disciplinary and/or legal actions.

Loss of Privilege

A Region 15 employee or student may lose the privilege to use technology systems if there has been a clear violation of any rule in the policy.

Limitation of Liability

Regional School District 15 and our Internet access providers makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. Region 15 Schools and our Internet access providers will not be responsible for any problems suffered while on the Internet. These problems include but are not limited to loss of data as a result of delays or otherwise, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by the Internet or users which include errors or omissions. Use of any information obtained through the Internet is at the user’s own risk. Region 15 schools and our Internet access providers will not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of information obtained through the Internet.

Rights of Access and Review

The Region reserves the right to access users' accounts, data, and programs for management purposes, such as making backup copies and to ensure system integrity. Further, the District reserves the right to access, review, edit, and delete all users files and any material stored on any system provided by the District. This includes, but is not limited to bypassing individual passwords and monitoring the use of systems, including e-mail.

The Region also reserves the right to monitor and maintain electronic records of Internet usage, time spent on the Internet, and materials downloaded from the Internet.

Approved: 9 June 1997
Revisions Approved: 25 January 1999
Revisions Approved: 22 January 2001