The purpose of the Schoharie Central School District-Local and Wide Area Networks, The Internet Access Network is to advance and promote education in all of its school buildings within the district. It is intended to assist in the collaboration and exchange of information among all who are concerned and involved with education. The goal of infusing technology into daily operations of our classrooms, libraries, and offices is to promote high quality technological resources in an equitable, efficient and cost effective manner. Such technology includes and is not limited to electronic mail, local computer networks, through internet and other on-line services.
The benefit of being connected to the internet and other on-line services is that it expands classroom teaching dramatically by making many fascinating resources, including original source materials from all over the world, available to students, teachers, parents and administrators. These services bring information, data, images and even computer software into the classroom from places around the globe, and it does this almost instantaneously. Access to these resources can involve students in individual and group projects, cross-cultural collaborations, and idea sharing not found in schools that lack Internet and on-line-services access.
While the benefits of the Internet and other on-line services are enormous, parents need to be aware that they are open systems, which contain pockets of material that many people would disapprove of and keep away from children. The Schoharie School District will make an effort to prevent student’s access to inappropriate material on the Internet and other on-line services, but we cannot guarantee that they will not encounter text, pictures, or references that are objectionable. The District asks parents for assistance in developing responsible attitudes, reinforcing appropriate behaviors and observing security practices on the network. System users should have no expectation of privacy with respect to files saved or maintained on the Districts computer systems. Network administrators and District officials will have access to all files in order to ensure system integrity and compliance with this procedure.
The use of the Local Area Network, Wide Area Network, and Internet is a privilege, not a right. Users are responsible for what they say and do on the networks. Because communication with thousands of others is so quick and easy, it is important to think before communicating and show respect for other people and for their ideas. The use of computers must be in support of education and research, and consistent with the educational objectives and the mission of the Schoharie central schools. Use of the Schoharie Districts network or that of another organizations connected network or computing resources must comply with the rules appropriate for each network.
It is imperative that staff, students and visitors conduct themselves in a responsible, decent, ethical and polite manner while using such equipment and networks. This procedure does not attempt to articulate all required or proscribed behavior by its users. The following general guidelines are provided to illustrate appropriate conduct and use. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather indicative of the type of conduct which will be considered by the district.
Use Regulations for Students
These regulations must be reviewed and signed by students and parent(s)/guardian(s). These guidelines apply to all including administrators and teachers. Please read the following carefully and sign below.
- Student safety is important to the district. Students are not to reveal personal
information about themselves or others, including personal address or phone
numbers on the internet. - Accessing or distributing inappropriate material. i.e. obscene, abusive,
threatening, harassing, or material specifically prohibited by district policy, local, state or federal law or regulation is prohibited. - Students are to respect others’ privileges. Attempts by a user to log on to the
system in the name of another individual, with or without the individual’s consent, will be considered a security violation. Students are not to disrupt the use of the network by other users. They must not access files of any business, person, or agency to steal, subvert, destroy or view information that is not appropriate. - Students need to cite sources. If students use the ideas or works of others, they must give them credit. Not citing where information came from, or copying it directly, is plagiarism and will be dealt with as an academic violation. Unauthorized duplication or other forms of infringement are not appropriate. District users must recognize and observe applicable copyright laws and regulations.
- Students may only use email and other outside communications, i.e instant messaging, personal webpages, etc. for school projects after receiving approval from their supervisor.
- Prudent use of the district’s finite resources and shared technological resources is expected. Downloading videos, music or playing games is prohibited except for instructional purposes.
- All student files will be deleted at the end of each school year.
- Students must immediately inform a teacher or parent(s) or guardian(s) if they
find something online that is inappropriate. - If students identify a security problem on the internet, students must notify a
system administrator. Attempts to log on as a system administrator will result in cancellation of privileges. Any user identified as a security risk or having a history with other computer systems may be denied access to the district’s computers. - Students and their parents/guardians will be held responsible for any costs due to damage to computers caused by the student such as uploading or creating computer viruses, reprogramming the computer to damage system files, hacking into the system to change or delete student/teacher files or system files, attempting to try programming or installing programs without permission or damaging components of the computer. Such vandalism will result in cancellation of a user’s privileges.
Consequences for Violations of the Technology Use Policy
Inappropriate use or intentional misuse of the school’s hardware or software that isn’t included in the categories listed above will result in consequences of 30, 60 and 90 day restrictions for the first, second and third infractions respectively. Teachers will provide students with alternative assignments to meet class requirements, Consequences listed above are separate from those additional consequences considered as a result of harassment or insubordination. Infractions which result in physical damage or the need for significant manpower to repair damage could result in financial restitution being required. Students are given alternative assignments by their teachers which do not require the use of computers during the loss of privileges period.