MISSION
The Monroe City School district is committed to excellence in teaching and learning. We hold high expectations for all students, parents, and staff. We share, with our community, the responsibility for providing a safe, caring environment designed to help students become productive citizens. We pledge all available resources to help prepare students to live and work in a rapidly changing technological society.

In support of that commitment, the district offers advanced technology and telecommunication tools for educational purposes to its students and staff. The term educational purposes includes classroom activities and assignments, directed student research, interpersonal communication, professional development, collaborative projects, and dissemination of successful educational practices, methods, and materials.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this document is to set forth policies and guidelines for access to the Monroe City Schools computer network and acceptable use of the Internet as a tool for learning. Internet access enables students to explore thousands of libraries, databases, and other resources while exchanging messages with people around the world. The school district expects that faculty will blend thoughtful use of the district network and the Internet throughout the curriculum and will provide guidance and instruction to students in its use.

The network has not been established as a public access service or a public forum. Therefore, Monroe City Schools has the right to place reasonable restrictions upon its use. Since the district network is connected to the Internet through LaNet, a statewide data communication network, local regulations regarding network use are based on and are extensions of those set forth in the LaNet Acceptable Use Policy.

INTERNET ACCESS AND ACCOUNTS
The district has established connectivity at each of the schools and administrative sites by local area networks (LANs) into a wide area network (WAN) maintained by the district network administrative team. Current and past construction and retrofitting projects are bringing Internet connectivity into every classroom and instructional site as well as administrative offices and teacher work areas in the district. Instructional Technology offers staff development in the use of the Internet for the district to facilitate the use and ethical application of these technologies.

Students and staff of the district have access to Internet resources by using the many work stations located throughout the classrooms, libraries, computer labs, and offices. In the interest of efficacy and equity of use, Monroe City Schools has set forth the following guidelines for the assignment and use of Internet accounts.

• Access to the Internet in school as a tool for learning will be automatic.
• All Monroe City Schools students will be allowed computer network and Internet access unless a written request denying such access is obtained from a parent or guardian.
  Any employee of the district may request and receive an e-mail account. Student e-mail accounts will be assigned only as extensions of the teacher's account and for use in assigned projects or research.
• Home page development is encouraged for individual classes; school organizations; special class, school, or district projects; and professional development activities or projects. However, under no circumstances will the Monroe City Schools permit the posting of personal home pages not directly related to educational purposes as defined above. The Technology Supervisor or designee reserves the right to remove inappropriate pages from the server.

ACCEPTABLE USES OF THE COMPUTER NETWORK OR THE INTERNET
The district network and the Internet should be used primarily for educational or professional purposes. Staff and students may use the network for personal use only if such use is incidental and occurs during duty-free time.

UNACCEPTABLE USES OF THE COMPUTER NETWORK OR THE INTERNET
Uses that violate any state or federal law or municipal ordinance are unacceptable.

• Unacceptable uses include, but are not limited to the following:
  o Selling or purchasing any illegal substance;
  o Accessing, transmitting, or downloading child pornography, obscene depictions, harmful materials, or materials that encourage others to violate the law; or
  o Transmitting or downloading confidential information or copyrighted materials.
• Uses that involve the accessing, transmitting or downloading of inappropriate matters on the Internet, as determined by the school board, local educational agency or other related authority.
• Uses that involve obtaining and/or using anonymous email sites.
• Uses that cause harm to others or damage to their property are unacceptable. Unacceptable uses include, but are not limited to the following:
  o Deleting, copying, modifying, or forging other users' e-mails, files, or data;
  o Accessing another user's email without their permission, and as a result of that access, reading or forwarding the other User's e-mails or files without that User's permission;
  o Damaging computer equipment, files, data or the network;
  o Using profane, abusive, or impolite language;
  o Disguising one's identity, impersonating other users, or sending anonymous e-mail messages;
  o Threatening, harassing, or making defamatory or false statements about others;
  o Accessing, transmitting, or downloading offensive, harassing, or disparaging materials;
  o Accessing, transmitting or downloading computer viruses or other harmful files or programs, or in any way degrading or disrupting any computer system performance; or
  o Using any district computer to pursue "hacking," internal or external to the district, or attempting to access information that is protected by privacy laws.
• Uses that jeopardize access or lead to unauthorized access into accounts or other computer networks are unacceptable. Unacceptable uses include, but are not limited to the following:
  o Using other users' account passwords or identifiers;
  o Disclosing one's account password to other users or allowing other users to use one's Accounts;
  o Getting unauthorized access into other users' accounts or other computer networks; or
  o Interfering with other users' ability to access their accounts.
• Commercial and political uses are unacceptable. Unacceptable uses include, but are not limited to the following:
  o Selling or buying anything over the Internet for personal financial gain;
  o Using the Internet for advertising, promotion, or financial gain;
  o Conducting for-profit business activities and engaging in non-government related fundraising; or
  o public relations activities such as solicitation for religious purposes, lobbying for political purposes, or soliciting votes.

CONSEQUENCES FOR INAPPROPRIATE USE
Access to the district network and the Internet is a privilege, and along with this privilege there are obligations to use this resource in a responsible and ethical manner. The user understands that computer use is not private and that the district may monitor the user's activity on the network and/or Internet. Inappropriate use may result in:

• Suspension of access to the network and/or the Internet;
• Revocation of access to network and/or the Internet; or
• Other disciplinary or legal action, in accordance with district policies and applicable laws.

COPYRIGHT REGULATIONS

Software
It is the intention of Monroe City Schools to adhere to provisions of copyright regulations in its use of computer software and to comply with the license agreements of software packages purchased by the district for use in its schools and offices. All employees of Monroe City Schools will be made aware of the potential for copyright infringement and will be notified of the following procedures regarding the use of software.

• Ilegal copies of software shall not be made or used on Monroe City Schools equipment.
• Archival backup copies may not be used on a second computer simultaneously with the original.
• All software loaded on a local area network shall be covered by a written license agreement from the copyright holder.
• Failure to follow these procedures may result in revocation of use.

Text and Graphics
Users will respect the rights of copyright owners in their use of materials found on, disseminated through, or posted to the Internet. Monroe City Schools will follow the guidelines of The Consortium of College and University Media Centers as set forth in their Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia. A copy of this document can be accessed at http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/ccmcguid.htm.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Students have full rights to work they create using the district's technology/ telecommunications equipment and/or resources.

Employees, as agents of the district, have limited rights to work they create using the district's technology/telecommunications equipment and/or resources. The district retains the right to use any product created for its use by an employee even when the author is no longer an employee of the district.

INTERNET SAFETY
In compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Monroe City Schools implemented a Technology Protection Measure to restrict access to Internet sites containing child pornography, obscene depictions, or other harmful materials. This filtering/blocking/tracking software scans for objectionable words or concepts.

No software, however, is foolproof, and there is still a risk an Internet user may be exposed to a site containing such materials. A user who incidentally connects to such a site must immediately disconnect from the site and notify a teacher or supervisor. If a user sees another user is accessing inappropriate sites, he or she should notify a teacher or supervisor immediately.

Authorized staff may temporarily or permanently disable the Technology Protection Measure for bon fide research or other lawful purposes.

In compliance with CIPA, Monroe City Schools and its representatives implemented a mechanism to monitor all on-line activities, including website browsing, email use, chat room participation and other forms of electronic communications. The district reserves the right to monitor all users' online activities, and to access review, copy, store or delete any electronic communications or files and disclose them to others as it deems necessary.

Additionally, students will be monitored by faculty or staff in a manner that is appropriate to the age of the students and circumstances of use. Older students will be allowed to do independent research so long as the guidelines herein are met and the research is conducted under faculty supervision.

Students are prohibited from disclosing personal contact information. Personal contact information is defined as the student's name together with other information that would allow an individual to locate the student, including but not limited to, parent's name, home address or location, work address or location, or phone number.

Network postings of personal information such as full name, home address, phone numbers, or parents' name are not allowed. Students and/or their work may be identified only by first names or initials. Pictures of students (identified by first name only) may be posted, unless written notification by a parent or guardian prohibits such use.

Students will not meet in person anyone they have met on the Internet and will promptly disclose to a teacher or school employee any message or contact they receive that is inappropriate or makes them feel uncomfortable.

Users will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the district computer network or the Internet or to any other computer system through the Monroe City Schools network system, or go beyond their authorized access. Using any computer to pursue "hacking," internal or external to the district is strictly prohibited.

LIMITATION ON SCHOOL DISTRICT LIABILITY
Use of the school district network is at the user's own risk. The system is provided on an "as is, as available" basis. The school district will not be responsible for any damage users may suffer, including, but not limited to, loss, damage or unavailability of data stored on school district diskettes, tapes, hard drives or servers, or for delays or changes in or interruptions of service or misdeliveries or nondeliveries of information or materials, regardless of the cause. The school district is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of any advice or information obtained through or stored on the school district system. The school district will not be responsible for financial obligations arising through unauthorized use of the school district system or the Internet.

POLICY AMENDMENT
This policy may be amended from time to time to reflect changes deemed necessary to the needs of the district.

Adopted February 6, 2003