Acceptable Use Policy
for General Computing and Internet Access
DISTRIBUTION & RESPONSIBILITY
Students, employees and other users of network computers shall be provided with one copy of this district policy titled "Palmerton Area School District Acceptable Use Policy for General Computing and Internet Access". This policy and any/all up-dates and/or additions shall remain in force through the student's school career and/or employment term with Palmerton Area School District. It is the responsibility of the student and/or employee to read and follow the policy and any supplements that may be added hereto as amendments or additions.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Palmerton Area School District Educational Network (henceforth referred to as PASD-EN) consists of all computers, networked or stand-alone, that are used by faculty, students, staff and administrators in the Palmerton Area School District. It also includes all software, hardware, peripheral devices and Internet gateways.
Internet access is available to all students and employees in the Palmerton Area School District. The goal in providing this service is to promote educational excellence in the Palmerton area schools by facilitating resource sharing, innovation and communication.
With access to computers, all over the world, there is an availability of material not considered to be of educational value in the context of the school setting. On a global network it is impossible to control all materials and an industrious user may discover controversial information. The Palmerton Area School District believes that the valuable information and interaction available on this worldwide network far outweighs the possibility that users may procure material that is not consistent with the educational goals of the Palmerton Area School District.
The operation of the network relies upon proper conduct of the end users who must adhere to strict guidelines. The terms, conditions and rules contained herein are provided to each user and their parent/guardian to advise them of their responsibilities and obligations and to further provide them with the knowledge of certain possible consequences for failing to adhere to the terms, conditions, and rules of accessing the PASD-EN.
In order to ensure smooth system operation, the system operators (under direction of their administrators) have the authority to monitor all accounts. These procedures are in effect anytime school district resources are accessed whether in school, directly from home, or indirectly through another Internet service provider.
1) Acceptable use
A. General Computing
a) A user must abide by the terms of all software licensing agreements and copyright laws.
b) Once a user receives a userID to be used to access the computer system on the network, he/she is solely responsible for his/her actions.
c) No user shall apply for a userID under false pretenses.
d) No user shall share their userID with any other person. (If you share your userID with another person, you will be solely responsible for the actions of that person.)
e) No user shall delete, examine, copy, or modify files and/or data belonging to other users without their prior consent.
f) No user shall attempt to switch or modify operating system resource items (files, folders, or operating systems.)
g) No user shall impede other users through mass consumption (monopolizing) of system resources.
h) Use of the facilities and/or services for commercial purposes is prohibited without the prior written consent of the District.
i) Any unauthorized, deliberate action, which damages or disrupts a computing system, alters its normal performance, or causes it to malfunction in any way is a violation of this policy (regardless of system location or time duration.)
j) No user shall copy programs onto Palmerton Area School District computers and/or the network system without the express, consent of the Palmerton Area School District.
k) No user shall copy programs licensed to the Palmerton Area School District for the user's personal use.
l) No user shall physically abuse any computer equipment.
The above list is meant to serve as an example of activities the Palmerton Area School District considers prohibited. The District reserves the right to determine if any other activity not appearing in the above list constitutes an unacceptable use of the network. The District further reserves the right to take such disciplinary action or formal legal action, civil or criminal as the situation may warrant enforcing the nature and intent of this policy.
B. Internet Access
a) Every student in the district will be required to have a parental consent form signed permitting his / her use of the Internet. This signature sheet shall be provided by the building principal, and once signed will follow the student remaining in force through their school career, authorizing their continued use of the Internet. Employees also will be required provide a signature to the district prior to their use of the Internet which will remain in force through their employment career with Palmerton Area School District. Signatures will signify understanding and acceptance of any term and conditions of the policy governing use of the Internet.
b) The use of the Internet is a privilege, not a right; and any inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of access privileges.
c) The use of any account must be in support of education and research and consistent with the educational objectives of the Palmerton Area School District.
d) Every student receiving an account will be required to meet with a Palmerton Area School District representative for orientation on the proper use of the network.
e) The primary use of the network shall be reserved to those individuals who utilize the materials that are of educational value to the students of the Palmerton Area School District. (For the purposes of this policy, educational value shall mean those areas of network access that have a direct or indirect impact on the students educational programs at the Palmerton Area School District.)
f) The use of the network for any actions not related to the school's curricula shall not be allowed.
g) The administration will deem what is inappropriate.
h) The faculty members or staff of Palmerton Area School District may request the administrators to deny, revoke, suspend or reactivate specific user accounts.
i) The administration may close an account at any time as required.
j) Each user is personally responsible to comply with the rules of other organization's network or computing resources for that network.
k) Each user is personally responsible for the transmission of any material in violation of Federal or state regulations. This includes (but is not limited to) copyrighted material, material protected by trade secret, or threatening or obscene material, and criminal activity.
l) No user shall use access for product advertisement or political activities.
m) No user shall use the network in any way that would disrupt network use by others.
n) No user shall reveal personal information such as address, phone number, passwords, or social security numbers. This also applies to others personal information or that of organizations.
o) Use of the network to participate in inappropriate and/or objectionable discussions or newsgroups is prohibited.
p) No user shall use any chat groups or multi-user communication groups except for research or college entrance work.
q) Unauthorized participation by any user in MUDs(Multi-User Domains), M00s(Multi-Oriented Objects), and game-playing is prohibited.
The above list is meant to serve as an example of activities the Palmerton Area School District considers prohibited. The District reserves the right to determine if any other activity not appearing in the above list constitutes an unacceptable use of the network. The District further reserves the right to take such disciplinary action or formal legal action, civil or criminal as the situation may warrant enforcing the nature and intent of this policy.
2) Security
The maintenance of computer system security on the PASD-EN is the primary consideration of every user.
a) No user shall use another person's account to log on to the system.
b) A security problem found on the Internet or the Palmerton Area School District network by any user shall immediately be reported to the administration or supervising faculty member.
c) Any security problem or breach shall not be reported to anyone other than the administration or the supervising faculty member.
d) Users are responsible for misuse of their account if they knew or should have known of the misuse of their account or the system.
e) Users shall report unauthorized use of their account to the administration, faculty or staff.
f) No user shall use the system and/or networks in an attempt to gain unauthorized access to remote systems.
g) No user shall use any system and/or network to connect to other systems, in evasion of the physical limitations of the remote/local system.
h) No user shall commit decryption of system or user passwords.
i) No user shall attempt to secure a higher level of privilege on network systems.
j) No user shall willfully introduce computer viruses or other disruptive or destructive programs into the computer and/or network or into external computers and/or networks.
k) No user shall make intentional attempts to crash network systems or programs, or to prohibit network access by other users.
l) Users shall be wary of revealing personal addresses or phone numbers. Do not provide personal information concerning others.
3) Network Etiquette
You are expected to abide by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette (netiquette) when using the network. These include (but are not limited to) the following:
a) Be polite. Do not get abusive in your messages to others.
b) Use appropriate language. Remember that you are a representative of your school and district on a non-private network. You may be alone on a computer but what you say can be viewed around the world.
c) Do not swear, use vulgarities or any other inappropriate language.
d) Illegal activities are strictly forbidden.
e) All information accessible via the network should be assumed to be subject to copyright provisions (unless stated otherwise) and therefore, properly cited.
f) Any use of the network that would disrupt the use of the network by other users is prohibited (e.g. downloading huge files during prime time; sending mass e-mail messages; annoying other users; using talk or write functions.)
4) Electronic Mail (E-Mail)
Users of the network are hereby notified that the Palmerton Area School District system operators under the direction of the administration have the authority to intercept and monitor e-mail messages of all persons using the PASD-EN. The Palmerton Area School District does not recognize the right to privacy of any user or the statements, writings, graphics, e-mail messages or other electronic or video transmissions of any user as a result of access over or through the PASD-EN.
All users are bound by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, as amended, and the Communications Decency Act, which prohibit the unauthorized interception or disclosure of e-mail messages by third parties, as well as the appropriateness of certain material being remitted on the Internet. Users shall not intercept or disclose any information garnered as a result of access to the PASD-EN without the consent of the sender or receiver of the communication. The Act recognizes that the Palmerton Area School District may monitor an employee's e-mail messages, as long as the interception device is included in the e-mail equipment.
a) Users of the network shall not store extensive e-mail messages in the network and that messages should be stored for a period of no longer than fourteen (14) calendar days without the express, consent of the administration.
b) Whenever electronic mail is sent, the sender's name and userID (e-mail address) must be included in each message.
c) Every user is responsible for all electronic mail originating from their userID (e-mail address).
d) Every user shall use electronic mail (e-mail) appropriately. Electronic mail (e-mail) is not guaranteed to be private. System administrators have access to all mail.
e) Any illegal user activity shall be reported to the proper authorities.
f) Forgery (or attempted forgery) of electronic mail is prohibited.
g) User attempts to read, delete, copy, or modify the electronic mail of other users is prohibited.
h) User attempts to send harassing, obscene and/or threatening e-mail to another user is prohibited.
i) Users shall not attempt to send unsolicited junk mail, for-profit messages, or chain letters over or through the PASD-EN.
5) Vandalism
Vandalism is defined as any attempt to harm, disable, impede or change operationally, or destroy data of another user, hardware or software utilized on the network, hardware or software with any individual device, or other networks that are connected to the PASD Ed Net.
a) Vandalism by a user will result in immediate cancellation of privileges.
b) No user shall upload, download, or create computer viruses.
6) Updating Your User information
If any information concerning your account changes (e.g., access privileges or requests for password changes) it is your responsibility to notify the system administrators.
7) Services
The Palmerton Area School District makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. The Palmerton Area School District will not be responsible for any damages suffered by any user. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, nondeliveries, misdeliveries, or service interruptions caused by it's own negligence or your errors or omissions.
Use of any information obtained as a result of accessing the Palmerton Area School District computers, networks, or Internet access or any combination thereof is at the user's risk. The Palmerton Area School District specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its services.
8) Violations
If a Palmerton Area School District user violates any of the provisions contained herein, his or her account will be terminated and future access will be denied until the user can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the District that the conduct or activity will not occur again.
The PASD reserves the right to use any and all rights, remedies, penalties and punishments available under the Pennsylvania School Code, the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, all other state and Federal laws, and the policies and directives of the Palmerton Area School District Administration and School Board of Directors to deal with violation of any of the terms conditions and rules of this policy.
The PASD further reserves the right to bring such formal legal action or actions including (but not limited to) civil or criminal prosecution under appropriate state and federal laws.
Additional rules and restrictions may be
added at any time. Users are responsible for reading and following
these rules and any supplements that may be added hereto as
amendments or additions.
Policy
Amendment 6/01
Palmerton Area School District
Children's Internet Protection Act
A copy of this policy shall be available for review in the District office at any time during regular school hours.