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ACCEPTABLE USE AND INTERNET SAFETY POLICY
FOR THE COMPUTER NETWORK OF THE
CHICOPEE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Chicopee Public School District is pleased to make available to
students access to interconnected computer systems within the District and
to the Internet, the world-wide network that provides various means of
accessing significant educational materials and opportunities. In order
for the School District to be able to continue to make its computer
network and Internet access available, all students must take
responsibility for appropriate and lawful use of this access. Students
must understand that one student’s misuse of the network and Internet
access may jeopardize the ability of all students to enjoy such access.
While the School’s teachers and other Staff will make reasonable efforts
to supervise student use of network and Internet access, they must have
student cooperation in exercising and promoting responsible use of this
access.
Below is the Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy (“Policy”) of
the Chicopee Public School District and the Data Acquisition Site that
provides Internet access to the School District. Upon reviewing, signing,
and returning this Policy as the students have been directed, each student
will be given the opportunity to enjoy Internet access at School and is
agreeing to follow the Policy. If a student is under 18 years of age, he
or she must have his or her parents or guardians read and sign the Policy.
The School District cannot provide access to any student who, if 18 or
older, fails to sign and submit the Policy to the School as directed or,
if under 18, does not return the Policy as directed with the signatures of
the student and his/her parents or guardians.
Listed below are the provisions of your agreement regarding computer
network and Internet use. If you have any questions about these
provisions, you should contact the person that your School has designated
as the one to whom you can direct your questions. If any user violates
this Policy, the student’s access will be denied, if not already
provided, or withdrawn and he or she may be subject to additional
disciplinary action.
I. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
By signing this Policy, you are agreeing not only to follow the rules in
this Policy, but are agreeing to report any misuse of the network to the
person designated by the School for such reporting. Misuse means any
violations of this Policy or any other use that is not included in the
Policy, but has the effect of harming another or his or her property.
II. TERM OF THE PERMITTED USE
A student who submits to the School, as directed, a properly signed Policy
and follows the Policy to which she or he has agreed will have computer
network and Internet access during the course of the school year only.
Students will be asked to sign a new Policy each year during which they
are students in the School District before they are given an access
account.
III. ACCEPTABLE USES
A. Educational Purposes Only. The School District is providing access to
its computer networks and the Internet for only educational purposes. If
you have any doubt about whether a contemplated activity is educational,
you may consult with the person(s) designated by the School to help you
decide if a use is appropriate.
B. Unacceptable Uses of Network.
Among the uses that are considered unacceptable and which constitute a
violation of this Policy are the following:
1. uses that violate the law or encourage others to violate the law.
Don’t transmit offensive or harassing messages; offer for sale or use
any substance the possession or use of which is prohibited by the School
District’s Student Discipline Policy; view, transmit or download
pornographic materials or materials that encourage others to violate the
law; intrude into the networks or computers of others; and download or
transmit confidential, trade secret information, or copyrighted materials.
Even if materials on the networks are not marked with the copyright
symbol, you should assume that all materials are protected unless there is
explicit permission on the materials to use them.
2. uses that cause harm to others or damage to their property. For
example, don’t engage in defamation (harming another's reputation by
lies); employ another’s password or some other user identifier that
misleads message recipients into believing that someone other than you is
communicating or otherwise using his/her access to the network or the
Internet; upload a worm, virus, “Trojan horse,” “time bomb” or
other harmful form of programming or vandalism; participate in
“hacking” activities or any form of unauthorized access to other
computers, networks, or information systems.
3. uses that jeopardize the security of student access and of the computer
network or other networks on the Internet. For example, don’t disclose
or share your password with others; don’t impersonate another user.
4. uses that are commercial transactions. Students and other users may not
sell or buy anything over the Internet. You should not give others private
information about you or others, including credit card numbers and social
security numbers.
C. Netiquette. All users must abide by rules of network etiquette, which
include the following:
1. Be polite. Use appropriate language. No swearing, vulgarities,
suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or threatening language.
2. Avoid language and uses which may be offensive to other users. Don’t
use access to make, distribute, or redistribute jokes, stories, or other
material which is based upon slurs or stereotypes relating to race,
gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or sexual orientation.
3. Don’t assume that a sender of e-mail is giving his or her permission
for you to forward or redistribute the message to third parties or to give
his/her e-mail address to third parties. This should only be done with
permission or when you know that the individual would have no objection.
4. Be considerate when sending attachments with e-mail (where this is
permitted). Be sure that the file is not too large to be accommodated by
the recipient’s system and is in a format which the recipient can open.
IV. INTERNET SAFETY
A. General Warning; Individual Responsibility of Parents and Users. All
users and their parents/guardians are advised that access to the
electronic network may include the potential for access to materials
inappropriate for school-aged pupils. Every user must take responsibility
for his or her use of the computer network and Internet and stay away from
these sites. Parents of minors are the best guide to materials to shun. If
a student finds that other users are visiting offensive or harmful sites,
he or she should report such use to the person designated by the School.
B. Personal Safety. Be safe. In using the computer network and Internet,
do not reveal personal information such as your home address or telephone
number. Do not use your real last name or any other information which
might allow a person to locate you without first obtaining the permission
of a supervising teacher. Do not arrange a face-to-face meeting with
someone you “meet” on the computer network or Internet without your
parent’s permission (if you are under 18). Regardless of your age, you
should never agree to meet a person you have only communicated with on the
Internet in a secluded place or in a private setting.
C. “Hacking” and Other Illegal Activities. It is a violation of this
Policy to use the School’s computer network or the Internet to gain
unauthorized access to other computers or computer systems, or to attempt
to gain such unauthorized access. Any use which violates state or federal
law relating to copyright, trade secrets, the distribution of obscene or
pornographic materials, or which violates any other applicable law or
municipal ordinance, is strictly prohibited.
D. Confidentiality of Student Information. Personally identifiable
information concerning students may not be disclosed or used in any way on
the Internet without the permission of a parent or guardian or, if the
student is 18 or over, the permission of the student himself/herself.
Users should never give out private or confidential information about
themselves or others on the Internet, particularly credit card numbers and
Social Security numbers. A supervising teacher or administrator may
authorize the release of directory information, as defined by
Massachusetts law, for internal administrative purposes or approved
educational projects and activities.
E. Active Restriction Measures. The School, either by itself or in
combination with the Data Acquisition Site providing Internet access, will
utilize filtering software or other technologies to prevent students from
accessing visual depictions or sites that are (1) obscene, (2) child
pornography, or (3) harmful to minors, or otherwise objectionable within
the discretion of the school. The
School will also monitor the online activities of students, through direct
observation and/or technological means, to ensure that students are not
accessing such depictions or any other material which is inappropriate for
minors. Internet filtering software or other technology-based protection
systems may be disabled by a supervising teacher or school administrator,
as necessary, for purposes of bona fide research or other educational
projects being conducted by students age 17 and older. The term “harmful
to minors” is defined by the Communications Act of 1934 (47 USC Section
254 [h][7]), as meaning any picture, image, graphic image file, or other
visual depiction that - taken as a whole and with respect to minors,
appeals to a prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion;- depicts,
describes, or represents, in a patently offensive way with respect to what
is suitable for minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual
contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or a lewd
exhibition of the genitals;
- taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or
scientific value as to minors.
V. PRIVACY
Network and Internet access is provided as a tool for your education. The
School District reserves the right to monitor, inspect, copy, review and
store at any time and without prior notice any and all usage of the
computer network and Internet access and any and all information
transmitted or received in connection with such usage. All such
information files shall be and remain the property of the School District
and no user shall have any expectation of privacy regarding such
materials.
VI. FAILURE TO FOLLOW POLICY
The user’s use of the computer network and Internet is a privilege, not
a right. A user who violates this Policy, shall at a minimum, have his or
her access to the computer network and Internet terminated, which the
School District may refuse to reinstate for the remainder of the
student’s enrollment in the School District. A user violates this Policy
by his or her own action or by failing to report any violations by other
users that come to the attention of the user. Further, a user violates
this Policy if he or she permits another to use his or her account or
password to access the computer network and Internet, including any user
whose access has been denied or terminated. The School District may also
take other disciplinary action in such circumstances.
VII. WARRANTIES/INDEMNIFICATION
The School District makes no warranties of any kind, either express or
implied, in connection with its provision of access to and use of its
computer networks and the Internet provided under this Policy. It shall
not be responsible for any claims, losses, damages or costs (including
attorney's fees) of any kind suffered, directly or indirectly, by any user
or his or her parent(s) or guardian(s) arising out of the user’s use of
its computer networks or the Internet under this Policy. By signing this
Policy, users are taking full responsibility for his or her use, and the
user who is 18 or older or, in the case of a user under 18, the parent(s)
or guardian(s) are agreeing to indemnify and hold the School, the School
District, the Data Acquisition Site that provides the computer and
Internet access opportunity to the School District and all of their
administrators, teachers, and staff harmless from any and all loss, costs,
claims or damages resulting from the user’s access to its computer
network and the Internet, including but not limited to any fees or charges
incurred through purchases of goods or services by the user. The user or,
if the user is a minor, the user’s parent(s) or guardian(s) agree to
cooperate with the School in the event of the School’s initiating an
investigation of a user’s use of his or her access to its computer
network and the Internet, whether that use is on a School computer or on
another computer outside the School District's network.
VIII. UPDATES
Users, and if appropriate, the user’s parents/guardians, may be asked
from time to time to provide new or additional registration and account
information or to sign a new Policy, for example, to reflect developments
in the law or technology. Such information must be provided by the user
(or his/her parents or guardian) or such new Policy must be signed if the
user wishes to continue to receive service. If after you have provided
your account information, some or all of the information changes, you must
notify the person designated by the School to receive such information.
STUDENT’S AGREEMENT
Every student, regardless of age, must read and sign below:
I have read, understand and agree to abide by the terms of the foregoing
Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy. Should I commit any violation
or in any way misuse my access to the School District's computer network
and the Internet, I understand and agree that my access privilege may be
revoked and School disciplinary action may be taken against me.
_________________________________________________ ______________________
Student name (PRINT CLEARLY)
Home phone
_________________________________________________ ______________________
Student signature
Date
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Address
User (place an "X" in the correct blank):
I am 18 or older _____ I am under 18 _____
If I am signing this Policy when I am under 18, I understand that when I
turn 18, this Policy will continue to be in full force and effect and
agree to abide by this Policy.
PARENT’S OR GUARDIAN’S AGREEMENT
_________________________________
Student’s name
To be read and signed by parents or guardians of students who are under
18:
As the parent or legal guardian of the above student, I have read,
understand and agree that my child or ward shall comply with the terms of
the School District's Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy for the
student’s access to the School District's computer network and the
Internet. I understand that access is being provided to the students for
educational purposes only. However, I also understand that it is
impossible for the School to restrict access to all offensive and
controversial materials and understand my child’s or ward’s
responsibility for abiding by the Policy. I am therefore signing this
Policy and agree to indemnify and hold harmless the School, the School
District and the Data Acquisition Site that provides the opportunity to
the School District for computer network and Internet access against all
claims, damages, losses and costs, of whatever kind, that may result from
my child’s or ward’s use of his or her access to such networks or his
or her violation of the foregoing Policy. Further, I accept full
responsibility for supervision of my child’s or ward’s use of his or
her access account if and when such access is not in the School setting. I
hereby give permission for my child or ward to use the building-approved
account to access the School District's computer network and the Internet.
_____________________________________________
________________________________
Parent or Guardian name(s) (PRINT CLEARLY) Home
phone
_____________________________________________
________________________________
Parent or Guardian signature(s)
Date
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Address
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Legal References: Children’s Internet Protection Act of 2000 (H.R. 4577,
P.L. 106-554)
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. 254[h],[l]
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 6801
et seq., Part F)
Revised: June 1, 2001
Chicopee Public Schools
Chicopee MA
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