Updates Coming July 2012

 
Wayland Public Schools Acceptable Use Policy
SECONDARY SCHOOL VERSION
Computer, Network, and Internet - - Terms and Conditions

The purpose of the Wayland Public Schools computer network is to advance and promote teaching and learning and to provide access to a wide variety of educational resources. Wayland Public Schools (WPS) is committed to providing a robust information technology environment to support its students and faculty in the pursuit of their academic and instructional objectives. All those who use the information technology resources at WPS must comply with the written policies covering their use as well as the spirit and intent of those policies.

1) Acceptable Use - Wayland Public Schools information technology may be used for educational purposes ONLY. All other uses are prohibited. All use must be in support of education and research and consistent with the educational objectives of the Wayland Public Schools. Use of the networks or computing resources of other organizations must comply with the rules appropriate for that network or organization. Transmission of any material in violation of any national or state regulation is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to: copyrighted material, threatening or obscene material, or material protected by trade secret.

2) Privileges - The use of school computers is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of that privilege. The system administrators, with school system administrators, will deem what is inappropriate use based on this policy. The administration, faculty, and staff of WPS may request the system administrator to deny, revoke, or suspend specific user accounts/access for misuse of said access. Students may visit only Internet sites that support education and research and are consistent with the educational objectives of the Wayland Public Schools. Further, access to computers and the Internet is at the discretion of the teacher/staff person monitoring that area. Students are prohibited from using or remotely accessing equipment, network resources, or software that are reserved for use by teaching and administrative staff.

3) Computing and Network Rules

• Use the computing facilities of WPS and the network only for academic and instructional objectives. Use of the network for political activity, financial gain, commercial activity, or illegal activity, e.g. hacking is expressly prohibited.
• Do not use a computer to harm other people or their work.
• Do not damage the computer or the network in any way.
• Do not interfere with the operation of the network in any way. This includes installing shareware, freeware, illegal software or software that you own personally.
• Do not violate copyright laws. This includes the copying and/or downloading of commercial software or other material (e.g. music) in violation of federal copyright laws.
• Do not view, send, or display offensive messages or pictures.
• Do not share your account or password, nor use the password or account of another person.
• Do not waste limited resources such as bandwidth, disk space, or printing capacity.
• Do not trespass in the folders, work, or files of others.
• Do notify an adult immediately, if by accident, you encounter materials that violate the rules of appropriate use.
• Do not alter or attempt to bypass any computer or network security settings.
• Do not access material that is profane, vulgar, or obscene (pornography), that advocates or condones the commission of unlawful acts (illegal), or that advocates or condones violence or discrimination towards other people (hate literature).
• Do not give your phone number or address to anyone on the Internet and never agree to get together with someone you have "met" on the Internet without first checking with your parents.

5) No Warranty - WPS makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. WPS will not be responsible for any damages you suffer. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, nondeliveries, mis-deliveries, or service interruptions from any cause. Use of any information obtained via the Internet is at your own risk. Wayland Public Schools specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its services.

6) Privacy - All users of WPS computing facilities should be aware that information accessed, created, sent, received, or stored on the network and/or on all WPS computers is not private. Network system administrators may review files to maintain system integrity and to insure responsible use.

7) Security - Security on any computer system is a high priority, especially when the system involves many users. If you feel you can identify a security problem on the school network or Internet, you must notify a system administrator or the Technology Director. Do not demonstrate the problem to other users. Attempts to log on to the school network as a system administrator or as any other user (other than yourself) will result in cancellation of user privileges. Do not share your password with anyone and log on only on your own account. Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer systems may be denied access to the school network and/or the Internet.

8) Filtering of Internet Content - WPS uses network software to filter or block obscene material, pornographic material, and other material that is harmful to minors, as required by the Children's Internet Protection Act. Efforts to circumvent or tamper with the effectiveness of the filtering system are prohibited and may lead to disciplinary consequences. If a site is being blocked by the filtering software and a teacher or staff member wishes to access it for sound educational purposes, they may request to have the site unblocked. Such requests should go through the school Technology Specialists or the technicians. If there is doubt whether the content is appropriate, the superintendent of schools will be the final arbiter.

9) Vandalism - Vandalism will result in cancellation of privileges and could result in financial responsibility for any damages. Vandalism in terms of computers has many definitions. Vandalism is considered to include the following: altering the desktop or system folder of the workstation computer, attempts to bypass district security of same, attempts to discover or use the passwords of other users, attempts to disable the accounts of others, any physical damage to the equipment of Wayland Public Schools, and any attempt to harm or destroy data of another user on your network or over the Internet, and this includes, but is not limited to the uploading or creation of computer viruses.

10) Consequences - Violations of any aspect of the Acceptable Use policy may result in loss of access. Additional disciplinary action may be determined at the building level in keeping with existing rules of behavior and consequences as set forth at that school. When applicable, legal authorities may be contacted.