POLICY 6-3.13 TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS

The responsible use of computers and computer networks is a powerful tool in support of the instructional program. The Montgomery County Public Schools’ computer network is a wide-area network linking the schools and the administrative office to the Internet.

Liability

The School Board makes no warranties for the computer system it provides. The School Board shall not be responsible for any damages to the user from use of the computer system including loss of data, non-delivery or missed delivery of information, or service interruptions. The school division shall not be responsible for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through the computer system. The user agrees to indemnify the School Board for any losses, costs or damages incurred by the School Board relating to or arising out of any violation of this policy.

Internet Privacy Statement – Montgomery County Public Schools

The Montgomery County School Board maintains and operates a Web site for the dissemination of information about the school division. The School Board does not collect any information from persons who access its Web site, including personally identifiable information. The School Board Web site does not automatically place a computer file - commonly known as a “cookie” - on any person’s computer who accesses the Web site.

Acceptable Internet Use and Internet Safety Policy

Generally

The Montgomery County School Board adopts this Acceptable Use Policy, which outlines appropriate uses, ethics and protocol for the School Board’s computer network.

1. The division superintendent or his/her designee shall select and operate technology that protects against, filters or blocks access through school division computers to visual depictions that are –

a. child pornography, as set out in Virginia Code § 18.2-374.1:1 or as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2256;

b. obscenity, as defined in Virginia Code § 18.2-372 or 18 U.S.C. § 1460; and

c. material that Montgomery County Public Schools deems to be harmful to juveniles, as defined in Virginia Code § 18.2-390, material that is harmful to minors, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 254(h)(7)(G), and material that is otherwise inappropriate for minors.

2. The technology protection measure shall be utilized and enforced during any use of the division’s computers by minors.

3. The school administration shall monitor online activities of minors.

4. The division superintendent or his/her designee shall select and operate technology and take administrative measures to protect the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications.

5. The division superintendent or his/her designee shall ensure that the Montgomery County Public Schools include a component on Internet safety for students that is integrated in the division’s instructional program and that is consistent with the guidelines for instructional programs related to Internet Safety issued by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The failure of any student, teacher or administrator to follow the terms of this Policy may result in the loss of Montgomery Public Schools’ computer network privileges, disciplinary action and/or appropriate legal action.

Acceptable Use AND INTERNET SAFETY Policy

Staff

1. MCPS staff shall use the division’s computer equipment and communications services solely for educational purposes.

2. MCPS staff network account owners are responsible for all activities under this account, so staff shall not share network passwords.

3. MCPS staff shall not use the division’s computer equipment and communications services for sending, receiving, viewing or downloading inappropriate and/or illegal material via the Internet and World Wide Web.

4. MCPS staff shall not use the division’s computer equipment and communications services as part of any illegal activity defined as a violation of any local, state, or federal laws.

5. MCPS staff shall monitor online activities of minors.

6. MCPS staff shall report any instances of Cyberbullying, Cyberthreats, inappropriate or illegal activity to school administrators.

7. MCPS staff shall not disclose, use, or disseminate confidential information regarding students.

8. MCPS staff shall require students to have a signed Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) before using computer.

9. MCPS staff shall not use computer for commercial, political, or entertainment purposes during the school day.

10. MCPS staff shall be held responsible and accountable for damage to district equipment or network as a result of improper or unauthorized usage.

11. MCPS staff shall not install, or use personal equipment on the MCPS network.

12. MCPS staff shall comply with all applicable copy write regulations.

13. MCPS staff shall comply with the retention of electronic public or student records as governed by the Virginia Public Records Act, Virginia Code § 42.1-76, et seq. Record retention schedules, which identify various documents and how long they must(or need to) be saved, may be accessed at the Virginia Library’s website: www.lva.lib.va.us.

14. MCPS staff shall integrate Internet safety into their curriculum.

Failure to follow the terms of this Policy may result in the loss of Montgomery Public Schools’ computer network privileges, disciplinary action and/or appropriate legal action.

ACCEPTABLE USE AND INTERNET SAFETY POLICY

Grades K-5

With the permission of your parent or guardian, Montgomery County Public Schools offers you an opportunity to use the Internet and computer systems at school. The term computer system includes hardware, software, data, communication lines and devices, terminals, printers, CD-ROM devices, tape drives, servers, mainframe and personal computers, the Internet and other internal or external networks. We expect you to use the Internet and computer based technology while in our building only for educational purposes. This use is a privilege, not a right, and we may discipline you or take away your right to use the Internet and computer technology at school if you misuse this privilege. This use is a privilege, not a right, and we may discipline you or take away your right to use the Internet and computer technology at school if you misuse this privilege. You are responsible for your own actions while you are on the Internet and are also accountable for any online activities that occur by others because you have allowed them to use your account. The Division's computer system is not a public forum. Any communications or materials used on the computer system, including electronic mail or other files deleted from a user's account may be monitored or read by school officials.

1. I will read the rules for using the Internet that are given below and will ask an adult at my school if I do not understand what any of them mean. I also know that if I do not use computers and equipment in the right way, my teacher or Principal may need to punish me. In fact, I may not be allowed to use computers and equipment again at school.

2. I will only use computers and equipment in the manner for which they are made. I know that my teacher and my Principal want me to use the Internet to learn more about the subjects I am studying in my classroom. I will not use the Internet for any other reason. For example, I will not search for a comic book site when I am supposed to be looking for something in science.

3. I understand that I am responsible or liable for any damages that I cause while using technology.

4. I will be polite to other people when writing to them (or talking with them) while I am on the Internet. I will not use curse words or any language that my teacher or parent would not want me to use in my classroom.

5. I will never give my name, my home address, any personal information about me or my family, or my telephone number to anyone I write to or communicate with on the Internet. I know that almost anyone I contact is a stranger to me, and that I don't share personal information with strangers no matter how nice they seem to be.

6. I will not cyberbully. “Cyberbully” means any threats, harassment, or intimidation of another person using the computer. I will tell an adult if I see any cyberbullying, cyberthreats, or inappropriate activity.

7. I understand that sometimes I may see a site on the Internet that has pictures or words that my teacher or parents would not want me to see. I will not try to find those sites and, if I come across one of them by accident, I will leave it as soon as I can. For example, suppose I am searching for a type of animal and find a picture that only adults should see. I quickly use my forward or backward keys to take me to another site. I will not continue to look at the site with the bad picture and will not show it to others around me. I also will not print it out or save the picture.

8. I agree that I cannot use the words or pictures I see on an Internet site without giving credit to the person who owns the site. For example, I will not copy information from the Internet and hand it in to my teacher as my own work.

9. I will never give out private information about others or myself; including last name, address, phone numbers, or school information.

10. I will tell an adult right away if anything comes up on the screen that makes me feel uncomfortable.

11. I will never email any pictures of others or myself.

12. I will not use the words or pictures from an Internet site without giving credit to the resource.

I agree to follow the rules listed above. If I do not, my technology privileges may be taken away.

Student Name: __________________ Student Signature: __________________

Parent Name: __________________ Parent Signature: __________________

Date__________________

<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> ACCEPTABLE USE AND INTERNET SAFETY POLICY

Grades 6 - 12

As a student, you should read the following regulations and then sign this form to show that you understand your responsibilities in using the Internet at this school. While using the Internet from school properties:

1. I will only use the technology and equipment in the manner for which it was designed. I understand that I may be held responsible for any or all damage incurred as a result of my negligent or inappropriate behavior.

2. While online, I will not use language, which may be offensive to other users. I will treat others with respect. The written and verbal messages I send while on the Internet will not contain profanity, obscene comments, sexually explicit material, or expressions of bigotry, racism, or hatred.

3. I will not cyberbully. “Cyberbully” means any threats, harassment, or intimidation of another person using the computer. I will tell an adult if I see any cyberbullying, cyberthreats, or inappropriate activity.

4. I will not place unlawful information on the Internet, nor will I use the Internet illegally in any way that violates federal, state, or local laws or statutes. I will never falsify my identity while using the Internet.

5. I will not use the Internet for non-school related activities.

6. I will not send chain letters or any pyramid scheme either to a list of people or to an individual, nor will I send any other type of communication that might cause a congestion of the Internet or interfere with the work of others.

7. I will not use the Internet to buy or sell, or to attempt to buy or sell, any service or product.

8. I will not change any computer file that does not belong to me.

9. I will not use copyrighted materials or software from the Internet without permission of the author. I will cite the source where appropriate.

10. I will never knowingly give my password to others, nor will I use another person's password.

11. I will never use the Internet to send or obtain pornographic or inappropriate material or files.

12. Except for the usual information contained in the headers of my electronic mail, I will never give out personal information such as name, address, phone number, or gender.

13. I will never knowingly circumvent, or try to circumvent, security measures on either Montgomery County Public Schools' computers or on computers at any remote site.

14. I will never attempt to gain unlawful access to another person's or organization's resources, programs, or data.

15. I will not make, or attempt to make, any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user on the Internet, including the uploading, downloading, or creation of computer viruses.

16. I understand that the school system is not responsible or liable for any harm, damages or charges that result from my use of the system’s technology, including loss of data, interruption of services, corruption of files or programs, purchases, hacking or other violations of this Acceptable Use Policy.

17. The School Division's electronic mail system is owned and controlled by the School Division. The School Division may provide electronic mail to aid students in fulfilling their duties and as an educational tool. Electronic mail is not private and may be monitored and accessed by the School Division. Users shall be held personally liable for the content of any electronic message they create. Downloading any file attached to an electronic message is prohibited unless the user is certain of that message's authenticity and the nature of the file. All students who use the MCPS Student e-mail system will complete a Parental Authorization form.

18. I will report any violations of this Acceptable Use Policy that I have knowledge of to my teacher or principal.

Student's Agreement

I have read the Acceptable Use Policy for Internet Access, as written above, and understand fully and agree to follow the principles and guidelines it contains. If I did not understand the meaning of part of it, I asked an adult to explain it to me. I agree to follow these rules at all times when at school.

Student Signature: ____________________________________________________

Parent's Agreement

As the parent or guardian of this student, I have read the Acceptable Use Policy for Internet Access and Computer based Technology as written above. I understand that computer access at school for students of Montgomery County Public Schools is provided for educational purposes only. I understand that employees of the school system will make every reasonable effort to restrict access to all controversial material on the Internet, but I will not hold them responsible for materials my son or daughter acquires or sees as a result of the use of the Internet from school facilities. By signing this document and/or the student handbook in which this policy is contained, I give my permission to Montgomery County Public Schools for my son or daughter to use computer equipment and the Internet while on school property.

Parent Signature: ____________________________________________________

Montgomery County Public Schools reflects the general trend of society towards an information based technological culture. Goal IV of the instructional Vision Statement for MCPS states, "All students will understand and use the latest technologies and information sources." Therefore, computer based instruction is a key element of the MCPS curriculum and students as a rule will encounter it as part of the normal classroom.

If I do not consent to the above rules, or I do not wish for my child to access computer equipment and the Internet, I have indicated my desire on the signature page to be contacted by the school to arrange for alternative instruction for my child.

Parent Signature: ____________________________________________________

Guidelines for Student E-mail

Internet, Web-based, student E-mail accounts are made available to Montgomery County Public Schools’ students for instructional reasons. Student access to E-mail is a privilege with a corresponding degree of responsibility for the user. As an instructional tool, student E-mail accounts are monitored and controlled by the classroom teacher.

As administrators of the student E-mail system teachers will:

1. Enable and disable student accounts as needed for instructional reasons.

2. Access and read student E-mail for the purpose of monitoring appropriate student use.

3. Supervise student use of the E-mail system and report incidents to the appropriate building administrator for action.

4. Maintain a file of their student’s signed consent forms.

5. Adhere to the MCPS Staff Guidelines for the use of Instructional Technology.

Student responsibilities include:

1. Students should never put personal information in their E-mail messages (name, phone number, age, home address).

2. Students must not use E-mail in an inappropriate or offensive manner.

3. Students are responsible for returning a signed parental consent form before E-mail accounts will be issued.

4. Students will adhere to the MCPS Acceptable Use Policy for Computer Based Technology.

The Student e-mail system has been configured with the following constraints:

1. To conserve disk space E-mail messages will automatically be purged on approximately a monthly basis and Student E-mail accounts will be of a finite size. Students should save important messages as text or word processing documents to their desired storage location.

2. To prevent the spread of computer viruses the ability of the system to send and receive attachments will be controlled.

PARENTAL AUTHORIZATION FOR SCHOOL EMAIL

With the consent of your parent/guardian, you will be provided an E-mail account for instructional use. This is a privilege extended to you to aid your learning and it may be withdrawn or modified by your teacher if it is misused. By signing this document to use school provided E-mail or a school computer you become responsible for your actions with these tools and are accountable for them.

This E-mail account is provided as a support to the instructional process and consequently any and all messages are open for review by the assigning instructor. In maintaining and securing the system, technology support personnel may also have access to the message traffic.

Follow these guidelines and apply common sense to evaluate your actions in using the system.

1. Messages will not contain profanity, obscene comments or sexually explicit materials.

2. Messages will not contain racist, sexist, religious or generation derogatory content. Respect for members of the school and general community is expected and should be expressed.

3. User identity will be accurately reflected in all message traffic.

4. No virus, program, or addition will be introduced into the system, which alters its operation, destroys or damages data or renames or relocates files.

5. Passwords, or other access coeds or identifiers, are not to be shared by student users. No student is authorized to use any other person’s PID, password or E-mail account.

6. Overall message volume or routing should not absorb a disproportionate amount of E-mail system resources.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Print first and last name Signature Date

CONSENT

As parent/guardian I consent to this student being assigned an E-mail account.

Signature Date

As parent/guardian I do not consent and do not want this student to have an E-mail account.

Signature Date

Guidelines for Employee E-mail

The School Board provides computer-based electronic information services for the sole purpose of carrying out the mission of the school division. The purpose of this section is to define the appropriate use of the Montgomery County Public Schools electronic mail system. However, this section does not enumerate all possible acceptable and unacceptable uses. This policy applies to all persons who have been provided an MCPS e-mail account, including, but not limited to, MCPS employees. By using the MCPS e-mail system, users agree to do so only in compliance with this Policy and all applicable state and federal laws, including laws related to copyright and obscenity.

Appropriate Use

Access to the MCPS e-mail system shall be: (1) for educational purposes that are consistent with School Board objectives and (2) for legitimate school business. Responsible use of electronic communication requires discretion and professionalism. Users are solely and individually responsible for all communication transmitted via their MCPS e-mail accounts and shall not:

(1) forge, intercept or interfere with electronic mail messages;

(2) use obscene, lewd, profane, threatening or disrespectful language;

(3) distribute personal information about others without their consent; and/or

(4) distribute chain mail, solicitations, political statements, or religious messages.

When communicating via MCPS e-mail, users are expected to abide by generally accepted rules of etiquette.

Personal Use

The MCPS electronic communication systems are to be used for school system business purposes. Incidental personal use is permissible, so long as it does not:

(1) interfere with instruction;

(2) interfere with staff productivity;

(3) burden the school division with identifiable costs;

(4) preempt any school division activity or interfere with the efficient operation of the County’s computing facilities or electronic mail services.

Privacy

As a matter of general practice, the MCPS administration will not regularly monitor e-mail messages. However, MCPS e-mail system users shall not have any expectation of privacy in anything that they create, store, send or receive on the MCPS e-mail system. The MCPS administration reserves the right without prior notice to access any e-mail message.

Management Practices

The individual user account of any employee shall be removed upon the employee’s resignation or termination of employment.

On July 1 of each year, the MCPS technology department shall remove all e-mail messages from the system that are more than one year old.

E-mail Confidentiality

In general, e-mail messages from the MCPS e-mail system are public documents under applicable law and, therefore, are not confidential. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, e-mail messages must be produced if a citizen requests them with reasonable specificity. The general public shall have access to MCPS e-mail messages as provided in Virginia Code § 2.2-3704.

E-mail messages that contain personally identifiable, non-directory information about an MCPS student ore employee are confidential and may be exempt from public disclosure under Virginia Code §§ 2.2-3704(G) and 2.2-3705.4(1). In addition, e-mail messages that contain personally identifiable information about a student are covered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. §1232g, and only persons with a legitimate educational interest may have access to them without written prior informed parental consent. MCPS employees that use the e-mail system to convey information to individuals that do not have a legitimate educational interest may be in violation of FERPA.

E-mail Record Retention

The School Board recognizes that e-mail messages may qualify as public records or student records under applicable law, and therefore are governed by the Virginia Public Records Act, Virginia Code § 42.1-76, et seq. Record retention schedules, which identify various documents and how long they must (or need to) be saved, may be access at the Virginia Library’s website: www.lva.lib.va.us. The MCPS administration does not archive messages from the division’s e-mail server. It is the responsibility of each individual MCPS employee to comply with the Library of Virginia’s schedules for the retention of electronic messages, based on the categories of documents for which the e-mail messages qualify. For example, in cases where e-mail messages are relevant to a student’s cumulative record, the message must be printed and retained for five years.

LEGAL REFERENCE: Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, §§2.2-3700, et seq., 2.2-3803, 18.2-372, 18.2-374.1:1, 18.2-390, 22.1-70.2; 42.1-76, et seq., 18 U.S.C. §§ 1460, 2256; 47 U.S.C. § 254.

Adopted: April 2004

Revised: September 2005, August 2007