Laurens County Board of Education

Firetower Road

Dublin, Georgia 31021

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY (AUP)

INTERNET/EMAIL/WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)

The Laurens County School System, also referred to as the LCBOE in this document, in conjunction with its internet service providers presents to its faculty, staff , and students, Internet access for the purposes of academic disciplines.  The use of the Internet as an electronic highway literally provides students and teachers access to thousands of mainframe servers and millions of microcomputers WORLDWIDE.  This access includes software and public domain of all types, library catalogs, journal holdings of universities and Library of Congress, government documents, and serial holdings as well as many other informative and educational resources.  In recognizing the awesome and ubiquitous tool that the Internet provides to the users in the Laurens County School System; the Systems Administrators, faculty and Administration recognizes that some systems may contain defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, racially offensive, or illegal material, and, therefore, requires EACH user of the Internet to subscribe to the following terms and conditions for use.  The signatories at the end of this document must realize that this document is legally binding and the terms and conditions should be carefully and fully understood.  The Systems Administrators reserves the right to modify any term or condition with appropriate notification to the users of the system.  The Systems Administrators reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to suspend or terminate user’s access to and use of Internet upon any breach of Terms and Conditions by user.  Prior to a suspension or termination, or as soon as it is practicable, the Systems Administrators will inform the user of the suspected breach and give the member an opportunity to present an explanation.  A panel consisting of the Technology Committee of the respective school as well as Administrators of the school and Systems Administrators will determine the appropriate action to be taken against the user in terms of future use of the Network (i.e. Internet, Email, etc.) at school sites.  The signature(s) at the end of this document IS/ARE legally binding and indicate(s) the party/parties who sign/signed read the terms and conditions carefully and understand(s) their significance.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Personal Responsibility

I will accept personal responsibility for appropriate use of all resources. The use of the Internet and the supporting software is a PRIVILEGE, NOT A RIGHT, and inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of those privileges.  Attempts to logon as a Systems Administrator will result in cancellation of user privileges. Users are not allowed to use others’ E-mail accounts or passwords. Any user identified using or sharing this information will lose their privileges.  Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer systems may be denied access to the Internet as well as other services provided via LCBOE network system.  The Systems Administrators will deem what is appropriate use and their decision is FINAL.  Also, the Systems Administrators may close any account at any time as required, without notice.  The Administration, Faculty, and Staff may request the Systems Administrators to deny, revoke, or suspend specific users, with no appeal process. LCBOE reserves the right to review any material on user accounts and to monitor fileserver space as well as activities performed on the LCBOE network in order for LCBOE to make determinations on whether specific users of the network are appropriate.   The Systems Administrators reserve the right to set quotas for disk usage on the system.  Any member who exceeds their quota will be advised to delete files to return to compliance.   No software may be uploaded to the software libraries of the computer stations in school without prior permission from the Systems Administrators. Copyrighted material must not be placed on any computer in the Laurens County School System unless an original copy or appropriate license is maintained at the school site.

Acceptable use of the Internet including “netiquette”

Use of the Network requires etiquette, which include but are not limited to the following:

a.       Not violating any state or/or federal laws (i.e. copyright laws)

b.       Not violating LCBOE policies or Georgia BOE policies.

c.       Be polite- do not “shout”(sending e-mail in all CAPS) or  use abusive language.

d.       DO NOT reveal personal information such as address  or phone numbers.

e.       Note that Electronic Mail (E-mail) is not guaranteed private. Data, including personal letters, E-mail, bank account info etc. , stored on school computers is considered public information. 

f.        Do not use the network in such a way that you would disrupt the use of the network by other users.  (Using up Bandwidth)

g.       Do not indicate or suggest racism, sexism, or pornography

h.       Do not conduct unethical or illegal activities of any kind.

i.         Do not make solicitations or purchases of any kind.

j.         Do not conduct commercial, for profit activities.

k.       Do not transmit any copyrighted material, trade secrets, threatening and/or obscene material.

Privacy

NEVER give your full name, home address, phone number or other personal information on the Internet or any other information service. NEVER give out this type of information for any other person.  NEVER use anyone else’s name password or account.  

Security

On all networks security is of the highest priority.  If you identify a security problem, notify a school administrator, Systems Administrator or faculty member at once.  Never demonstrate a security flaw to other users as this may compromise the integrity of the network.

Vandalism

Causing damage to any equipment or the data of another person or agency, including uploading or creating a computer virus WILL result in the loss of ALL technology privileges, disciplinary action, and legal referral.  Under Georgia State Law a user of school equipment is liable for up to and not exceeding $5000 for damage to technology equipment. This includes malicious damage to equipment or data, introduction of virus or modification to system settings, or any other acts that make the equipment inefficient or inoperable.

Disclaimer for local and remote terminal access

The Laurens County School System as the Systems Administrator makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing.  The Laurens County School System will not be responsible for any damages suffered while on this system.  These damages include loss of data, mis-deliveries, service interruptions, and/or exposure to offensive or threatening material.  The Laurens County School System specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy of information obtained through these services.  This extends to Internet access from remote terminals. 

I understand and will abide by all of the provisions and conditions of this contract. I understand that any violations may result in disciplinary and/or legal actions.  I also agree to immediately report any misuse of technology resources or information services to a school administrator.

USER NAME (please print) ___________________________________________

USER’S SIGNATURE ________________________________ DATE_________

Students under the age of eighteen MUST have the signature of their parent/guardian below.

As the parent/guardian of this student, I have read and understand that the Laurens County School System is providing advance technology resources and Internet information services for educational purposes.  I understand that reasonable precautions will be taken but that complete prevention of access to offensive material may not be possible.  I will not hold the LCBOE responsible for materials on the Internet.

PARENT/GUARDIAN (please print) ______________________________________________

PARENT/GUARDIAN SIGNATURE ______________________________ DATE _________

Additional Provision for Administrators, Faculty, and Staff

a)      DO NOT leave students on the Internet Unsupervised

b)      Have students ask permission to use the Internet and make sure they have a valid educational purpose for doing so.

c)      Supervise e-mail.  DO NOT allow “CHAT” to take place.  Be aware that there are people on the Internet who impersonate others and use inappropriate language and morals and may have malicious intentions.

d)      Ultimately, Teachers are responsible for what occurs in the classroom, if a student breaks the policies set forth by the LCBOE, teachers are expected to take appropriate action against those students.

e)      Teachers and staff are also responsible for their own actions and are expected to follow the guidelines of this AUP carefully.  Misuse of resources may result in loss of privileges in the classroom in which you teach, as well as system wide.

I  (print name) ___________________________________________ have read and understand the provisions contained herein.  I also understand as an employee of the Laurens County School System I am to uphold this policy in my classroom with students as well as personally.

Signature ______________________________________________ Date __________________