Technology Use Guidelines For Secondary Students

The Las Virgenes Unified School District is embarking upon an ambitious program to increase the use of technology in each of our classrooms To that end, students will have greater opportunities to utilize this technology as part of their academic career in the district. With that opportunity comes increased responsibility for students, parents, and district staff.

Parents must be aware that in addition to the vast resources available through on-line services such as Internet, there also exists material that may be deemed inappropriate for K-12 students.

While on school district campuses, users will be supervised by site and/or district faculty and staff. While the district will make every reasonable effort to monitor and supervise activities to ensure they are appropriate educational uses of technology, the district cannot guarantee that students will at all times be precluded from material that may not be suitable for their use. It is the responsibility of each user and their parent or guardian to honor the use restrictions of the district and help enforce appropriate use of district technology service and on-line access.

By this letter, the school district is hereby providing notice to all K-12 administrators, teachers, staff, volunteers, students, and parents concerning the existence of potentially inappropriate materials so that they can take added precaution when providing K-12 students with information over the Internet or other on-line access services. The determination of inappropriate material is subjective in nature, but generally is considered any material that does not have a direct relation to the student’s research or day-to-day use of such service. By signing the “Policies and Procedures Agreement Form”(#3) as the parent or legal guardian of the student named on that document, the parent or legal guaixlian is giving approval for their student to utilize these resources for the purpose of his/her educational program at the school. Concurrently, the parent or legal guardian is acknowledging that the student may have access that is not appropriate or related to the educational program. Please be advised that all students must sign the “Policies and Procedures Agreement Form” (#3) which acknowledges penalties ranging from suspension/termination of technology use to expulsion and criminal prosecution for violation of district policies and regulations regarding such use. A copy of these regulations is attached for your information. Please read the following carefully before signing.

Student Use Contract

The district’s computer network provides access to the Internet and other related on-line services. Access may include:

1. Electronic Mail (E-Mail) communication with people all over the world
2. Information and news from a variety of sources and research institutions
3. Public domain and share-ware software of all types
4. Discussion groups on a wide variety of topics
5. Access to many university libraries, Library of Congress
6. Future on-line services/interactive computing technology

Given the type of access that is available through the district’s network, material that may not be considered to be of educational value within the context of the school setting may be accessible by students. The Las Virgenes Unified School District has taken reasonable precautions to restrict access to controversial materials. However, on such networks, it is impossible to control all materials. The signatures on the “Policies and Procedures Agreement Form” (#3) are binding and indicate that the parties who have signed have read and agree to the terms and conditions and understand their significance.

VIOLATION OF THIS CONTRACT MAY RESULT IN DISCIPLINARY AND/OR LEGAL ACTION.

Student Use Obligations/Responsibilities

Students are authorized to use the district’s on-line services in accordance with user obligations and responsibilities specified below:

1. Students assume full responsibility for their actions while utilizing district technology services, the Internet, or other on-line services. Students shall keep passwords, account numbers, if issued, and/or related privileged information private. Students shall access the system only by utilizing their own password andlor account number.
2. Access to the system shall only be for purposes related to education. Commercial, political, and/or personal use of the district network is strictly prohibited. The district reserves the right to monitor any on-line communications for improper use. Students shall not assume that any communications over the network are private or confidential
3. Users shall not use the system to encourage the use of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, nor shall they promote unethical practices or any activity prohibited by law or district policy.
4. Users shall not transmit material that is threatening, obscene, disruptive, or sexually explicit, or that could be construed as harassment or disparagement of others based on their race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion or political beliefs.
5. Copyrighted material may not be placed on the system without the author’s permission. Users may download copyrighted material for their use only. Dissemination of any copyrighted material without the author’s permission is strictly prohibited and violation of this is subject to disciplinary action.
6. It shall be considered plagiarism for any user to download material that is not of his/her own creation and then submit that material under his/her own name without proper credit to the author/source.
7. Vandalism will result in the cancellation of privileges and may result in disciplinary and/or criminal action. Vandalism includes, but is not limited to:
   • uploading/downloading of inappropriate/damaging material
   • creating computer viruses
   • malicious attempt to harm or destroy district equipment, materials, or data of any other user
   • knowingly attempting to produce a system failure or reduce/impede system performance in any way shape or form
8. Users shall not read other users’ mail or files. They shall not attempt to interfere with other users’ ability to send or receive electronic mail nor shall they attempt to read, delete, copy, modify, or forge other users’ mail.
9. Users are expected to keep messages brief and use appropriate language.
10. Users shall report any security problem, misuse of the network, and/or inappropriate materials to their teacher, computer aide, or principal.
11. Any student who is aware of any misuse or infraction of any of the above regulations and does not report it to the teacher, computer aide, or principal shall be subject to disciplinary action and/or revocation of computer access.

Penalties

Any user who is found to be in violation of any of the aforementioned rules or regulations may be subject to the following:

1. Suspension and/or termination of all network access privileges or use of district technology
2. Suspension from school and/or expulsion from the Las Virgenes Unified School District
3. Referral to civil law enforcement authorities for criminal prosecution
4. Other legal action, including action to recover civil damages and penalties