Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union Bennington School District, Inc. Mount Anthony Union School District North Bennington Graded School District Pownal School District Shaftsbury School District Woodford School District

COMPUTER, NETWORK AND INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE

Policy # 6141 (Required)

I. Purpose The Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union and its member districts [hereinafter SVSU] recognize that information technology (IT) is integral to learning and educating today’s children for success in the global community and fully supports the access of these electronic resources by students and staff. The purpose of this policy is to: 1. Create an environment that fosters the use of information technology in a manner that supports and enriches the curriculum, provides opportunities for collaboration, and enhances staff professional development. 2. Ensure the SVSU and its member districts take appropriate measures to maintain the safety of everyone who accesses the districts’ information technology devices, network and web resources. 3. Comply with the requirements of applicable federal and state laws that regulate the provision of access to the Internet and other electronic resources by school districts. II. Policy It is the policy of the Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union, Bennington School District, Inc., Mount Anthony Union School District, North Bennington Graded School District, Pownal School District, Shaftsbury School District, and Woodford School District to provide students and staff access to a multitude of information technology (IT) resources, including, but not limited to, email, computers, wireless access points and the Internet. IT resources provide opportunities to enhance learning and improve communication within our community and with the global community. A. The use of the SVSU IT resources by students, staff or others is a privilege, not a right. B. With the privilege of access comes the responsibility of students, teachers, staff and the public to exercise responsible use of these resources. C. The same rules and expectations govern student use of IT resources as apply to other student conduct and communications, including but not limited to the SVSU harassment and bullying policies.

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D. The SVSU computer and network resources are the property of the SVSU. Users shall have no expectation of privacy in anything they create, store, send, receive or display on or over the SVSU computers or network resources, including personal files, images and email or other electronic communications.

III. Enforcement The SVSU reserve the right to revoke access privileges and/or administer appropriate disciplinary action for misuse of its IT resources. In the event there is an allegation that a user has violated this policy, a student will be provided with notice and opportunity to be heard in the manner set forth in the student disciplinary policy. Allegations of staff member violations of this policy will be processed in accordance with contractual agreements and legal requirements. Legal References: 17 U.S.C. §§101-1332 (Federal Copyright Act of 1976 as amended) 35 U.S.C. §§101-1332(Patents) 20 U.S.C. § 6777 et seq. (Enhancing Education Through Technology Act) 18 U.S.C. §2251 (Federal Child Pornography Law—Sexual Exploitation and Other Abuse of Children) 47 U.S.C. §254 (Internet Safety) 47 CFR §54.520 (CIPA Certifications) 13 V.S.A. §§2802 et seq. (Obscenity, minors) Cross Reference SVSU Policies: #5002-Student Harassment #5003-Bullying Prevention #5050-Discipline of Pupils Suspension and Expulsion of Students #6130-Copyright #6000-Curriculum #5084-Personal Use of Wireless Communications Date Warned

Date Adopted

Review Date

Southwest Vermont Supervisory Union

5/27/15

12/8/15

4/10/2017

Bennington School District, Inc. Mount Anthony Union School District North Bennington Graded School District Pownal School District Shaftsbury School District Woodford School District

6/3/15 5/20/15 10/14/15 5/20/15 10/14/15 6/3/15

10/7/15 10/21/15 11/18/15 10/21/15 11/24/15 10/7/15

#6141

Replaces Policies

Administrative procedures completed

6140, 6148, 6149

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Administrative Procedures for Policy #6141 I. Procedures The Superintendent, or his/ her designee, is responsible for establishing procedures governing use of IT resources consistent with the provisions of this policy. These procedures include: A. An annual process for educating all students and staff of all districts about responsible digital citizenship. Additionally, all students transferring into a district shall receive the same education prior to having access to the district’s IT resources as soon as is practicable. As defined in this policy, a responsible digital citizen is one who: 1. Respects One’s Self: Users will maintain appropriate standards of language and behavior when sharing information and images on social networking websites and elsewhere online. 2. Respects Others: Users refrain from using technologies to bully, tease or harass other people. Users will report incidents of cyber bullying and harassment in accordance with the SVSU policies on bullying and harassment. Users will also refrain from using another person’s system account or password or from representing themselves as another person. 3. Protects One’s Self and Others: Users protect themselves and others by reporting abuse and not forwarding inappropriate materials and communications. They are responsible at all times for the proper use of their account by not sharing their system account password. 4.

Users refrain from distributing personally identifiable information about themselves and others.

5. Respects Intellectual Property: Users suitably cite any and all use of websites, books, media, other intellectual property and digital media under the principles of the “Fair Use Doctrine.” 6. Protects Intellectual Property: Users request to use the software and media others produce. B. Provisions necessary to ensure Internet service providers and other contractors comply with applicable restrictions on the collection and disclosure of student data and any other confidential information stored in electronic resources of the SVSU or any of its member districts. C. Technology protection measures that provide for the monitoring and filtering of online activities by all users of SVSU’s wireless or wired network, and extends to personally owned devices as well as those belonging to the SVSU and member districts, including measures that protect against access to content that is obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors.

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D. Methods to address the following: 1. Control of access by minors to sites on the Internet that include inappropriate content, such as content that is: o Lewd, vulgar, or profane o Threatening o Harassing or discriminatory o Bullying o Terroristic o Obscene or pornographic 2. The safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, social media sites, and other forms of direct electronic communications. 3. Prevention of unauthorized online access by minors and other unlawful activities. 4. Unauthorized disclosure, use, dissemination of personal information regarding minors. 5. Restriction of minors’ access to materials harmful to them. E. A process whereby authorized persons may temporarily disable or bypass the SVSU Internet filtering measures during use by an adult to enable access for bona fide research or other lawful purpose. II. Policy Application This policy applies to anyone who accesses the SVSU network, collaboration and communication tools, and/or student information systems, either on-site or via a remote location, including access using privately owned devices, and anyone who uses the SVSU hardware, software, or any IT devices or services, either on or off-site. Anyone using a personal device other than a cell phone should contact tech services to make sure it is compatible with our network. This includes wireless printers, screen-casting devices (such as Apple TV or Chromecast) and any other hardware, software, or apps (including apps downloaded onto a personal or SVSU owned device) that may cause interruption or harm to the SVSU IT network. If an individual purchases or otherwise procures a device, software, or app that is not compatible or in some way disrupts the SVSU network, the device, software, or app will be removed or disabled within the SVSU domain. III. Limitation/Disclaimer of Liability The SVSU and its member districts are not liable for unacceptable use or violations of copyright restrictions or other laws, user mistakes or negligence, and costs incurred by users. The SVSU are not responsible for ensuring the accuracy, age appropriateness, or usability of any information found on its electronic resources network, including the Internet. The SVSU are not responsible for any damage experienced, including, but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service. The SVSU are not responsible for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through or stored on the electronic resources system, including the Internet, or for financial obligations arising through their unauthorized use. #6141

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