Policy 9051 & 5016: Technology Acceptable Use Policy

The Chappaqua Central School District places a high value on digital citizenship, as well as promoting personal accountability when using digital resources provided by the District.  Staff, students and other users of District technology and networks agree to follow this policy and to abide by the following guidelines when using technology provided by the District and other technology on District premises.  “District Technology” when used in this policy means all hardware, software, online or Cloud-based services, devices and wired and wireless networks, including resources, technology and uses not yet available.

Use of District Technology is monitored by the District and there is no expectation of privacy with respect to communications sent, received or stored on District Technology, including information regarding Internet sites accessed or viewed.  Information recorded or stored by any means, including but not limited to email messages and files, can be accessed and read by authorized District personnel or authorized individuals outside the School District.

  1. Use of the District Technology must primarily be in support of the educational program and District activities.
     
  2. Any material stored on the District Technology may be viewed at any time by technical service staff, or school administrators.  Users should not save materials on the system that they do not want others to view.
     
  3. District user accounts and assigned devices shall be used only by the authorized user.  Users shall not seek to learn or change or share other users’ passwords, modify other users’ files or data, or misrepresent other users of the network.  Users shall not attempt to gain access to areas on the network to which they have not been granted privileges.
     
  4. Users shall not intentionally disrupt the use of any District Technology.
     
  5. Users agree to treat District Technology with respect.  Hardware, software and/or devices shall not be destroyed, modified, damaged or abused in any way.
     
  6. Users acknowledge that the District has in place Internet filters/protection measures which prohibit access of certain sites and/or inappropriate content.  Users may not disable, alter settings of, or intentionally circumvent using technology like VPNs or extensions that circumvent such filters/protection measures.  Users also acknowledge that no protection measure can guarantee that inappropriate content will never be accessible and that the District cannot and will not be liable should that happen.
     
  7. Malicious use of the District’s network(s) to develop programs that harass other users, “hack” or infiltrate a computer or system, damage the software components of a computer or system of are unlawful are prohibited.
     
  8. Loading, transmitting, displaying, or intentionally receiving content/messages that are harassing, insulting, threatening, contain obscene language or may be considered cyberbullying and other antisocial behaviors are prohibited.
     
  9. Student users acknowledge that the District provides education regarding appropriate interaction with others via email, on social networking and messaging sites/apps, as well as cyberbullying awareness and responses to cyberbullying, and they agree to conduct themselves appropriately when using District Technology.
     
  10. Use of District Technology to load, transmit, display, access or process pornographic material, offensive pictures, photographs or videos; inappropriate text files; illegal software; or files dangerous to the integrity of the network(s) or any attached device is prohibited.  In addition, users are prohibited from accessing copyrighted content from sites that host illegal video streams, including Torrent sites.
     
  11. Users should not post inappropriate messages when visiting Internet message boards or when commenting on blogs or social media.
     
  12. Users will not falsely identify themselves nor impersonate others.
     
  13. Software is protected by copyright laws; therefore users will not illegally access or make unauthorized copies of software or media found on District Technology.
     
  14. A.   Students may not download or install software on District Technology without authorization from District technology staff.
    B.   Staff may not download or install software on District Technology that is not related to the educational mission of the District.
     
  15. Users should follow copyright and fair use guidelines when copying information from the Internet.  These guidelines include proper citation when referring to downloaded text, images and other media, making sure that copyrighted material is not posted on public District Web pages unless the publisher grants permission.  The unauthorized copying or transfer of copyrighted materials is a violation of law and this Policy and will not be tolerated.
     
  16. District Technology should not be used to solicit donations or funds without prior approval of the administration.
     
  17. Users who connect personal devices to the District wireless network must adhere to the requirements of this Policy.
     
  18. Any user who receives threatening or unwelcome communications or material should report them to a teacher, a school administrator or the Director of Technology and Innovation.
     
  19. The core elements of this Policy will be reviewed with students at each level using language that is developmentally appropriate.
     
  20. Any violation of these guidelines by students may result in withdrawal of the privilege of the use of District Technology or in restricted use of it, and may result in disciplinary action pursuant to the District’s Code of Conduct and/or appropriate legal action.
     
  21. Any violation of these guidelines by staff may result in withdrawal of the privilege of use of District Technology or in restricted use of it, and may result in disciplinary action pursuant to applicable New York State law and/or a collective bargaining agreement, as well as appropriate legal action.

Access to District Technology shall terminate upon student graduation or withdrawal from the District, or staff member suspension from or termination of employment.  The District reserves the right to monitor network activity and to restrict or terminate network access in order to maintain the integrity of the network and to monitor acceptable use.  District administrators will make the final determination as to what constitutes unacceptable use.

Cross Reference:

  • Policy 5030 (Student Code of Conduct)
  • Policy 5052 (Harassment, Bullying and Discrimination Prevention and Intervention)
  • Policy 5054 (Disability Discrimination)
  • Policy 5063 (Internet Safety)
  • Policy 5080 (Sexual Harassment of Students)
  • Policy 9050 (Employee Sexual Harassment)
  • Policy 9052 (Electronic Communication and Social Media)


Adopted – August 8, 2018

Regulations