School districts use AUPs (Acceptable Use Procedures) to help define
acceptable behaviors by student and staff users of information systems.
It is critical that every employee in the district review and understand
the terms of the Klein ISD Acceptable Use Procedure. Teachers must
assure that their students understand the responsibilities that go along
with access to the district's network and the consequences for any
violations of the district's AUP.
Click here for a Printable Version for Employees (PDF)
Click here for a Printable Version for Students (PDF)
Click here for a Printable Version for Non-Employees (PDF)
Employee Guidelines for Acceptable Use of Technology Resources
These
guidelines are provided so that employees are aware of the
responsibilities they accept when they use District-owned computer
hardware, operating system software, application software, stored text,
data files, electronic mail, local databases, removable media, digitized
information, communication technologies, and Internet access. In
general, this requires efficient, ethical, and legal utilization of all
technology resources.
1. Expectations
a. Use
of computers, other technical hardware, computer networks, and software
is only allowed when granted permission by the employee’s supervisor.
b. All users are expected to follow existing copyright laws. Copyright
guidelines are posted and/or available in the media center of each
campus as well as posted on the District’s web site.
c. Although
the District has an Internet safety plan in place, employees are
expected to notify their campus or district administrator whenever they
come across information or messages that are inappropriate, dangerous,
threatening, or make them feel uncomfortable.
d. Employees who
identify or know about a security problem are expected to convey the
details to their campus or district administrator without discussing it
with others.
e. Employees are responsible for securing technology devices when not in use and for returning them in good working condition.
f. Employees have a right to participate in social networking sites,
blogs, forums, wikis, etc., or other Internet activities for their
private use; however, employees should not post anything (through
written messages, images, videos, or otherwise that would violate
student confidentiality rights, and/or District Board policies and
procedures including but not limited to the Code of Ethics and Standard
Practices for Texas Educators (as stated in Board policy DH (EXHIBIT),
and/or that would negatively impact the perception of the employee's
ability to be effective in their employment capacity. Postings that are
considered inappropriate or otherwise are violations of District Board
policies and procedures, including but not limited to the Acceptable Use
Procedures, may be addressed by the District and could lead to
disciplinary action up to and including termination.
g. Employees are responsible for conserving energy as appropriate by turning off electronic devices daily.
2. Unacceptable conduct includes but is not limited to the following:
a. Using the network for illegal activities, such as copyright or
contract violations, or downloading inappropriate materials, viruses,
and/or software, including but not limited to hacking and host file
sharing software.
b. Using the network for financial or commercial gain, advertising, or political activities.
c. Accessing or exploring online content that does not support the
curriculum and/or is inappropriate for school assignments, including but
not limited to pornographic sites.
d. Vandalizing, tampering, or
accessing without permission, equipment, programs, files, software,
system performance or other technology. Use or possession of hacking
software is strictly prohibited.
e. Causing congestion on the
network or interfering with the work of others, e.g., chain letters,
jokes, or pictures to lists or individuals.
f. Unauthorized or non-curricular use of online video, music, or streaming content.
g. Gaining unauthorized access anywhere on the network.
h. Invading the privacy of other individuals.
i. Using another user’s account, password, or ID card or allowing another user access to your account, password, or ID.
j. Coaching, helping, joining, or acquiescing in any unauthorized activity on the network.
k. Posting anonymous, unlawful, or inappropriate messages or information on a district owned system.
l. Engaging in sexual harassment or using any language of a sexual or
otherwise objectionable nature (e.g., racist, terroristic, abusive,
threatening,demeaning, slanderous) in public or private messages.
m. Falsifying permission and/or authorization of identification documents.
n. Obtaining copies of or modifying files, data, or passwords belonging to other users on the network without authorization.
o. Knowingly placing a computer virus on a computer or network.
p. Using personal computing devices on the district network, except district-approved devices.
q. Transmission of any material that is in violation of any federal or
state law. This includes, but is not limited to, student or other
confidential information, copyrighted material, threatening or obscene
material, and computer viruses.
3. Acceptable Use Guidelines
a. General Guidelines:
(1) Employees are responsible for the ethical and educational use of
technology in the District and when a district-owned device is used out
of District.
(2) Employees will have access to available forms of
electronic media and communication that is in support of education and
research, and in support of the educational goals and objectives of the
District.
(3) All technology policies and restrictions must be followed.
(4) Access to the District’s computer online services is a privilege
and not a right. Each employee will be required to sign and adhere to
the Acceptable Use Procedures Agreement.
(5) When placing,
removing, or restricting access to data or online services, school
officials shall apply the same criteria of educational suitability used
for other education resources.
b. Network Etiquette
(1) Be polite.
(2) Use appropriate language.
(3) Do not reveal personal data (i.e. home address, phone number, or phone numbers of other people).
(4) Remember that the other users of technology are human beings whose
culture, language, and humor have different points of reference from
your own.
(5) Users should be discrete when forwarding e-mail and it should only be done on a need-to-know basis.
c. E-Mail
(1) E-mail may be used for educational or administrative purposes only.
(2) E-mail transmissions, stored data, transmitted data, or any other
use of districtowned technology by employees or any other user is
subject to being monitored at any time by designated staff to ensure
appropriate use.
(3) All e-mail and all contents are property of the District.
d. Consequences
The employee, in whose name a system account and/or computer hardware
is issued, will be responsible at all times for its appropriate use.
Noncompliance with the guidelines published here, in the Employee Code
of Conduct, and in Board policy may result in suspension or termination
of technology privileges and disciplinary action. Violations of
applicable state and federal law, including the Texas Penal Code,
Computer Crimes, Chapter 33 may result in criminal prosecution, as well
as disciplinary action by the District. The District cooperates fully
with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning
or relating to violations of computer crime laws. In addition, contents
of e-mail and network communications using District equipment and
network access is governed by the Texas Public Information Act, and
therefore may be subject to public disclosure as required by law. Any
attempt to alter data, the configuration of a computer, or the files of
another user, without the consent of the campus or district
administrator, will be considered an act of vandalism and subject to
disciplinary action in accordance with Board policy.
Employee Name (print) _______________________________________________________
School/Location ___________________________________________________________
I have read the Employee Acceptable Use Guidelines for Klein ISD. I
agree to follow the rules contained in these guidelines. I further
understand that electronic mail transmissions and other use of the
electronic communications systems, including the Internet, are not
private and may be monitored at any time by the District staff to ensure
appropriate use, as defined by the Acceptable Use Guidelines. I
understand that violations can result in disciplinary action, up to and
including termination of employment.
Employee Signature: _______________________________________________________
PROCEDURE FOR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL USE OF SOCIAL AND OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA – DISTRICT OR NON-DISTRICT OWNED (III-36.5)
This directive applies to Web 2.0 tools and provides instruction on the
proper use of these tools. The tools are included but not limited to
the following whether or not used on equipment or software owned by the
District:
• Text messaging
• Instant messaging
• Electronic Mail (e-mail)
• Web logs (blogs)
• Wikis
• Electronic forums (e.g., chat rooms)
• Video Sharing Web sites (e.g., YouTube)
• Editorial comments posted on the Internet
• Social network sites (e.g., FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, and Linkedin)
Technology-based materials, activities, and communication tools shall
be appropriate for and within the range of the knowledge, understanding,
age, and maturity of the students with whom they are used.
Use of Electronic Media for Klein ISD Purposes
The District believes that the use of electronic media in the classroom
and extracurricular setting can be beneficial to students and parents
in the educational process and in the efficient communication of
information. However, any District employee or activity sponsor wishing
to use electronic media with or for communication with students must
comply with these guidelines.
Employees and activity sponsors must
only use District owned/purchased, or supported products. Currently,
these products include, but are not limited to, ParentLink, Gaggle,
Project Share, Google Apps, and Klein Private Label Wiki. The employee
or activity sponsor must maintain and is responsible for all
communication within the blog or social network account and cannot turn
the responsibility over to a student or parent. Employees and activity
sponsors may not use other social networking sites for these purposes
(private blogs or chat rooms, FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, etc).
In order for District employees and activity sponsors to utilize
district-approved social networking sites for instructional,
administrative, or other work-related communication purposes, they shall
comply with the following:
1. They shall request, in writing, prior permission from the building principal.
2. If permission is granted, staff members will set up the site
following any District guidelines developed by the building principal
and Superintendent’s designee in accordance with District policies and
procedures.
3. Have written parent permission from each student
invited to the site on file in accordance with the record retention
policies. The permission form can be accessed on Klein share, titled
Klein ISD Student Social Media Participation Form.
4. Allow the building principal or his/her designee to have access to the site at all times.
5. Once the site/resource has been created, the staff member is responsible for the following:
• Monitoring and managing the site to promote safe and acceptable use;
• Keeping the site private and accessible only to students, parents, and campus administrators;
• Observing confidentiality restrictions concerning release of student information under state and federal law;
• Not posting student names, photographs or videos in which students
appear on • personal online social media. The proper forms must be
completed for each student in order to post this type of information.
• Confidentiality of student records;
• Confidentiality of health or personnel information concerning
colleges, unless disclosure serves lawful professional purposes or is
required by law;
• Confidentiality of District records, including educator evaluations and private e-mail addresses, phone numbers, etc.;
• Prohibition against harming others by knowingly making false statements about a colleague or the school system.
6. Parents and administrators will be included in all site/resource communication to ensure guidelines are being followed.
7. Parents have the ability to opt out of the request for social media
communication for their child without any penalty to his/her child.
8. Communication with students, using these District-approved forms of
electronic media, shall be done only during the hours of 6:00 a.m.
through 9:00 p.m.
Text Messaging with Students
Communication with students through the use of text messaging is
permitted only by staff members who have extracurricular
responsibilities and the students participating in the extracurricular
activity over which the employee is responsible.
All communication must comply with the following rules:
• Prior to the first communication in a school year, the parent must
grant written permission for each staff member the parent will allow to
communicate via text message with his/her child. A parent must agree
that he/she can be copied on all text messages;
• Be professional and appropriate;
• Be limited to matter within the scope of the employee’s professional responsibilities;
• Include the parent in all communication to the students except in the
case of a health or safety emergency (change in practice times is not a
health or safety emergency);
• Be limited to the hours of 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. unless addressing a matter of immediate concern;
• These rules do not apply to the extent an employee has a social or family relationship with a student.
• All consent forms must be kept at the campus for future reference.
Personal Use of Electronic Media:
Employees
are held to the same professional standards in their public use of
electronic media as they are for any other public conduct. Each employee
is responsible for all the content on any social network site the
employee maintains (whether or not posted by the employee) and for
choosing privacy settings appropriate to the content.
Employees who
maintain their own personal electronic media or social networking sites
for their private use will not share their personal networking sites
with students or include students as members, friends, or links or other
associations on the site except as may be specifically allowed by Board
Policy or these guidelines.
If an employee posts messages or
picture on social media sites or other web resources which diminish the
employee’s professionalism or discredit the employee’s capacity to
maintain the respect of students and parents, it will impair the
employee’s ability to effectively perform their job. This type of
material includes, but is not limited to, text or pictures involving
hate speech, nudity, obscenity, vulgarity, and conduct illegal for minor
or sexually explicit content. Such conduct may be grounds for termination or other disciplinary action.
An employee who uses electronic media for personal purposes shall comply with the following:
• The employee shall limit use of personal electronic communication
devices to send or receive calls, text messages, picture messages, or
video messages to their break time, meal time, or before or after
scheduled work hours, except for an emergency or when use is authorized
by a supervisor for the purpose of conducting District business;
•
The employee may not create or update a personal social networking
page(s) or make posts or blog on such personal pages using the
District’s computers, network, or equipment;
• The employee shall not use the District’s or any campus logo without the written consent of the employee’s supervisor;
• The employee may not post any information regarding any Klein ISD
student or employee which would violate District, state, or local law.
Student Guidelines for Acceptable Use of Technology Resources
These
guidelines are provided so that students and parents are aware of the
responsibilities students accept when they use District-owned computer
hardware, operating system software, application software, stored text,
data files, electronic mail, local databases, removable media, digitized
information, communication technologies, and Internet access. In
general, this requires efficient, ethical, and legal utilization of all
technology resources.
1. Expectations
a. Student use of
computers, other technology hardware, software, and computer networks,
including the Internet, is only allowed when supervised or granted
permission by a teacher or campus/district administrator.
b. All
users are expected to follow existing copyright laws. Copyright
guidelines are posted and/or available in the media center of each
campus as well as posted on the District’s web site.
c. Although
the District has an Internet safety plan in place, students are expected
to notify a staff member whenever they come across information or
messages that are inappropriate, dangerous, threatening, or make them
feel uncomfortable.
d. Students who identify or know about a
security problem are expected to convey the details to their teacher or
campus/district administrator without discussing it with other students.
2. Unacceptable conduct includes but is not limited to the following:
a. Using the network for illegal activities, such as copyright,
license, or contract violations or downloading inappropriate materials,
viruses, and/or software, including but not limited to hacking and host
file sharing software.
b. Using the network for financial or commercial gain, advertising, or political activities.
c. Accessing or exploring online content that does not support the
curriculum and/or is inappropriate for school assignments, including but
not limited to pornographic sites.
d. Vandalizing, tampering, or
accessing without permission, equipment, programs, files, software,
system performance, or other technology. Use or possession of hacking
software is strictly prohibited.
e. Causing congestion on the
network or interfering with the work of others, e.g., chain letters,
jokes, or pictures to lists or individuals.
f. Unauthorized or non-curricular use of online video, music or streaming content.
g. Gaining unauthorized access anywhere on the network.
h. Invading the privacy of other individuals.
i. Using another user’s account, password, or ID card or allowing another user to access your account, password, or ID.
j. Coaching, helping, joining or acquiescing in any unauthorized activity on the network.
k. Posting anonymous, unlawful, or inappropriate messages or information on a district-owned system.
l. Engaging in sexual harassment or using any language of a sexual or
otherwise objectionable nature (e. g., racist, terroristic, abusive,
threatening, demeaning, stalking, or slanderous) in public or private
messages.
m. Falsifying permission and/or authorization of identification documents.
n. Obtaining copies of or modifying files, data, or passwords belonging to other users on the network without authorization.
o. Knowingly placing a computer virus on a computer or network.
p. Transmission of any material that is in violation of any federal or
state law. This includes, but is not limited to confidential
information, copyrighted material, threatening or obscene material, and
computer viruses.
3. Acceptable Use Guidelines
a. General Guidelines
(1) Students are responsible for the ethical and educational use of
technology in the District and when a district owned device is used out
of district.
(2) Students will have access to available forms of
electronic media and communication that is in support of education and
research, and in support of the educational goals and objectives of the
District.
(3) All technology policies and restrictions must be followed.
(4) Access to the District’s computer online services is a privilege
and not a right. Each student will be required to sign and adhere to the
Acceptable Use Guidelines Agreement.
(5) When placing, removing,
or restricting access to data or online services, school officials shall
apply the same criteria of educational suitability used for other
education resources.
( 6) Parents concerned with the District’s
computer online services at their child’s school should refer to the EFA
(LOCAL): Instructional Resources: Instructional Material Selection and
Adoption policy and follow the stated procedure.
(7) Any parent
wishing to restrict their children’s access to any District computer
online services will need to provide this restriction request in
writing. Parents will assume responsibility for imposing restrictions
only on their own children.
b. Network Etiquette
(1) Be polite.
(2) Use appropriate language.
(3) Do not reveal personal data (i.e. home address, phone number, or phone numbers of other people).
(4) Remember that the other users of technology are human beings whose
culture, language, and humor have different points of reference from
your own.
(5) Users should be discrete when forwarding e-mail, and it should only be done on a need-to-know basis.
c. E-Mail
(1) E-mail may be used for educational or administrative purposes only.
Students are provided a Gaggle e-mail account if e-mail is required in
the course in which they are enrolled.
(2) E-mail transmissions,
stored data, transmitted data, or any other use of district-owned
technology by students or any other user is subject to being monitored
at any time by designated staff to ensure appropriate use.
(3) All e-mail and all contents are property of the District.
4. Consequences
The student in whose name a system account and/or computer hardware is
issued will be responsible at all times for its appropriate use.
Noncompliance with the guidelines published here, in the Student
Handbook / Student Code of Conduct, and in Board policy CQ may result in
suspension or termination of technology privileges and disciplinary
action. Use or possession of hacking software is strictly prohibited and
violators will be subject to consequences in the Student Handbook /
Student Code of Conduct. Violations of applicable state and federal law,
including the Texas Penal Code, Computer Crimes, Chapter 33, may result
in criminal prosecution, as well as disciplinary action by the
District. The District cooperates fully with local, state, or federal
officials in any investigation concerning or relating to violations of
computer crime laws. In addition, contents of e-mail and network
communications are governed by the Texas Public Information Act, and
therefore, may be subject to public disclosure as required by law. Any
attempt to alter data, the configuration of a computer, or the files of
another user without the consent of the individual, campus or district
administrator, will be considered an act of vandalism and subject to
disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Handbook / Student
Code of Conduct.
5. Web 2.0 and Social Media Tools
a. Approved for Classroom Use
(1) Klein ISD students, under the supervision and guidance of their
teachers, will use Web 2.0 and social media tools commonly used in K- 12
education today as part of instruction in their classrooms. Such tools
may include but are not limited to: Gaggle, Parent Link, Klein Private
Label Wiki, Project Share, Angel LMS, Learning.com Sky, and others.
(2) Students use these tools to meet the communication, collaboration,
creation, research, and information fluency skills required by the Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Tools such as these are hosted
on the Internet making some of the students’ work and/or other
information relating to students visible to parents/guardians/relatives,
and in some circumstances, other Internet users around the world.
b. Safety
(1) When using Web 2.0 and social media tools, the following safeguards
are in place to protect and assure the safety of students. Please be
aware that in some instances:
• Individual or identifiable profiles
(which include personally identifiable information of students such as
first and last name, campus, home address, email address, etc.) may be
used that are open to the public.
• Public viewing and commenting might occur on district-approved sites.
• Classroom lessons or projects may require publicly identifiable
student information (first and last name, campus, home address, email
address, etc.) to be made available on the Internet.
(2) Use of
these tools must be in accordance with the Klein ISD’s Policies and
Procedures including but not limited to these Acceptable Use Procedures.
NonSchool User Guidelines for Acceptable Use of Technology Resources
You
are being given access to the District’s electronic communications
system. Through this system, you will be able to communicate with other
schools, colleges, organizations, and people around the world through
the Internet and other electronic information systems/networks. You will
have access to hundreds of databases, libraries, and computer services
all over the world.
With this opportunity comes responsibility. It
is important that you read the District policy, administrative
regulations, and agreement form and ask questions if you need help in
understanding them. Inappropriate system use will result in the loss of
the privilege to use this educational tool.
Please note that the
Internet is a network of many types of communication and information
networks. It is possible that you may run across some material you might
find objectionable. While the District will use filtering technology to
restrict access to such material, it is not possible to absolutely
prevent such access. It will be your responsibility to follow the rules
for appropriate use.
RULES FOR APPROPRIATE USE
You will be assigned an individual account, and you are responsible for not sharing the password for that account with others.
You will be held responsible at all times for the proper use of your
account, and the District may suspend or revoke your access if you
violate the rules.
Remember that people who receive e-mail from you
with a school address might think your message represents the school’s
point of view.
1. INAPPROPRIATE USES a
. Using the system for any illegal purpose.
b. Disabling or attempting to disable any Internet filtering device.
c. Encrypting communications to avoid security review.
d. Borrowing someone’s account without permission.
e. Downloading or using copyrighted information without permission from the copyright holder.
f. Intentionally introducing a virus to the computer system.
g. Posting messages or accessing materials that are abusive, obscene,
sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, damaging to another’s
reputation or, in any manner, unlawful.
h. Wasting school resources through improper use of the computer system.
i. Gaining unauthorized access to restricted information or resources.
2. CONSEQUENCES FOR INAPPROPRIATE USE
a. Suspension of access to the system;
b. Revocation of the computer system account; or
c. Other legal action, in accordance with applicable laws.