Allen ISD Acceptable Use Policy

Allen Independent School District’s Acceptable Use Guidelines for Technology
The Allen Independent School District strongly believes in the educational value of electronic services and recognizes their potential to support its curriculum and student learning by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, and communication. By deploying a filtering system, AISD will make every effort to protect students and teachers from any misuses or abuses as a result of their experience with an information service. This places AISD in compliance with CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act).  Your and your child’s signatures will indicate acknowledgment and understanding of the following standards. These standards have been cross-referenced with other sections of the AISD Student Code of Conduct to provide information to students and parents regarding possible violations and consequences.  These references are not an exhaustive list. Please refer to other sections of the AISD Student Code of Conduct for additional information for violating these standards. As a user of this service, your child will be expected to abide by the following generally accepted rules of network etiquette. (References are not an exhaustive list).

Network Guidelines

1. Personal Safety

a.  I will not post personal contact information about myself or other people without the permission of my parents and teacher. Personal contact information includes but is not limited to my photo, address or telephone number. (safety violation)

b.  I will not agree to meet with someone I have met online without my parent’s approval. (safety violation)

c.  I will promptly disclose to my teacher or other school employee any message I receive that is inappropriate. (safety violation)

2. Illegal Activities

a.  I will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to my school’s file server, Allen ISD’s district network, or to any other computer system to go beyond my authorized access. This includes attempting to log in through another person’s account or access another person’s files. These actions are illegal, even if only for the purposes of “browsing.” (theft)

b.  I will not make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means. These actions are illegal. (vandalism)

c. I will not use my school’s file server or Allen ISD’s district network to engage in any other illegal act, such as arranging for a drug sales or the purchase of alcohol, engaging in criminal gang activity, threatening the safety of a person. (drug and safety violation)

d.  I will not read, move, rename, edit, delete, or in any way alter the files that have been created or organized by others. (vandalism)

e.  I will not install software on any AISD computers or on the AISD network without

direct supervision of AISD staff. (vandalism)

f.  I will not alter hardware or software setups on my school’s computers or the file

server. (vandalism)

3. Security

a.  I am responsible for my individual account and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use my account. Under no conditions will I provide my password to another person. (safety violation)

b.  I will immediately notify a teacher or the system administrator if I have identified a possible security problem with the network or peripheral computers. I will not go looking for these security problems, because this may be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access. (safety violation/theft)

c.  I will take all precautions to avoid the spread of computer viruses. (vandalism)

d.  I will not attach non-AISD computer equipment or peripherals to the AISD network or its infrastructure. This is not to include data storage devices such as pin drives, flash drives, floppy disks, or CDs. (security)

4. Inappropriate Language

a.  Restrictions against inappropriate language apply to public messages, private messages, and material created for assignments or to be posted on web pages. (derogatory statements/disruption of education)

b.  I will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful language. (derogatory statement/sexual harassment)

c.  I will not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks. (derogatory statements/disruption of education)

d.  I will not harass another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person. If I am told by a person to stop sending them messages, I will stop. (disrespecting others’ rights/disruption of education)

e.  I will not knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or organization. (derogatory statements/disruption of education)

5. Respect for Privacy

a.  I will not repost a message that was sent to me privately without permission of the person who sent me the message. (disrespecting others’ rights)

b.  I will not post private information about another person. (disrespecting others’ rights)

6. Respecting Resource Limits

a.  I will use the technology at my school only for educational and career development activities. (disruption of education)

b.  I will not download files over 2 MB without prior approval. (disruption of education)

c.  I will not post chain letters or engage in “spamming.” Spamming is sending an annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people. (disruption of education)

d.  I will not download or use games, pictures, video, music, instant messaging, e-mail, or file sharing applications, programs, executables, or anything else unless I have direct authorization from a teacher, it is legal for me to have the files, and it is in support of a classroom assignment. Teachers may not authorize me to download anything that is illegal for me to have or is in conflict with AISD Computer Security Policy. (disruption of education)

e.  I understand that AISD personnel may monitor my computer activity and delete any files that are not for a classroom assignment. (security)

7. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement

a.  I will not plagiarize works that I find on the Internet or on the computers at my school. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were my own. (theft)

b.  I will respect the rights of copyright owners. Copyright infringement occurs when I inappropriately reproduce a work that is protected by a copyright. If a work contains language that specifies appropriate use of that work, I will follow the expressed requirements. If I am unsure whether or not I can use a work, I will request permission from the copyright owner. If I am confused by copyright law, I will ask a teacher to answer my questions. (theft)

8. Inappropriate Access to Material

a.  I will not use my school’s file server to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography), that advocates illegal acts, or that advocates violence or discrimination toward other people. (disruption of education/safety violation)

b.  If I mistakenly access inappropriate information, I will immediately tell my teacher or an administrator, and will not attempt to access the inappropriate information again. (failing to comply with directives)

c.  My parents will instruct me if there is additional material that they think it would be inappropriate for me to access. The district fully expects that I will follow my parent’s instructions in this matter. (respect for others violation)

d.  I understand that internet access is provided for support of classroom assignments and I will not attempt to surf anonymously or modify the computer in anyway to allow me access to websites or applications I am not authorized to use. (disruption of education).