SCHOOL SYSTEM WEBSITE/ONLINE PRESENCE/WEB PAGES ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

Website/online presence Purpose

The purpose of the School Department's official website/online presence is to provide general information about our school system as well as information about educational programs, extracurricular activities, school events, and student and staff achievements. The website/online presence is intended to support the educational mission of the schools, to enhance the curriculum and learning opportunities for students and staff, and to provide valuable information to the larger community about our schools. The following guidelines are intended to ensure that the website/online presence meets these goals and to establish reasonable controls to protect the privacy of students and staff, to ensure that the website/online presence is in compliance with applicable laws, and to ensure that it meets the highest educational and quality standards.

Website/online presence Structure

The School Department website/online presence may include the following components:

1.  System-wide information (including but not limited to Central Office information, School Board information, Transportation, Facilities and Food Service information);

2.  Individual school information;

3.  Individual department, grade level and/or classroom information (including student work and/or teacher-created work and resources); and

4.  School-sponsored extracurricular organization information.

School Department Authority and Webmaster Responsibilities

The School Department reserves the right to edit, delete, or modify any web page content as it sees fit to comply with the intended purposes of the website/online presence and these guidelines.

The Superintendent shall designate a Webmaster, who shall be responsible for maintaining the School Department's website/online presence, approving all material to be posted on the site, and monitoring all website/online presence activities for compliance with Board policies, applicable laws and regulations, and these guidelines. If the Webmaster is unsure whether particular material is appropriate, he/she shall consult with the Superintendent, whose decision shall be final. Only the Webmaster and other authorized school staff shall have password-protected access to the web server to place and remove web pages and content.

Content, Quality and Subject Matter

1. The School Department website/online presence does not create, nor is it intended to create, a public or limited public forum. All materials placed on the website/online presence must serve the educational mission of the school and comply with all Board policies, administrative procedures and school rules concerning the publication and distribution of school-sponsored materials.

2. All materials placed on the website/online presence must meet academic standards for proper spelling, grammar, content and accuracy.

3.  All materials placed on the website/online presence must comply with all Board policies, administrative procedures and school rules concerning the acceptable use of technology.

4.  Web page content must be limited to school-sponsored  information  and activities. No personal student or staff web pages, chat rooms, or discussion groups are permitted on the website/online presence.

Confidentiality of Student Information

1.  The website/online presence shall be in compliance with all applicable confidentiality laws and regulations.

2.  At no time shall personal information about students (such as home address, telephone number, e-mail address, birth date, social security number, etc.) or information made confidential by state or federal law appear on the website/online presence. The website/online presence will not include any information that indicates the physical location of students at any given time, other than attendance at a particular school or participation in school activities.

3.  Student information, photographs or work may only be published on the website/online presence if the student's parent/guardian has signed the Parent/Guardian Agreement Form to Publish Student Information. For purposes of these guidelines, student information includes name, class rosters, awards/honors received, and team/extracurricular activity participation lists.

Confidentiality of Staff Information

1.  At no time shall personal information about staff appear on the website/online presence (including home address, home telephone number, home e-mail address, birth date, social security number, etc.).

2.  Because the School Department website/online presence is maintained in part to enhance communication with students and their families, the school e-mail address and/or telephone numbers of staff are published on the website/online presence.

Copyright

1.  Appropriate permission will be obtained before any copyrighted or trademarked material is used on the website/online presence. No copyrighted material may be reproduced, transmitted or stored on the School Department website/online presence without obtaining permission from the copyright owner.

2.  An appropriate copyright notice will appear with all copyrighted material published on the website/online presence.

3.  Except for the above exceptions, all web pages and materials published on the website/online presence are the property of and owned by the School Department .

Advertising

The School Department website/online presence will not include  any  advertising,  nor will it include any selling activities outside of publicity for school-sponsored and/or approved fundraising activities.

Links to  External Sites

1. The School Department website/online presence will not include links to any personal website/online presences of students or staff.

2. The website/online presence may include links only to website/online presences that have demonstrated educational value to students, staff and/or the community, as deemed appropriate by the Webmaster.

3. The website/online presence shall include a disclaimer informing users that links are provided as a convenience, and that the School Department does not endorse these sites or have any responsibility for the content of these sites.

Additional Requirements

1. The website/online presence shall inform users about how to contact the Webmaster.

2. The Webmaster will provide appropriate information to school users regarding technical requirements for publishing material on the website/online presence.

Adopted:       3/11/2015