Student Acceptable Use Policy

Jacksonville School District 117

Acceptable Use Policy for Use of District Technology

Acceptable Use

All users of the District Technology System (“System”) must comply with the District’s Acceptable Use

Policy (AUP). “User” is defined as any individual who uses the System. These guidelines may change

and notice will be given to stakeholders through www.jsd117.org. The Board’s comprehensive policy

manual is available for public inspection through the District’s website www.jsd117.org or at the

Board office located at: 516 Jordan St., Jacksonville, IL 62650.

A signed AUP must be on file for each User no later than 10 school days after the start of the school

year. It is also understood that this document goes into effect beginning with the first day of school.

The AUP is to be electronically acknowledged online during registration or upon entering as a new

student to the district. Users with no AUP on file after the 10thday will be denied access to the

System.

The System shall include:

• Personal devices when connected to the System

• All device hardware and software owned or operated by the District

• District electronic mail, website, and browser-based services (e.g. Skyward, District Google accounts)

• District affiliated social media services

• District wired and wireless network access

The System, including all information and documentation contained therein is the property of the

District except as otherwise provided by law.

“Use” of the System shall include use of or obtaining access to the System from any device whether or

not owned or operated by the District.

The Board of Education of Jacksonville School District 117 supports the use of the Internet and other

computer networks in the District’s instructional program in order to facilitate learning and teaching

through interpersonal communications, access to information, research, and collaboration. Use of

the System shall be consistent with the curriculum adopted by the school district, as well as the

varied instructional needs, learning styles, abilities, and developmental levels of users.

Authority

The electronic information available to users does not imply endorsement of the content by the

school district, nor does the District guarantee the accuracy of information received on the Internet.

The District shall not be responsible for any information that may be lost, damaged, or unavailable

when using the System or for any information that is retrieved via the Internet. While the District

takes precautions to restrict controversial material, it is impossible to restrict all materials that might

be deemed controversial.

The school district shall not be responsible for any unauthorized charges or fees resulting from access to

the Internet.

Users have no expectation of privacy in their use of the System. The District has the right to access,

review, copy, delete, or disclose, as allowed by law, any user files accessed through the System. The

District has the right to and does monitor use of the System by users, including access of the Internet,

as part of System maintenance and to determine whether use is consistent with federal and state laws

and District policies and guidelines.

The Board establishes that use of the System is a privilege, not a right; inappropriate, unauthorized,

and illegal use will result in the cancellation of those privileges and appropriate disciplinary action.

Responsibility

The District shall provide reasonable effort and supervision to ensure that this educational resource is

used responsibly. Administrators, teachers, and staff have a professional responsibility to work

together to help students develop the intellectual skills necessary to discriminate among information

sources, to identify information appropriate to their age and developmental levels, and to evaluate and

use the information to meet their educational goals.

Students are responsible for appropriate behavior on the District’s System just as they are in a

classroom or on a playground.

No warranty, expressed or implied, is made as to the quality or extent of Internet service or access by

users on the District’s system. The District shall not be responsible for any damages the user suffers.

This includes, but is not limited to, damage to personal devices, loss of data from delays, non-

deliveries, missed- deliveries, or service interruptions caused by negligence, errors, or omissions.

Use of information obtained via the Internet is at the user’s own risk. The District is not responsible

for any user’s intentional or unintentional access of material on the Internet which may be obscene,

indecent, or of an inappropriate nature.

Network Guidelines

Network accounts will be used only by the authorized owner of the account for its authorized purpose.

System users shall respect the privacy of other users on the system. Each user is responsible for

his/her individual account and must take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able

to use their account(s).

Prohibitions

Users are expected to act in a responsible, ethical, and legal manner in accordance with District

policy, accepted rules of network etiquette, and federal and state law. Prohibitions include but are not

limited to the following:

1. Engage in activities which are not related to District educational purposes or which are

contrary to the instructions from supervising District employees as to the System’s use.

2. Access, retrieve, or view obscene, profane, or indecent materials, which, taken as a whole, do

not have any literary, artistic, political, or scientific value that is connected to the District

curriculum.

3. Access, retrieve, view or disseminate any material in violation of any federal or state laws or

regulation or District policy or rules. This includes, but is not limited to improper use of

copyrighted material; improper use of the System to commit fraud or with the intent to

commit fraud; improper use of passwords or access codes; or disclosing full name, home

address, or phone number of any student, District employee, or System user.

4. Transfer any software to or from the System without authorization from the System

Administrator.

5. Use of the System for commercial or for-profit purposes.

6. Use of social networking of any form (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo mail, Google for

Education) unless approved by a District Administrator for educational purposes.

7. Use of the System for product advertisement for political lobbying.

8. Use of the System to harass, threaten, intimidate, or demean an individual or group of

individuals for any reason including but not limited to: sex, color, race, religion,

disability, national origin, or sexual orientation.

9. Use of the System to disrupt the educational process, including use that is reasonably

foreseeable to result in a disruption, or interfere with the rights of others at any time, either

during school days or after school hours.

10. Gain unauthorized access to or vandalize the data or files of another user.

11. Unauthorized or illegal installation, distribution, reproduction, or use of copyrighted materials.

12. Forge or improperly alter electronic mail messages, use an account owned by another user

without authorization, or disclose the user’s individual password or that of another user.

13. Use of the System to invade the privacy of any individual, including violating federal or

state laws regarding limitations on the disclosure of student records.

14. Use of the System to download, copy, print or otherwise store or possess any data which

violates federal or state copyright laws or these Guidelines.

15. Use of the System to search for inappropriate sites/content. Internet searches are to be

curricular related.

16. Use of the System to intentionally obtain or modify files, passwords, and data belonging to other

users.

17. Conceal or misrepresent the user’s identity, or the use of any means to remain anonymous

while using the System.

18. Installation, loading, or use of unauthorized games, program files, or other electronic media.

19. Destruction, modification, or abuse of network hardware and software.

20. Using the System while access privileges are suspended or revoked.

21. Using another person’s account or password.

22. Possessing personal storage devices that contain executable files including but not limited to

portable browsers, hacking tools, network sniffers, etc. Personal storage devices may only be

used to store non-executable files unless prior approval is granted by the system

administrator.

Consequences for Inappropriate Use

1. The District may discipline a user whose personal web site or other off-site activity involving

electronic technology causes, or can be reasonably be expected to cause, a substantial

disruption of the school environment, without regard to whether that activity or disruption

involved the use of the System.

2. The System user shall be responsible for damages to equipment, systems, and software

resulting from deliberate or willful acts that violate this policy.

3. General standards of good behavior and communication apply when using the System. Any

user of the System who engages in any of the prohibited acts listed above, shall be subject

to discipline which may include:

a. discipline as provided in the District’s policies,

b. suspension or revocation of System privileges, and

c. referral to law enforcement authorities or other legal action in

appropriate cases.

4. The building administrator shall have the authority to determine what constitutes

inappropriate use, and his/her decision is final.

5. Illegal use of the System, intentional deletion or damage to files of data belonging to others,

copyrighting violations, or theft of services will be reported to the appropriate legal authorities

for possible prosecution.

6. Vandalism will result in cancellation of access privileges. Vandalism is defined as any

malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user, the Internet, or any part of the

System. This includes, but is not limited to, uploading or creation of computer viruses.

Security

System security is protected through the use of passwords. Failure to adequately protect or update

passwords could result in unauthorized access to personal or district files. To protect the integrity of

the system, the following guidelines shall be followed:

1. Users shall not reveal their passwords to another individual.

2. Users are not to use a computer that has been logged in with another user’s name.

3. Users identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer

systems may be denied access to the network.

4. If a user identifies a security problem, he/she must notify the appropriate building

personnel. Building personnel will notify the District’s system administrator. Do not

demonstrate the problem to others.

5. Attempts to log on to the System as a system administrator by anyone other than the

system administrator will result in cancellation of user privileges.

Safety

Reasonable and good faith efforts shall be employed to protect users from harassment or unwanted or

unsolicited electronic communication. Any user who receives threatening or unwelcome

communications shall immediately bring them to the attention of the appropriate building personnel.

Building personnel will notify the appropriate building administrator. The building administrator will

notify the district system administrator.

User shall not reveal personal addresses to other users on the network, unless required to do so by law

or court order.

Adopted 01/19/2011 Updated 04/10/2017

Copyright

The illegal use of copyrighted software by users is prohibited. Any software uploaded to or

downloaded from the System shall be subject to “fair use” guidelines.

Republishing of text or graphics found on the Web or on the District’s Web Site or file servers shall

provide a notice at the bottom of the page crediting the original producer and noting how and when

permission was granted. If possible, the notice should also include the web address of the original

source.

Credits:

Robin, Schwartz, Nicholas, Lifton & Taylor, Ltd.

20 North Clark Street, Suite 900

Chicago, Illinois