Oak Park School District 97 - Acceptable Use of Technology Policy

Section 1. Purpose of Technology Use
Through technology, the District provides access for students and staff to resources from around the world. Expanding technologies take students and staff beyond the confines of the classroom, and provide tremendous opportunities for enhancing, extending, and rethinking the learning process. This new capability, however, requires guidance for students and staff.

Section 2. The Opportunities and Risks of Technology Use
The Board believes that the value of information and interaction that technology offers outweighs the hazards of its misuse. Making network access available, however, carries with it the potential that some network users will encounter sources that some consider controversial or inappropriate. Because information on networks is transitory and so diverse, the District cannot completely predict or control what users may or may not locate. Technology provides a conduit to information: the users must be wary of the sources and content and be responsible in choosing information to be accessed.

No technology is guaranteed to be error free or totally dependable, nor is it safe when used irresponsibly. Among others matters, the District is not liable or responsible for:

1. any information that may be lost, damaged, or unavailable due to technical, or other difficulties;
2. the accuracy or suitability of any information that is retrieved through technology
3. breaches of confidentiality;
4. defamatory material; or
5. the consequences that may come from failure to follow District 97 policy and procedures governing the use of technology.
   

Section 3. Privileges and Responsibilities
Users may access technology only for educational purposes. Exercising this privilege requires that users accept the responsibility for all material viewed, downloaded, and/or produced. Users will need to evaluate the validity of materials accessed through technology and cite their resources when appropriate.

The actions of users accessing networks through the District reflect on the School District; therefore, users must conduct themselves accordingly by exercising good judgment and complying with this policy and any accompanying administrative regulations and guidelines.

Users will:

• Adhere to the rules of copyright and assume that any software that they did not create is copyrighted (unless it is labeled "freeware" or "public domain");
  
• Adhere to the licensing agreements governing the use of shareware; note that e-mail is not guaranteed to be private (people who operate the system do have authorized access to mail, others also may have access);
  
• Be responsible at all times for the proper use of their access privileges and for complying with all required system security identification codes, including not sharing such codes;
  
• Take responsibility for any activities using technology that is borrowed by them or under their account or password;
  
• Maintain the integrity of technological resources from potentially damaging messages, physical abuse, or computer viruses;
  
• Respect the right of others to use equipment and therefore not use it for non-school activities;
  
• Abide by the policies and procedures of networks and systems linked by technology; and protect the privacy of other users and the integrity of the system by avoiding misuse of passwords, others' files, equipment, and programs.

Users will not:

• Use offensive, obscene, inflammatory or defamatory speech;
  
• Harass other users;
  
• Use the account of another user;
  
• Misrepresent themselves or others;
  
• Violate the rights of others, including their privacy;
  
• Access, download, and/or create pornographic or obscene material
  
• Use the network for personal business or financial gain;
  
• Vandalize data, programs, and/or networks;
  
• Degrade or disrupt systems and/or equipment;
  
• Damage technology hardware and/or software;
  
• Spread computer viruses;
  
• Gain unauthorized access to resources or entities;
  
• Violate copyright laws;
  
• Use technology for illegal activities; and
  
• Reveal their personal address or phone number, or those of other users;

Section 4. Disciplinary Actions
Failure to comply with this policy and any administrative regulations and guidelines governing the use of technology may result in disciplinary action by staff, administration, and/or the Board of Education.

Section 5. Confidentiality
Users must recognize that there is no assurance of confidentiality with respect to access to transmissions and files by persons outside, or from persons inside the District. Also, the District reserves the right to log technology use, to monitor file server space utilization by users, and to examine users' files and materials as needed; therefore, users cannot expect absolute privacy from District personnel as to their use of technology.

Section 6. Additional Rules/Actions
The Superintendent may establish regulations and guidelines, and shall take appropriate action to implement this Policy.

This policy is congruent with the District 200 Acceptable Use of Technology Policy