IV. Student Access to Networked Information Resources

Purpose of Network Access:

MCCSC student access to networked information resources is provided for educational communication, research and other instructional purposes, whether for individuals or for structured groups or classes.

Responsibilities:

1. Prior to approving or initiating student activities which involve student access to networked information resources, MCCSC staff will review Student Access to Networked Information Resources in Policy and Guidelines 2521, discuss (in a developmentally appropriate manner) the Acceptable Use Agreement with each student applying for or continuing access, and determine that the appropriately signed Agreement (including staff permission) is on file for each student applying for or continuing access.

2. MCCSC staff will attempt to deal with access to inappropriate information by providing guidance, decision-making skills, developmentally appropriate structured learning activities and guidelines, and lists of resources particularly suited to the learning objectives; by supervising, monitoring, and encouraging
   • Monitoring may include, where developmentally and instructionally appropriate, the keeping of manual "logs" by student users.

   • The MCCSC may apply technical means which attempt to regulate access to inappropriate information or which attempt to provide a "log" of accessed locations.

3. Families are welcome to information and assistance from the MCCSC in developing appropriate standards for the use of networked information resources at home or through public access.
4. The student and/or the parent or guardian of the student shall assume all responsibility resulting from financial obligations entered into by the student. The MCCSC staff, however, will provide guidance to students about such opportunities and possibilities.

1. The student user has full rights (within the limits of the responsibilities and prohibitions outlined in the policy and these guidelines) to the instructional networked information resources provided by the MCCSC.
2. In general, access shall remain in effect for the school year, but may be terminated or suspended by the parent or guardian, by the student, or by the school or corporation upon notification to the other parties.

Restrictions:

1. Should the student inadvertently receive files, messages or information which violate the restrictions outlined in the policy, or which make the student feel uncomfortable or offended, the student should immediately call the matter to the attention of the supervising staff member.
   • The student should never communicate a response to such material, nor should the student make the material public to other students. This is particularly important when dealing with unsolicited contacts or contacts which involve persons or organizations not previously screened, reviewed, or evaluated by MCCSC staff.

   • Staff will forward such files, messages, addresses, or information to the building administrator and to the network administrators where a determination will be made relative to action to be taken regarding the offending individual or site. Such action may include, but is not limited to:
     • notifying the system administrator at the site of the sending individual of the nature of the communications

     • requesting the suspension or termination of network privileges for the individual or organization

     • notifying appropriate law enforcement agencies.

2. Communication sent from the MCCSC networks will include the real name, username and Internet address of the sender. Violations of the acceptable use policies of connecting networks could result in sanctions against an offending accoun t holder.
   • It is imperative that students keep their password secure and private.
   • It may be inappropriate to transmit personal information such as, but not limited to, home addresses and social security and/or telephone numbers.
   • Students should always discuss the situation with the supervising staff before providing personal information over the network.

Reasonable Usage:

1. Users should be polite, use appropriate language, and stay within the bounds of legality.
   • It is recommended that electronic mail (e-mail) communication is brief, accurate, and contains descriptive subject lines.

   • In written electronic communication, cues to intent, such as tone of voice or body language, may be missing. The writer should remember that humor and satire may be misunderstood or misinterpreted as sarcasm, and the reader should remember that what appears to be sarcasm may have been intended as humor.

2. Users should refrain from overuse of connect time, information storage space, printing or processing capacity.
   • Students should request permission from a staff member before downloading any program or file to be sure that there is enough space to allow for the transfer process. Students should scan, or have the staff member scan, the file or program for potential "virus" before executing, decompressing, unzipping, or running the file or program.

   • Users should regularly delete, or have the adult supervisor delete, unneeded files and/or folders from their accounts on the MCCSC and building-level networks. Students should save information to their storage space on the file server or to individual diskettes and should refrain from using local hard drives for such storage.

   • Students should obtain permission from a professional staff member before signing on to a mail list or list service. Due to the volume of information generated by some of these services, the files and data could cause severe storage problems for the MCCSC Internet resources.

   • Students shall not install any software programs not owned by or licensed to the MCCSC or the school on any MCCSC resources. This includes "freeware" or "shareware" programs as well as regular commercial versions.

Network Administration:

The system administrator for the MCCSC network shall be designated by the Director of Information Services. The system administrator(s) for building network(s) shall be designated by the building principal. These network administrators have supervisory access rights to all parts of the appropriate network(s).

These guidelines may be amended, from time to time, by the Office of the Superintendent, to reflect current circumstances and best possible practices.

Adopted: January 25, 1996
[Effective date: January 31, 1996]