STUDENT USE OF DISTRICT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
To support its educational mission, the Douglas County School District may provide information technology ("IT"), such as computers, networks, Internet access, and electronic-mail accounts, to its students. The Board of Education believes that District IT should be used in schools as a learning resource to educate and to inform.
While parents and students themselves are ultimately responsible for their behavior at school and their use of District IT, the District will make every reasonable effort to ensure that students use District IT appropriately and responsibly. To this end, the District has implemented content filtering measures that direct student learning and restrict student access to inappropriate material, in accordance with applicable law. Administrators, teachers, and staff have a professional responsibility to work together to help students develop the intellectual skills needed to evaluate and choose information sources, to identify information appropriate to the age and developmental levels of the students, and to evaluate and use information to meet their educational goals.
In addition to rules specifically concerning District IT, general policies, regulations, and rules governing student conduct apply to the use of District IT. Violating such policies, regulations, or rules may result in the loss of the privilege to use some or all of the District's IT, discipline (may include but not limited to suspension and/or expulsion), the requirement that the District be reimbursed for unauthorized charges or costs, the institution of legal proceedings, and referral to law-enforcement authorities. Examples of prohibited uses of District IT appear in Regulation JICJ-R.
Because all District IT is owned, leased, or licensed by the District, the District is responsible for all content stored—permanently or temporarily—on any District IT device, or traveling across any of the District's IT networks. The District therefore has the right and the obligation to monitor all District IT activity, and may be required to disclose records of student IT use (including materials and records of use that have been "deleted") under public-records law or other laws. Students therefore have no expectation of privacy—as to the District or the public—in any materials they access, receive, or create using District IT.
District IT may fail or become unstable from time to time, leading to loss of data or service interruptions, and the District therefore makes no warranties of any kind related to its IT.
The Board authorizes the Superintendent to develop rules and procedures for student exploration and use of technology. Such procedures shall address issues of privacy, ethical use of information, copyright, illegal and/or unauthorized uses of the networks, and other technology and conditions of usage.
STUDENT USE OF DISTRICT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
No less than when in class, in the lunchroom, or at school-sponsored events, students are responsible for good behavior when using District IT to travel through cyberspace. Thus all rules and expectations regarding student conduct, as well as all provisions of the student conduct code, apply to student conduct involving District IT. In addition to general behavioral expectations, additional expectations apply when students use District IT. Examples of prohibited use of District IT include the following:
1. Searching, viewing, editing, or retrieving materials that are not related to school work, community service, employment, or further education (therefore, searching or viewing sexually explicit, profane, violence promoting, or illegal materials is not permitted);
2. Downloading or loading software without permission, or using software in a way not permitted by its license;
3. Accessing, viewing, or altering any official record or file of the school or District;
4. Damaging District IT;
5. Violating copyright laws;
6. Using the passwords of other users;
7. Trespassing in the folders, work, or files of other users;
8. Any malicious use or disruption of the District's IT or breach of security features;
9. Intentionally wasting computer system resources;
10. Using the network for commercial purposes;
11. Sharing of the student's home address, phone number, or other information;
12. Using District IT after losing the privilege to do so;
13. Any activity that violates a law or a school or District rule.