To promote educational excellence in the Dumont Schools by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, and communications, it is the school's goal to provide Internet access to students and staff. The Internet is an electronic communications network which provides vast, diverse, and unique resources which allows students and staff to interact with hundreds of thousands of computers on a world-wide basis. Use of the Internet by staff is solely for the purpose of facilitating the exchange of information to further communication, education and research and is consistent with the mission of the Dumont School System.
All school electronic communication sources are to be used in a responsible, efficient, ethical, and legal manner, including the Internet and email. Because access to the Internet provides connections to other computer systems world-wide, staff should understand that the school cannot control the content of the information and cannot guarantee against staff encountering offensive content available on these other systems. Dumont does not condone the use of offensive materials. We assume staff will work in a responsible manner. Failure to do so will result in the revocation of the staff's access privileges.
Staff must be aware that access to the Internet will be withdrawn from those who do not respect the rights of others or who do not follow the rules and regulations established by the Dumont School District. Failure to follow the guidelines will subject violators to disciplinary action.
Staff should not expect that files stored on school-based computers will always be private. Electronic messages and files stored on school-based computers will be treated as school property. Files and messages may be reviewed to maintain system integrity and insure that users are acting responsibly.
Guidelines:
If a district user violates any of the acceptable use provisions outlined in this document, he/she is subject to loss of access privileges and any other district disciplinary actions.
Acceptable Uses:
Must be in support of education and research consistent with the district policy
Must be consistent with the rules appropriate to any network being used/accessed
May be used for high quality, self-discovery activities (i.e. cultural arts, athletic interests)
Unacceptable Uses:
Unauthorized use of copyrighted materials is prohibited
Use for commercial or political activities is not acceptable
Posting of private, personal or derogatory information about you or others is prohibited
Viewing or posting of material that advocates illegal acts, violence or discrimination towards other people is forbidden
Accessing of materials that are threatening, harassing, hateful or obscene is not allowed
To access, upload, download, or distribute pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit material
To transmit obscene, abusive, sexually explicit, harassing or threatening language
To violate any local, state, or federal statute
To vandalize, damage, or disable the property of another individual or organization
To access another individual's materials, information, or files without permission
Work may not include material copied from the Internet without citing it in a footnote or bibliography (no plagiarism)
Privileges:
Access to the Internet is not a right, but a privilege
Unacceptable usage will result in cancellation of this privilege
Netiquette:
Be polite
Do not use vulgar or obscene language
Do not intentionally disrupt the network or other users
Abide by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette
Security:
If you identify a security problem, notify an administrator immediately
Do not show or identify a security problem to others
Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer systems may be denied access (i.e. deliberate efforts to disrupt system, gain unauthorized access to any computer system (hacking) or computer file or destroy data by viruses or other means)
Your computer files are not private. School administrators have the right to examine any information that you have accessed on the Internet, downloaded or stored on a school computer
Any user encountering sexual harassment in the use of the school’s Internet system should follow the same procedures under the District’s Sexual Harassment Policy as if the incident occurred in person
Penalties:
Any user violating these provisions is subject to the loss of network privileges and any other district disciplinary actions
Any violation of District policy and rules may result in loss of District-provided access to the Internet. Additional disciplinary action may be taken in keeping with existing procedures and practices regarding inappropriate language and/or behavior. When and where applicable, law enforcement agencies may be involved.
The Dumont Public Schools makes no warranties of any kind, neither expressed nor implied, for the Internet access it is providing. The District will not be responsible for any damages users suffer, including--but not limited to--loss of data resulting from delays or interruptions in service. The District will not be responsible for the accuracy, nature, or quality of information stored on District diskettes, hard drives, or servers; nor for the accuracy, nature, or quality of information gathered through District-provided Internet access. The District will not be responsible for personal property used to access District computers or networks or for District-provided Internet access. The District will not be responsible for unauthorized financial obligations resulting from District-provided access to the Internet.
STAFF CONSENT FORM
I have read Dumont Public School's Internet Policy. I understand that the Internet is a world-wide group of hundreds of thousands of computers and Dumont Public Schools does not and cannot control the content of the Internet and cannot guarantee against my coming across offensive content when using the Internet.. I further understand that if I violate the school's policy, I will be subject to disciplinary action, including revocation of access privileges.
