Acceptable Use
Policy For Staff
The computers in
the Montgomery County School District, and the network to which they are
connected, are here to help you to be more effective in your work, to
facilitate your communication with your colleagues, and to put the resources of
the Internet at your disposal. The
computer and the system to which they are connected are personal tools. At the same time, the computers and the
computer network were purchased and are maintained by the Montgomery County
School District. Therefore, the District has some
responsibilities (legal, practical, and moral) that it must address.
PLEASE SEE THE COMPLETE
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY FOR STAFF IN THE APPENDICES.
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY FOR STAFF
The computers in the Montgomery County
School District, and the
network to which they are connected, are here to help you to be more effective
in your work, to facilitate your communication with your colleagues, and to put
the resources of the Internet at your disposal.
The computers and the system that they are connected to are personal
tools. At the same time, the computers
and the computer network were purchased and are maintained by the Montgomery County School District. Therefore, the District has some
responsibilities (legal, practical, and moral) that it must address.
If you are using the Internet or
District network through District provided access on school premises, the
District does have a reasonable expectation that you will comply with the
expectations for Internet set forth in the following policy. The District does not have the time nor
interest in checking anyone’s mail or Internet log, but as a practical and
legal matter the District must retain the right to do so if circumstances warrant.
Computer and
Software:
Montgomery County School District computers will
be installed and maintained ONLY by authorized staff. Only the District Technology Coordinator can
authorize the installation or maintenance of either
hardware or software on the District computers and computer network. Computers
belonging to the Montgomery
County School
District are the ONLY computers to be used on the
district’s network. Personal equipment, including, but not limited to,
computers, laptops, printers, digital cameras are NOT to be used in district schools
by teachers, staff members, and/or students.
A. Many individuals
have software, which they might like to install on their computers to enhance
their productivity. However, the
District has an obligation to ensure that software on its computers is being
used in accordance with that software’s license, and to ensure that the
software installed, as well as, the method of installation does not create
difficulties on the individual computer or on the District network. Staff members who wish to have a particular
piece of software installed must certify that they are using the software
according to license and must register the license information with the network
administrator.
1. Multiple
installations of the same license number will be assumed to violate copyright
laws unless a multiple license provision can be provided.
2. Games and other
software not related to the mission of the Montgomery
County School
District will not be installed on Montgomery County
School District
equipment.
3. Upgrading to
another computer does not carry with it the right to ‘migrate’ software to that
computer unless that software is wiped clean from the original computer.
The District
Network Administrator has the capacity to survey individual computers through
the network and will remove programs that have not been authorized for
installation.
B. Any password
protection, whether at the system level or the program level, must be
registered with the network administrator.
The District needs the ability to access its own equipment. Care must be taken to ensure that students or
other unauthorized individuals cannot change passwords. A screen saver, which can be password
protected, SHOULD NOT be password protected to prevent an unanticipated lockout.
C. Screen savers,
sound events, wallpaper and other system additions represent the individual as
well as the Montgomery
County School
District when installed on equipment owned by the
District. These should not be sexually
suggestive, or demeaning to individuals or groups. If any material should not be displayed in a
classroom or in an office because of legal, ethical, or social rules, then this
material should not be displayed on computers in a classroom or in an office.
LAN, WAN and
Internet:
The Montgomery County
School District strongly
believes in the educational value of the Internet and recognizes its potential
to support the curriculum. The
District’s goal in providing access to the Internet is to promote educational
excellence by facilitating research, innovation, communication, and business
efficiency. Access to the Internet is
provided by a local area network and/or through off-site dial-up. The District reserves the right to block
access to certain Internet sites.
Guidelines for
use of the District network services include:
A. understanding
that all the rules of conduct described in the Montgomery County School
District Policies and Procedure Guide apply during use of the network
B. understanding
that assigned accounts will be used in support of the educational goals and
objectives of the District and will not be used for inappropriate activities
such as follows:
1. excessive
personal use of e-mail, chat rooms, and file transfer
2. use of the
Internet for personal financial gain including commercial advertising
3. use of the
network for political activities
4. receipt of
messages addressed to someone else or sending a message under someone else’s
name
5. transmittal of
requests and receipt of materials
inconsistent with the mission and values of the Montgomery County
School District
6. transmittal of
messages disclosing sensitive, confidential, restricted, non-public or
proprietary information over the online system
7. attempts to
breach network security or transmit viruses
8. use of network
communications for sexual or other forms of harassment
9. transmittal of
jokes that are off-color through e-mail
C. use of language
appropriate for a public system in all communications
D. respect of
copyrighted materials including but not limited to e-mail, text, program,
image, database, sound, and music files
E. respect of software
licensing of material received through the Montgomery County
School District
F. understanding
that there is no presumption of privacy for material stored, sent, received, or
accessed through public funded computers and networks and that any such material
can be monitored or spot-checked to ensure compliance with District policies
G. understanding
that legally any document pertaining to the public business on a publicly
funded system is a public record
H. understanding
that there will be no downloading/installing of any computer software or files
without proper authorization from the Technology Coordinator
Responsibility
for Student Use
All staff members will promote the
guidelines of the Student Acceptable Use Policy for computers and computer
network. Staff members will instruct
students in acceptable use of the computers, the Internet resources, and proper
network etiquette. While students are
under their supervision, each staff member will be held responsible for student
use of the computers and computer network.
Web Pages
A web page published on the World Wide
Web reflects upon the web page author as well as the school district. For this reason, the District Technology
Sub-Committee for web page design must approve all web pages before being published.
Sanctions
Individuals who violate the terms of the
Acceptable Use Policy for Staff will be subject to a series of sanctions
including the installation of a restrictive lock-down on their classroom
workstations and restriction or revocation of District Network and Internet
e-mail and Web privileges. Disciplinary
sanctions may include termination and/or non-renewal of employment as described
in the Montgomery County School District Policy and Procedures Guide. These sanctions are to legally protect the
District and to ensure that individual systems, as well as the network,
function properly and are used appropriately.
Please sign, date, and return this copy
to your building principal to ensure that you have read and understand the
Acceptable Use Policy and agree to abide by these rules and regulations.
______________________________________ _______________
Signature Date
______________________________________________ __________________
Printed Name School