Group 1 School District

Acceptable Technology Use Policy

The use of technology in our district relies heavily on the proper conduct of the users. All users
are responsible for respecting and protecting the right of every other user in our community.
County technology users are expected to perform in a responsible, ethical and legal manner, in
accordance with the purposes of the resources they use, and with the laws of Alabama and the
United States.

Purpose
1. The technology resources available in Group 1 School District (e.g., all networking,
hardware and software, the internet, email, and telephone equipment) should be used for
administrative and educational purposes only.
2. Technology use should be legal, ethical, and consistent with the school's Mission
Statement and its conduct policy.
3. Incidental personal use of the school's technology resources must not violate other school
policies or Standards of Conduct.

Authorized Use
1. An authorized user is any person who has been granted authority by the schools'
technology center to access its computing, network, and telephone systems and whose
usage complies with this policy.
2. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. By accessing the schools network using school-
owned or personally-owned equipment, the user has consented to the schools exercise of
its authority and rights as set out in this policy.
3. Faculty, staff, and students are provided with email accounts, network accounts and
internet access. Faculty and staff are also provided voicemail accounts as appropriate for
their position.
4. When a user is no longer an employee of the school community or if the user is assigned
a new position and/or responsibilities, their use of technology resources for which he or
she is not authorized in his or her new position or circumstances shall be terminated.

Privacy Expectations
1. Users must protect and respect the privacy of others by viewing, using, and copying only
the passwords, accounts, data, or networks to which they are authorized.
2. Users should refrain from sharing any login information and passwords, personal
information (i.e. full name, address, social security number, or phone number) on
websites, blogs, or web forms while using the county network.
 3. Users must understand that there is no guarantee of privacy with their use of the school
technology resources and it should not be expected that any information created or
maintained within the system is secure, private, or confidential.

Responsible Use
1. Users are expected to abide by all copyright laws governing intellectual property and
refrain from plagiarism.
2. Confidentiality of all students must be maintained in compliance with federal and state
law.
3. Users must respect and practice the principles of community by communicating only in
ways that respectful.
4. Users must respect the rights of others by refraining from intimidation, harassment, and
cyberbullying in any electronic medium.
5. Users are also responsible for reporting any threatening materials to a teacher or
administrator.

Inappropriate Materials
1. Users must refrain from intentionally accessing, creating, or transmitting any material
that violates the districts code of conduct or otherwise inconsistent with the values and
standards for community behavior of the school (e.g. any content or messages that are
discriminatory, rude, threatening, sexually explicit, or pornographic).
2. Users must refrain from intentionally accessing, creating, or transmitting any material
that is illegal (e.g. any web content, social media, or messages that represent illegal
copies of copyrighted work, stolen materials, or obscenity).
3. Users must avoid mass unsolicited mailings, chain letters, and spam while also
refraining from buying, advertising, selling, or conducting business, unless otherwise
approved administration.

Security
1. Group 1 School District reserves the right to monitor network use to ensure that the
network continues to function properly for all of its users. Anyone using electronic
networks expressly consents to such monitoring.
2. For security and network reliability reasons, personally-owned devices (e.g. hubs,
switches, routers, wireless access points, and servers or server services) cannot be
installed on the schools network or anywhere on campus, unless authorized by the
director of technology.
3. Users are forbidden to circumvent or undermine the security requirements of any other
system.
4. Each user is responsible for the security and integrity of information stored on his or
her computer or voice mail system. Computer accounts, passwords, security codes and
 other types of authorization are assigned to individual users and must not be shared
with or used by others.

Policy Enforcement and Sanctions

1. All members of the community are expected to assist in the enforcement of our county
policy. Any user found in violation of this policy are subject to a full range of sanctions,
including, but, not limited to, the loss of computer, telephone or network access
privileges, disciplinary action, and dismissal or termination from the school.
2. Any violations that constitute criminal offenses as defined by local, state and federal
laws, and the school may initiate or assist in the prosecution of any such policy
violations to the full extent of the law.
3. Any suspected violation of this policy should be reported immediately to the
administration, director of technology, or the director of human resources (if the
suspected violator is a staff member).