Oak Ridge Schools Technology
Access OR – Acceptable Use Policy
from Student Discipline Code Handbook (page 43)
Access OR – Acceptable Use (English version)
Access OR – Acceptable Use en Español (Spanish version)
All other languages are supported by using the translate button at the bottom of this page.
District Board Policies and Procedures
The Board of Education policies that are relevant to the use of Technology Devices include:
6.309: Zero Tolerance Offenses (Electronic)
6.311: Care of School Property
6.312: Use of Personal Communication Devices and Electronic Devices
Network and District Resources
The purpose of the Oak Ridge Schools district network is to support education, particularly in the areas of research and communications, by providing access to a multitude of electronic resources and the opportunity to collaborate with other individuals and groups. Computers and networks can provide access to local resources, as well as the ability for worldwide communications. Such open access is a privilege and requires that individual users act responsibly. Users must respect the rights of others, respect the integrity of the computer network, and observe all relevant laws and regulations.
All users are subject to existing laws (federal and state) and Oak Ridge School district policies, including not only those laws and regulations that are specific to computers and networks but also those that apply generally to personal conduct. Users are expected at all times to base their actions on rules of common courtesy and respect for others. Misuse of computing, networking, and information resources may result in the loss of computing privileges and/or other appropriate disciplinary actions up to and including suspension or expulsion. Additionally, misuse can be prosecuted under applicable statutes. A specific example – illegal reproduction of software protected by United States Copyright Law is subject to civil damages and criminal penalties.
Privacy
All users are warned that no guarantee of privacy exists in the use of Oak Ridge School district technological resources. Users should not assume that files or communications accessed, downloaded, created or transmitted using district resources or stored on services or hard drives of individual computers will be private. School district administrators or individuals designated by the Superintendent may review files, observe screen activity, monitor all communication and intercept e-mail messages to maintain system integrity and to ensure compliance with board policy and applicable laws and regulations. School district personnel will endeavor to monitor on-line activities of individuals who access the Internet via a school-owned computer. Under certain circumstances, the school may be required to disclose such electronic information to law enforcement or other third parties, for example, as a response to a document production request in a lawsuit.
Respectful Conduct
Users of the Oak Ridge Schools technology resources are expected to respect district property and be responsible in using the equipment. Users are to follow all instructions regarding maintenance or care of the equipment. Users may be held responsible for any loss or damage caused by intentional or negligent acts in caring for computers while under their control. The school district is responsible for any routine maintenance or standard repairs to school system computers. With these guidelines in mind, students should:
- Use assigned devices as required by instructors.
- Be considerate when using scarce resources (scanners, printers, paper and bandwidth)
- Always log off of computers before leaving the lab or classroom.
- Avoid deliberately disrupting system performance or interfering with the work or another user.
- Leave equipment and workspace in good condition for the next user/class
- Report equipment problems immediately to instructor or network administrator.
- Leave workstations and peripherals in their designated places.
- Keep work areas neat and clean and free from food, drink and gum.
Responsibilities
- Users will accept the responsibility for all material sent from and/or stored in their account.
- Users will not download copyrighted software, inappropriate text and graphic files, or files dangerous to the integrity of the network.
- Users will regularly delete electronic messages and any unnecessary files to limit the storage space being utilized by their account.
- Users will not tamper with, modify or change the district system software, hardware or wiring or take any action to violate the district’s security system.
- Users will not use the district’s electronic technologies in such a way as to disrupt the use of the system by other users.
- Users have the responsibility to report inappropriate use of the network and violations by others to the Network Account Manager.
- Users will limit the storage space utilized on network servers to the maximum amount established by the network administrators.
Misuse
Examples of misuse include, but are not limited to, the activities in the following list:
- Using a computer account, other than your own, that you are not authorized to use.
- Obtaining a password for a computer account, other than your own.
- Gaining unauthorized access to any computer system.
- Knowingly performing an act which will interfere with the normal operation of computers, terminals, peripherals, or networks.
- Demonstrating a suspected security violation to other users.
- Attempting an unauthorized login to any school system computer on the network as a system administrator.
- Causing a security risk or having a history of problems with other systems.
- Knowingly running or installing on any computer system or network, or giving to another user a program intended to damage or to place excessive load on a computer system or network. This includes but is not limited to programs known as computer viruses, Trojan horses, and worms.
- Using the district’s electronic technologies to vandalize, damage or disable the property of another person or organization.
- Attempting to degrade or disrupt equipment, software or system performance by spreading computer viruses, engaging in “spamming” or by any other means.
- Attempting to circumvent data protection schemes or take advantage of security loopholes for inappropriate uses.
- Violating terms of applicable software licensing agreements or copyright laws.
- Using the district’s electronic technologies to engage in any illegal act or violate any local, state or federal laws, including downloading copyrighted material.
- Wasting computing resources; such as, but not limited to: leaving unattended processes running; downloading, transferring and/or storing material that might be considered to be sexually explicit or vulgar.
- Using electronic mail to harass others, including but not limited to, the use of vulgar or offensive language and terms.
- Accessing, reviewing, uploading, downloading, completing, storing, printing, posting, receiving, transmitting or distributing:
- Pornographic, obscene or sexually explicit material or other visual depictions; obscene, abusive, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, disrespectful or sexually explicit language;
- Materials that use language or images that are inappropriate in the education setting or disruptive to the educational process;
- Materials that use language or images that advocate violence or discrimination toward other people or that may constitute harassment, discrimination or threatens the safety of others.
- Masking the identity of an account or machine.
- Posting materials that violate existing laws or Oak Ridge School district policies.
- Sending chain letters over the network or “broadcasting” messages to lists or individuals which would cause congestion of the networks or otherwise interfere with the work of others.
Parent/Guardian Consent
We recognize that parents/guardians of minors are responsible for setting and conveying the standards their children should follow when using media and information sources. Accordingly, before a student may independently access the Internet, the student’s parent/guardian must be made aware of the possibility that the student could obtain access to inappropriate material while engaged in independent use of the Internet. The parent/guardian and student must consent to the student’s independent access to the Internet and to monitoring of the student’s communication by school personnel.
Cyberbullying
Students should not use the Oak Ridge School district network or Internet access to