Hogan Preparatory Academy

Acceptable Use Policy

A.     Educational Purpose

1.      The Network has been established for a limited educational purpose.  The term “educational purpose” includes classroom activities, career development, and limited high-quality personal research.

2.      The Network has not been established as a public access service or public forum.  Hogan Preparatory has the right to place reasonable restrictions on the material students access or post through the system.  Students are also expected to follow the rules set forth in the School’s student conduct regulations and the law in the use of the Network.

3.      Students may not use the Network for commercial purposes.  This means students may not offer, provide, or purchase products or services through the Network.

4.      Students may not use the Network for political lobbying,  but may use the system to communicate with elected representatives and to express opinions on political issues.

B. Student Internet Access

1.      Students may obtain an individual account with the approval of their parent/guardian and the School.

2.      Students may be provided with individual e-mail accounts at the request of their teacher and with the approval of their parent/guardian.

3.      Students and their parent/guardian must sign an Account Agreement to be granted an individual account on the Network.  This Agreement must be renewed on an annual basis.  The parent can withdraw approval at any time.

C.     Unacceptable uses

1.  Personal Safety

a)      Students will not post personal contact information about themselves or other people.  Personal contact information includes the students address,  telephone, School address, work address, etc.

b)      Students will not agree to meet with someone they have met on line without the parent/guardian’s approval.  Parents/guardians should accompany their student to this meeting.

c)      Students will promptly disclose to their teacher, or other school employee, any  message they receive that is inappropriate or makes them feel uncomfortable.

2.       Illegal Activities

a)      Students will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Network or to any other computer system through the Network or go beyond their authorized access.  This includes attempting to log in through another person’s account or access another person’s files.  These actions are illegal, even if only for the purposes of “browsing.”

b)      Students will not make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means.  These actions are illegal.  If any compute disks are brought from outside the school, the disk must be scanned by the Network administrator before being used on the School’s Network.

c)      Students will not use the Network to engage in any other illegal act, such as arranging for a drug sale or the purchase of alcohol, engaging in criminal gang activity, threatening the safety of person, etc.

2.      System Security

a)      Students are responsible for their individual account and should take all reasonable precaution  to prevent others from being able to use their account.  Under no conditions should students provide their password to another person.

b)      Students will immediately notify a teacher or the system administrator if they have identified a possible security problem.  Do not go looking for security problems, because this may be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access.

c)      Students will avoid the inadvertent spread of computer viruses by following the standard virus protection procedures if they download software.

2.      Inappropriate Language

a)      Restrictions against inappropriate language apply to public messages, private messages, and material posted on Web pages.

b)      Students will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful language.

c)      Students will not post information that could cause damage or a danger of disruption.

d)      Students will not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks.

e)      Students will not harass another person.  Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person.  If they are told by a person to stop sending them messages, hey must stop.

f)        Students will not knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or organization.

2.      Respect for Privacy

a)      Students will not repost a message that was sent to them privately without permission of the person who sent them the message.

b)      Students will not post private information about another person.

2.      Respecting Resource Limits

a)      Students will use the system only for educational and career development activities and limited, high-quality, personal research.

b)      Students will not download large files unless absolutely necessary.  If necessary, they will download the file at a time when the system is not being heavily used and immediately remove the file from the system computer to their personal computer.

c)      Students will not post chain letters or engage in “spamming.”  Spamming is sending an annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people.

d)      Students will check their e-mail frequently, delete unwanted messages promptly, and stay within their e-mail quota.

e)      Students will subscribe only to high quality discussion group maillists that are relevant to their education or career development as determined by their instructor.

f)        Students will not willingly and knowingly deface any school property.

2.      Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement

a)      Students will not plagiarize works that they find on the Internet.  Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were their own.

b)      Students will respect the rights of copyright owners.  Copyright infringement occurs when someone inappropriately reproduces a work that is protected by a copyright.  If a work contains language that specifies appropriate use of that work, students should follow the expressed requirements.  If unsure whether or not material can be used, students should request permission from the copyright owner.  Copyright law can be very confusing.  If there are questions ask a teacher.

8.  Inappropriate Access to Material

a)      Students will not use the Network to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography), that advocates illegal or dangerous acts, or that advocates violence or discrimination towards other people (hate literature).  A special exception may be made if the purpose of access is to conduct research and both the teacher and parent/guardian have approved.

b)      If the student mistakenly accesses inappropriate information, he/she should immediately tell the teacher or another school employee.  This will protect the student against a claim that he/she has intentionally violated this Policy.

c)      The student’s parents/guardian should instruct the student if there is additional material that they feel would be inappropriate for the student to access.  The School fully expects that students will follow their parent’s/guardian’s instructions in this matter.

9.      Use of eChalk

a)      You are entirely responsible for all activities conducted through your eChalk account.

b)      You will not use your eChalk account to:

Transmit or cause the transmission of any harassing, threatening, or otherwise abusive messages, data or information.

Post or transmit any unsolicited advertising, promotional or marketing materials

c)      You will not violate any privacy rights or rights of publicity of any person.

d)      You will not attempt or assist others in attempting to compromise the security or integrity of your school’s eChalk system.

e)      Violations of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in the termination of all privileges relating to the use of your school’s eChalk system.

C.     Student’s Rights

1.      Free Speech

a)      The Network is considered a limited forum, similar to the school newspaper, and  therefore the School may restrict student’s speech for valid educational reasons. 

b)      The School will not restrict student speech on the basis of a disagreement with the opinions the student is expressing.

1.      Search and Seizure

a)      Students should expect only limited privacy in the contents of their personal files on the school system and records of their online activity.  The situation is similar to the rights students have in the privacy of their locker.

b)      Routine maintenance and monitoring of the Network may lead to discovery that the student has violated this Policy, the School/student conduct regulations or the law. 

c)      An individual search will be conducted if there is reasonable suspicion that a student has violated this Policy, the School/student conduct regulations or the law.   The investigation will be reasonable and related to the suspected violation.

d)      The School has the right at any time to request to see the contents of a student’s e-mail files.

1.      Due Process

a)      The School will cooperate fully with local, state or federal officials in any investigation related to any illegal activities conducted through the Network.

b)      I0n the event there is a claim that a student has violated this policy or the School student conduct regulations in the students use of the Network, the student will be provided with notice and opportunity to be heard.

c)      If a violation occurs, additional restrictions may be placed on the student’s use of their Network account.  Restrictions may include, but not limited to, the following:

¨      Limited access to the system

¨      Use only with supervision

¨      Total loss of access to the system

C.     Limitation of Liability

The School makes no guarantee that the functions or the services provided by or through the school system will be error-free or without defect.  The School will not be responsible for any damage the student may suffer, including but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service.  The School is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through or stored on the system.  The School will not be responsible for financial obligations arising through the unauthorized use of the system.  The student’s parents can be held financially responsible for any harm to the system as a result of intentional misuse.