HSD+Acceptable+Use+Policy+-+Student+Use+of+the+Internet

=Hopkinton School District Student Internet Access/ Acceptable Use Policy=

Preamble
The purpose of this policy is to serve as a statement on the appropriate and acceptable use of the Hopkinton School District Computer Network, including the District’s connection to the Internet.

Educational Purposes
The purpose of the Hopkinton School District Network is to enhance established school curriculum. Appropriate use of networking resources and computer equipment is consistent with the Hopkinton School District’s commitment to avail district and computer networking resources for the purpose of improving, extending and enriching teaching and learning in the district. Users are responsible for ensuring that their activities adhere to these uses and generally accepted educational standards.

Within reason and in a manner consistent with the Hopkinton School District’s educational mission, freedom of speech will be honored. However, in accordance with federal law, the Hopkinton School District utilizes appropriate Internet filtering technology in order to protect minors from visual depictions of material on the Internet that is obscene or harmful to minors. In addition to Internet filtering, adult supervision of students on the Internet is required, and the system administrator monitors access to inappropriate sites on the World Wide Web.

Privilege
The use of the Hopkinton School District Network is a privilege and not a right. There are and will be varying degrees of access to the Hopkinton School District Network that are and will be allowed to different learners. Some of these levels will be determined by age or grade, and some by demonstration of acceptance of responsibility. The use of electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communication by students is prohibited. An exception may be made if an adult directly supervises a student and the electronic communication is for educational purposes. Inappropriate use includes all those activities prohibited to the user based on their allowed degree of access, and any activity that violates the school building’s discipline policy or code or state or federal law. Inappropriate use will result in restriction or cancellation of access privileges and such other actions as the District’s staff deems appropriate for violations of the school building’s discipline policy or code. Responsibilities All users assume full liability – legal, financial or otherwise – for their actions when using the Hopkinton School District Network. All users of the network will be held fully responsible for the use of their account. Any inappropriate activities performed through the account will be considered to be the actions of the account holder. The responsibility of the user is to familiarize himself/herself with and abide by the rules of the Hopkinton School District’s Internet working policy. All users of the network and/or related computer equipment will be responsible for the cost of repairs for any malicious tampering with equipment or a compromise of security of district computer systems.

Privacy
The Hopkinton School District Network is maintained and managed by the system administrator in such a way as to insure as much as possible its availability and reliability in performing its educational mission. Users have no reasonable expectation of privacy concerning any materials transferred over or stored with the Hopkinton School District Network. = = =STUDENT USE OF THE INTERNET=

Internet Resources
The Internet is a global computer network of schools, businesses, governments, organizations, and millions of individuals--all exchanging or publishing ideas and information on every topic under the sun.

Its resources are constantly changing (and not always authoritative), and include outstanding government and scientific information, as well as not-to-be-beaten material on business, current events, the arts, and popular culture.

The net is largely unregulated, and not all of the information it carries is suitable for school children. Hopkinton Middle/High School subscribes to a filtering service that screens out most of this unsuitable material. Sadly, any filtering program cuts both ways: some useful information will be stopped simply because it is stored on a machine known to contain pornography or other highly objectionable material. Additionally, it should be noted that while our filtering service blocks the majority of objectionable sites, no filtering solution is ever perfect. The responsibility for accessing appropriate materials via the Internet remains the responsibility of the user.

In-School Access
Access to the Internet gives students an opportunity to use a wide range of electronic resources in their class work, to pursue many different avenues of independent study, and to explore their own interests. Students who are interested in bringing a personal laptop computer to school are encouraged to do so, but must first obtain and fill out a "Student Laptop Procedure Form" from the main office.

All students may use the World Wide Web to search for information. Computers in the Library, in the Computer, Business, Geography, Tech Ed, & Science Labs, and in most classrooms have been set up for Internet use. With the support of a faculty sponsor, students may use the Internet to create and publish web pages related to their class work or school-sponsored activities.

In those classes that require it, students may also use web-based e-mail or chat, video-conferencing, MOOs, or other Internet communication tools.

Responsibilities of Internet Use
Every user of our Internet connection must accept the responsibility to respect the rights of all other network users, and to act in a responsible, ethical, and legal manner at all times. In-school access to the Internet is a privilege, and because each student is personally responsible for his or her own actions on the Internet, unacceptable behavior will result in the suspension or revocation of Internet access. Some examples of unacceptable behavior are: using the school's Internet connection in ways that violate school policies and standards of behavior using the school's Internet connection for any illegal activity, including copyright violation using the school's Internet connection for personal financial or commercial gain disrupting or interfering with network users, services, or equipment, including hacking, cracking, sending chain letters or broadcasting messages to multiple lists or individuals ("spamming"), etc. attempting to gain or gaining unauthorized access to restricted resources or organizations using the school's Internet connection to play games sending, downloading, storing, or printing files or messages that are profane, obscene, offensive, or harassing forwarding or otherwise publishing personal communications without the consent of the person who wrote them

Violations:
For the first offense, the student will meet with administration. A second offense the student will attend Saturday Education and parents will be notified. On the third offense, the student will serve an out of school suspension.