|
Littleton Public Schools Regulation |
|
Policy Code EGAEA-R Policy Name Electronic Mail and Internet Services Adopted April 8, 2004 Revised June 18, 2009 |
The procedures that follow provide details regarding the appropriate and inappropriate use of electronic mail (e-mail) and Internet services. The regulations may be supplemented by more specific administrative procedures governing day-to-day management and operation of e-mail and Internet services. The procedures do not attempt to articulate all required or proscribed behavior by users. Successful operation of e-mail and Internet services requires that all users conduct themselves in a responsible, decent, ethical, and polite manner. The users are ultimately responsible for their actions in accessing and using e-mail and Internet services and, as users, are expected to review and understand the procedures in this document.
Appropriate Use
The District expects everyone to exercise good judgment and use e-mail and Internet services in a professional manner. Use of e-mail and the Internet is expected to be related to the District’s goals of educating students and/or conducting District business. The District recognizes, however, that some personal use is inevitable; and incidental and occasional personal use that is infrequent or brief in duration is permitted so long as it does not interfere with District business and is not otherwise prohibited by District policy or procedures. Individuals who have questions regarding whether or not a particular activity or use is acceptable must seek approval from their supervisor prior to initiating the activity or use.
Prohibited Uses
All illegal or other improper uses of the electronic mail system, including, but not limited to, pornography, obscenity, harassment, solicitation, gambling, and violating copyright or intellectual property rights are prohibited.
Using District e-mail for political purposes in violation of federal, state, or local laws is prohibited. This prohibition includes using e-mail to assist or to advocate, directly or indirectly, for or against a ballot proposition and/or the election of any person to any office. The use of e-mail for the expression of personal political opinions to elected officials is prohibited. Only those staff authorized by the Superintendent may express the District’s position on pending legislation or other policy matters.
Using District e-mail for illegal, harassing, vandalizing, inappropriate, or indecent purposes (including accessing, storing, or viewing pornographic, indecent, or otherwise inappropriate material), or in support of such activities is prohibited. Illegal activities are any violations of federal, state, or local laws (for example, copyright infringement, publishing defamatory information, or committing fraud). Harassment includes slurs, comments, jokes, innuendoes, unwelcome compliments, cartoons, pranks, or verbal conduct relating to an individual that 1) have the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment, 2) have the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or school performance, or 3) interfere with school operations. Vandalism is any attempt to harm or destroy the operating system, application software, or data. Inappropriate use includes any violation of the purpose and goal of the network.
District e-mail may not be used to interfere or disrupt other users, services, or equipment. For example, disruptions include distribution of unsolicited advertising (“spam”), propagation of computer viruses, distribution of large quantities of information that may overwhelm the system (chain letters, network games, or broadcasting messages), and any unauthorized access to, or destruction of, District computers or other resources accessible through the District’s network (“cracking” or “hacking”).
Publishing sensitive, personally identifying information about staff or students without consent.
The District reserves the right to filter non-District senders of electronic mail if:
An unsolicited message is sent to more than 100 recipients AND
The message does not further the purpose and mission of the District.
Privacy
All District electronic mail systems are owned by the District and are intended for school-related purposes and performance of job duties. Incidental personal use is permitted as long as such use does not interfere with the employee’s or approved service provider’s job duties and performance, with the system operations, and/or other system users. Employees and approved service providers should have no expectation of privacy when using the electronic mail systems. Because there is no guarantee of privacy or confidentiality, other avenues of communication should be used for such matters.
While the District respects the privacy of its staff and while the District currently does not have a practice of monitoring or reviewing electronic information, the District reserves the right to do so for any reason. The District may monitor and review the information in order to analyze the use of systems or compliance with policies, conduct audits, review performance or conduct, obtain information, or for other reasons.
The District reserves the right to disclose any electronic message to law enforcement officials and, under some circumstances, may be required to disclose information to law enforcement officials, the public, or other third parties, for example, in response to a document production request made in a lawsuit involving the District or by a third party against the user or pursuant to a public records disclosure request.
The District retains control, custody, and supervision of all e-mails and Internet services. The District reserves the right to monitor all e-mails and Internet activity by employees and approved service providers and other system users under the supervision of an employee or approved service provider. Users have no expectation of privacy in their use of school computers for e-mail messages, Internet services, and stored files. Use of the District e-mail system and the Internet is a privilege not a right.
The Internet and use of e-mail are not inherently secure or private. For example, the content of an e-mail message, including attachments, is most analogous to a letter or official memo rather than a telephone call, since a record of the contents of the e-mail may be preserved by the sender, recipient, and parties to whom the e-mail may be forwarded. Deleting a message from the user’s computer system does not necessarily delete it from the District computer/server system.
In some cases, e-mails have also been treated as public records in response to a public records disclosure request. Likewise, files, such as Internet “cookies” (explained more fully below) may be created and stored on a computer without the user’s knowledge. Users are urged to be caretakers of their own privacy and to not store sensitive or personal information on District computers. The District may need to access, monitor, or review electronic data stored on District computers, including e-mail and Internet usage records.
Except for directory information (e.g., student name, birth date, dates of attendance, institution attended), student records contained in the District’s student information system electronically shall not be transmitted to institutions or individuals outside the District, other than parents/legal guardians, either contained within the body of an e-mail message or as an attachment to an e-mail message. However, required student information, including transcripts, can be transmitted electronically with encryption to other entities in accordance with applicable Board of Education policy, state and federal laws (e.g., the Colorado Department of Education and the military).
The confidentiality of any information stored in or created, received, or sent, over the e-mail system or through Internet access cannot be guaranteed. As such, care should be taken when e-mails are sent that contain personal information about District employees and other users under the supervision of an employee. E-mails that contain information on students must heed the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). E-mails that contain information regarding an employee or student’s protected health information must comply with the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and follow the applicable procedures set forth in the District’s HIPAA Privacy Use and Disclosure Procedures.
Archiving E-mails
Electronic mail sent or received by the Board, the District, the District’s employees, or approved service providers may be considered a public record subject to public disclosure or inspection under the Colorado Open Records Act. E-mail messages sent or received which contain District’s policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities may be considered public records and subject to public disclosure or inspection. It is suggested that the e-mail be archived to a personal folder or printed off for future reference. District e-mail systems will be archived in accordance with Colorado State Archive guidelines.
The District retains the right to review, store, and disclose all information sent over the District electronic mail systems for any reason, including, but not limited to, determining whether the information is a public record, whether it contains information discoverable in litigation, and to access District information in the employee’s or service provider’s absence.
Employee and Approved Service Provider Acknowledgement Required
Each individual authorized to access the District’s e-mail and Internet services is required to sign an acknowledgement form (GBEE-E) stating that they have read Policy GBEE and Policy EGAEA and their respective regulations (GBEE-R and EGAEA-R). The acknowledgement form will be retained in the employee’s personnel file and will remain in effect for the duration of employment/service with the Littleton Public Schools.
Any violation of Policies GBEE (Staff Use of District Technology), EGAEA (Electronic Mail and Internet Services), and their respective regulations (GBEE-R and EGAEA-R) is unethical and may constitute a criminal or civil violation. Violations may constitute cause for revocation of access privileges, suspension of access to e-mail and/or the Internet, other disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from employment and/or appropriate legal action, may be taken. Specific measures will be determined on a case-by-case basis.