Southern Lehigh High School

Internet Policy

I. Responsibilities & Privileges

The use of the Internet computer network for illegal, inappropriate, unacceptable, or unethical purposes by students or employees is prohibited.

II. Authority

The Southern Lehigh School District reserves the right to determine which network services will be provided through the school district resources. It reserves the right to view and monitor all applications provided through the network, including e-mail, and to log Internet use by students and staff. The school district reserves the right to revoke user privileges, remove user accounts, and refer to legal authorities when appropriate violation of this and any other applicable district policies, including those governing network use, copyright, security, and vandalism of district resources and equipment. The Southern Lehigh School District bears no responsibility for information that is lost, damaged or unavailable due to technical problems.

III. Procedures

Network accounts will be used only by the authorized user of the account for its authorized purpose. Accounts will be made available according to a schedule developed by appropriate district authorities given the capability of district hardware. Access to accounts will be given out to only those individuals who meet the following requirements:

1. Have read the District Internet Policy and indicate their agreement with its provisions by signing the signature page and returning it to the appropriate district authority. Students must have their parent or guardian sign this signature page indicating the parent or guardian's agreement with the policy and their consent to allow the student to access and use the network.
2. Have successfully completed a district course, which will include but not be limited to instruction on network, access, use, acceptable vs. unacceptable uses, etiquette, and the consequences of abuse of privileges and responsibilities. This requirement shall apply for both students and district employees.

IV. Prohibitions

The use of the Internet computer network for illegal, inappropriate, unacceptable, or unethical purposes by students or employees is prohibited. The activities listed below are strictly prohibited by all users of the network. The Southern Lehigh School District reserves the right to determine if any activity not appearing in the list below constitutes an acceptable or unacceptable use of the network. These prohibitions are in effect any time school district resources are accessed.

• Use of the network for non-work or non-school related communications.
• Use of the network to access obscene or pornographic material.
• Use of the network to transmit material likely to be offensive or objectionable to recipients.
• Use of the network to participate in inappropriate and /or objectionable discussions or news groups.
• Hate mail, harassment, discriminatory remarks and other antisocial communications on the network.
• Use of the network which results in any copyright violation.
• The illegal installation, distribution, reproduction, or use of copyrighted software on district computers.
• Use of the network to intentionally obtain or modify files, passwords, or data belonging to other users.
• Use of the network to misrepresent other users on the network.
• Use of school technology or the network for fraudulent copying, communications or modification of materials in violation of local, state, and federal law.
• Loading, downloading, or use of unauthorized games, programs, files or other electronic media.
• Malicious use of the network to develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer system and/or damage the software components of a computer system.
• Destruction of district computer hardware or software.
• Use of the network to participate in Internet Relay chats (on-line real-time conversations).
• Use of the network to facilitate any illegal activity.
• Use of the network to communicate through e-mail for non-educational purposes or activities.
• Use of the network for commercial or for-profit purposes.
• Use of the network for product advertisement or political lobbying.

V. Consequences of Abuse

Any user of the network, whether student or employee, who violates the prohibitions listed in Section IV of the policy, engages in any other act determined to be unacceptable use of the network by school authorities, or violates any other district policy governing use of school resources and copyright law, will have their user privileges revoked and may face other disciplinary procedures according to existing and applicable school district policies. In addition, illegal use of the network, intentional deletion or damage to files of data, destruction of hardware, copyright violations, or any other activity involving the violation of local, state, or federal laws will be reported to the appropriate legal authorities for prosecution.