Longview ISD Telecommunication Network Application

for Account and Terms and Conditions for Use

 

I. Overview:

The Longview Independent School District Network is now offering access to our electronic communications system to the staff and students in the Longview ISD. Our goal in providing this service to Longview ISD is to promote educational excellence in the Longview schools by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, and communication.

 

A part of this service will be access to the Internet. The Internet is an electronic highway connecting thousands of computers all over the world to millions of individual subscribers who have access to electronic mail communication subscribers who have access to electronic mail communication with one another; information and news from research institutions, colleges and libraries; public domain software as well as discussion groups on a wide variety of topics.

 

With access to computers and people all over the world also comes the availability of material that may not be considered to be of educational value in the context of the school setting. On a global network, it is impossible to control all materials, and an industrious user may discover controversial information. Longview ISD firmly believes that the valuable information and interaction available on this worldwide network far outweighs the possibility that users may procure materiel that is not consistent with the educational goals of the district.

 

Internet access is coordinated through a complex association of government agencies, and regional and state networks. In addition, the smooth operation for the network relies upon the proper conduct of the end users who must adhere to strict guidelines. These guidelines are provided here so that you are aware of the responsibilities you are about to acquire. In general, this requires efficient, ethical, and legal utilization for the network resources. If a network user violates any of the provisions, his or her account will be terminated and future access could possibly be denied. The signature(s) at the end of this document is (are) legally binding and indicates the party (parties) who signed has (have) read the terms and conditions carefully and understand(s) their significance.

 

 

 
    1. LONGVIEWNET Regulations and Guidelines:

 

The Superintendent or designee will oversee the District’s electronic communication system.

 

The District’s System will be used only for administrative and educational purposes consistent with the District’s mission and goals. Commercial use by individuals of the District’s system is strictly prohibited.

 

The District will provide training to employees in proper use of the system and will provide all users with copies of acceptable use guidelines. All training in the use of the District’s system will emphasize the ethical use of this resource.

 

System Access

Access to the District’s electronic communications system will be governed as follows:

 
    1. Upon agreeing to the District’s Acceptable Use Policy and approval of the Superintendent or designee, District employees will be granted access to the District’s system.
    2. If class accounts become available, a teacher may apply for a class account and in doing so will be ultimately responsible for use of the account. Teachers with accounts will be required to maintain password confidentiality by not sharing the password with students or others.
    3. Students completing required course work on the system will have first priority for use of the District Equipment after school hours.
    4. Any system user identified as a security risk or having violated District and/or campus computer-use guidelines may be denied access to the District’s system.

Campus-Level Coordinator Responsibilities

As the campus-level coordinator for the electronic communications system, the principal or designee will:

    1. Be responsible for disseminating and enforcing applicable District policies and acceptable use guidelines for the District’s system at the campus level.
    2. Ensure that all users of the District’s system complete and sign an agreement to abide by District policies and administrative regulations regarding such use. All such agreements will be maintained on file in the principal’s office.
    3. Ensure that employees supervising students who use the District’s system provide training emphasizing the appropriate use of this resource.

Individual User Responsibilities On-Line Conduct

The following standards will apply to all users of the District’s electronic information/communications systems:

 
    1. The individual in whose name a system account is issued will be responsible at all time for its proper use.
    2. The system may not be used for illegal purposes, in support of illegal activities, or for any other activity prohibited by District policy.
    3. Use for commercial, income-generating or "for-profit" activities, product advertisement, or political lobbying is prohibited by users. Sending unsolicited junk mail, or chain letters is prohibited.
    4. System users may not use another person’s system account without written permission from the District coordinator, as appropriate.
    5. System users must purge electronic mail in accordance with established retention guidelines.
    6. System users may redistribute copyrighted programs or data only with the written permission of the copyright holder or designee. Such permission must be specified in the document or must be obtained directly from the copyright holder or designee in accordance with applicable copyright laws, District policy, and administrative regulations.
    7. System users may upload public domain programs to the system. System users may also download public domain programs for their own use or may noncommercially redistribute a public program. System users are responsible for determining whether a program is in the public domain.

Vandalism Prohibited

Any malicious attempt to harm or destroy District equipment or materials, data of another user of the District’s system, or any of the agencies or other networks that are connected to the Internet is prohibited. Deliberate attempts to degrade or disrupt system performance may be viewed as violations of District policy and administrative regulations and possibly, as criminal activity under applicable state and federal laws. This includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creating of computer viruses.

 

Vandalism as defined above will result in the cancellation of system use privileges and will require restitution for costs associated with system restoration, hardware, or software costs.

 

Forgery Prohibited

 

Forgery or attempted forgery of electronic mail messages is prohibited. Attempts to read, delete, copy, or modify the electronic mail of other system users to send/receive electronic mail is prohibited.

 

Information Content/Third Party Supplied

 

System users and parents of students with access to the District’s system should be aware that use of the system may provide access to other electronic communications systems in global electronic network that may contain inaccurate and/or objectionable material.

 

A student knowingly bringing prohibited materials into the school’s electronic environment will be subject to a suspension and/or a revocation of privileges on the District’s system and will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct.

 

An employee knowingly bringing prohibited materials into the school’s electronic environment will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with District policies.

 

Network Etiquette

System users are expected to observe the following network etiquette:

 
    1. Be polite
    2. Use appropriate language; swearing, vulgarity, ethnic or racial slurs, and any other inflammatory language are prohibited.
    3. Pretending to be someone else when sending or receiving messages is considered inappropriate.
    4. Transmitting obscene messages or pictures is prohibited
    5. Revealing personal addresses or phone numbers of the user or others is prohibited.
    6. Using the network in such a way that would disrupt the use of the network by other users is prohibited.

 

 

Termination/Revocation of System User Account

The District may suspend or revoke a system upon violation of District policy and/or administrative regulations regarding acceptable use.

 

Termination of an employee’s account or of a student’s access will be effective on the date the principal or District coordinator receives notice of student withdrawal or of revocation of system privileges, or on a future date if so specified in the notice.

 

 

Disclaimer

 

The District’s system is provided on an "as is, as available" basis. The District does not make any warranties, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, those of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose with respect to any services provided by the system and any information or software contained therein. The District does not warrant that the functions or services performed by, or that information or software contained on, the system will meet the system user’s requirements, or that the system will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that defects will be corrected.

 

Opinions, advice, services, and all other information expressed by system users, information providers, service providers or other third party individuals in the system are those of the providers and not the District.

 

The District will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or relating to the misuse of the District’s electronic communications system.