In order to match electronic resources as closely as possible to the approved District curriculum, District personnel will review and evaluate resources in order to offer "home pages" and menus of materials which comply with Board guidelines governing the selection of instructional materials. In this manner, staff will provide developmentally appropriate guides to students as they make use of telecommunications and electronic information resources to conduct research and other studies related to the District curriculum. As much as possible, access to the District's computerized information resources will be designed in ways which point students to those which have been reviewed and evaluated prior to use. While students may be able to move beyond those resources to others which have not been evaluated by staff, students shall be provided with guidelines and lists of resources particularly suited to the learning objectives.

Standards of Conduct Governing Student Access to the District Computer System

Inappropriate use of the DCS may result in disciplinary action, including suspension or cancellation  of  access.  Prior  to  suspension  or  revocation  of  access  to  the  DCS, students  will be afforded applicable due process rights. Each student who is granted access will be responsible for that usage. The DCS is provided for students in support of their educational program and to conduct research and communicate with others. Student access to external computer networks not controlled by the District is provided to students who act in a considerate and responsible manner. Individual users of the District's computerized information resources are responsible for their behavior and communications over the District computer network. It is presumed that users will comply with District standards and will honor the agreements they have signed.

A student is responsible for keeping a log of all contacts made on the District's computer network. The full Internet address of each correspondence on the network must be included in this log. A count of all mail received must be included in this log. The District computer coordinator or his/her designee will be responsible for placing a log book near each computer capable of accessing the network.

Student data files and other electronic storage areas will be treated like school lockers. This means that such areas shall be considered to be Marcus Whitman Central School District property and subject to control and inspection. The computer coordinator may access all such files and communications without prior notice to ensure system integrity and that users are complying with the requirements of District policy and regulations regarding student access to the DCS. Students should NOT expect that information stored on the DCS will be private.

During school, teachers will guide students toward appropriate materials. Outside of school, parents/guardians bear responsibility for such guidance as they do with information sources such as television, telephones, movies, radio and other potentially offensive/controversial media.

Use of the DCS which violates any aspect of Marcus Whitman Central School District policy; the Code of Conduct; and federal, state or local laws or regulations is strictly prohibited and may result in disciplinary action in compliance with applicable District guidelines and/or federal, state and local law including, but not limited to, suspension and/or revocation of access to the DCS. In addition to the District's general requirements governing student behavior, specific activities shall be prohibited by student users of the DCS including, but not limited to, the following:

1)      Using the DCS to obtain, view, download, send, print, display or otherwise gain access to or to transmit materials that are unlawful, obscene, pornographic or abusive.

2)      Use of obscene or vulgar language.

3)      Harassing, insulting, bullying, threatening or attacking others.

4)      Damaging, disabling or otherwise interfering with the operation of computers, computer systems, software or related equipment through physical action or by electronic means.

5)      Using unauthorized software on the DCS.

6)      Changing, copying, renaming, deleting, reading or otherwise accessing files or software not created by the student without express permission from the computer coordinator.

7)      Violating copyright law, including the illegal file sharing of music, videos and software.

8)      Employing the DCS for non-educational, commercial purposes, product advertisement or political lobbying.

9)      Disclosing a school or personal password to others or using others' passwords.

10)    Transmitting material, information or software in violation of any District policy or regulation, the District Code of Conduct, and/or federal, state and local law or regulation.

11)    Revealing personal information about oneself or of other students including, but not limited to, disclosure of home address and/or telephone number.

12)    Accessing personal, interactive social media sites (such as Facebook, Snapchat, etc) unless under the direct supervision of a staff member. This includes the use of a student's personal cell phone or digital device to access such social networking sites.

13)    Creating or using a website, blog or posts to online venues which may cause a substantial disruption in the school environment or interfere with the rights of others.

14)    Using digital device (such as cell or camera phones), electronic technology and/or media to facilitate cheating, plagiarism, etc.

Network, online and other school accounts and passwords are to be used only by the authorized owner of the account. Any user of the DCS that accesses another network or computer resources shall be subject to that networks acceptable use policy.

         If a student or a student's parent/guardian has a District network account, a non-district network account, or any other account or program which will enable direct or indirect access to a District computer, any access to the DCS in violation of District policy and/or regulation may result in student discipline. Indirect access to a District computer shall mean using a non-district  computer in a manner which results in the user gaining access to a District computer, including access to any and all information, records or other material contained or stored in a District computer.