Acceptable Use Guidelines
TECHNOLOGY/ACCEPTABLE USE GUIDELINES - All 9-12 grade students are issued a laptop computer for their educational use. Students are expected to follow the specific guidelines listed below and take any additional common sense precautions to protect the assigned laptop. Loss or damage resulting in failure to abide by the details below may result in full-financial responsibility.
The laptop and its accessory equipment are the property of South Adams School Corporation
The student is responsible for the daily care and maintenance of the laptop. Any damage or theft must be reported within one school day.
The student is responsible for all repair/replacement charges caused intentionally through a lack of reasonable care or precaution.
Bring the laptop fully charged to school each day. No charging is allowed at school.
Keep the laptop locked when not attended. Do not allow another student to use your laptop. Loss or damage that occurs when anyone else is using your assigned laptop will be your full responsibility.
Unattended and unlocked laptops, if stolen - even at school - will be the student’s full financial responsibility.
It is the student’s responsibility to back up their data. Never consider any electronic information safe when stored on only one device. Students can back up their data to their SA Google Drive, Dropbox account, or flash drive. If the laptop crashes or needs reformatted, the student data will be lost.
Report problems to the High School Library Tech Center immediately. Do not go outside of the SA Tech Department for support and/or repairs. Do not attempt to remove, add, or change the physical structure of the laptop, including keys, memory, battery, screen, charger, ID labels, etc. Doing so will be cause for discipline and financial liability for repair.
Carry the laptop in the school provided case at all times and do not stuff the case with other bulky items. Be careful to remove all objects before closing the laptop lid, close gently, and do not stack items on top of the closed laptop.
A laptop maintenance fee of $25 is offered yearly at the time of laptop pick-up. Parents may opt out of this program and the parent/student will be responsible for the full cost of repairs. All replacement parts and repairs must be done through the South Adams Technology Department. The details of the maintenance program are located on the 1:1 High School Laptop link.
By signing the student handbook, students who wish to use the internet and school devices have agreed they have read and agree to follow the Laptop and Acceptable Use Guidelines printed in the student handbook.
South Adams Schools recognizes that access to technology in school gives students greater opportunities to learn, engage, communicate, and develop skills that will prepare them for work, life, and citizenship. We are committed to helping students develop 21st-century technology and communication skills. To that end, we provide access to technologies for student use. The Acceptable Use Guidelines listed below outlines the behaviors that students are expected to follow when using technologies on school campus.
The South Adams network is intended for educational purposes.
All activity over the network or using district technologies may be monitored and retained.
Access to online content via the network may be restricted in accordance with our policies and federal regulations, such as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
Students are expected to follow the same rules for good behavior and respectful conduct online as offline.
Misuse of school resources can result in disciplinary action.
South Adams makes a reasonable effort to ensure students’ safety and security online, but will not be held accountable for any harm or damages that result from use of school technologies.
Students are expected to alert a teacher or staff member immediately of any concerns for safety or security.
Technologies Covered - South Adams may provide Internet access, desktop computers, mobile computers or devices, videoconferencing capabilities, online collaboration capabilities, message boards, email, and more. South Adams Schools maintains a web page at www.southadams.k12.in.us. From time to time, pictures of activities at South Adams may be posted on the web page. These pictures may include students. Our district does not sanction or guarantee the accuracy or propriety or any information, offered services or products contained in any website linked directly or indirectly to ours.
As new technologies emerge, South Adams will attempt to provide access to them. The policies outlined in this document are intended to cover all available technologies, not just those specifically listed.
Usage Guidelines - All technologies provided by the district are intended for education purposes. All students are expected to use good judgment and to follow these guidelines as well as the spirit of it: be safe, appropriate, careful and kind; don’t try to get around technological protection measures; use good common sense; and ask if you don’t know.
Web Access and Security - South Adams provides its students with access to the Internet, including web sites, resources, content, and online tools. That access will be restricted in compliance with CIPA regulations and school policies. Web browsing may be monitored and web activity records may be retained indefinitely. Students must keep in mind their use of technology will be supervised/monitored by teachers, staff members and computer programs and filters. This includes before, during, and after school hours. Students are expected to respect that the web filter is a safety precaution, and should not try to circumvent it when browsing the Web.
Email - South Adams may provide students with filtered email accounts for the purpose of inter-school communication. Availability and use may be restricted based on school policies. Personal email accounts should not be accessed using the school’s network or school devices. If students are provided with email accounts, they should be used with care. Students should not send personal information; should not attempt to open files or follow links from unknown or untrusted origin; should use appropriate language; and should only communicate with other people as allowed by the district policy or the teacher. Students are expected to communicate with the same appropriate, safe, mindful, courteous conduct online as offline. Email usage will be monitored and archived.
Social/Web 2.0 & Collaborative Content - Recognizing the benefits collaboration brings to education, South Adams may provide students with access to web sites or tools that allow communication, collaboration, sharing, and messaging among students. Students are expected to communicate with the same appropriate, safe, mindful, courteous conduct online as offline. Posts, chats, sharing, and messaging may be monitored. Users should be careful not to share personally-identifying information. Online comments disrespectful to South Adams Schools, staff, students, and activities are unacceptable.
Mobile Devices - South Adams may provide students with mobile computers or other devices to promote learning outside of the classroom. Students should abide by the same acceptable use policies when using school devices off the school network as on the school network.Students are expected to treat these devices with extreme care and caution; these are expensive devices that the school is entrusting to your care. Users should report any loss, damage, or malfunction to IT staff immediately. Users may be financially accountable for any damage resulting from negligence or misuse.Use of school-issued mobile devices off the school network may be monitored and will have the corporate filter agent installed.
Personally-Owned Devices - Students should keep personally-owned electronic put away and not use during all class periods unless instructed by a teacher or staff member for educational purposes. Personal devices are not permitted on the school’s Wi-Fi at any time.
Security - Students are expected to take reasonable safeguards against the transmission of security threats over the school network. This includes not opening or distributing infected files or programs and not opening files or programs of unknown or untrusted origin.
Downloads - Students should not download or attempt to download or run programs over the school network or onto school resources without express permission from the technology department. You may be able to download other file types, such as images of videos. For the security of our network, download such files only from reputable sites, and only for education purposes.
Netiquette - Students should always use the Internet, network resources, and online sites in a courteous and respectful manner. Students should also recognize that among the valuable content online is unverified, incorrect, or inappropriate content. Students should use trusted sources when conducting research via the Internet. Students should also remember not to post anything online that they wouldn’t want parents, teachers, or future colleges or employers to see. Once something is online, it can be shared and spread in ways that were never intended.
Plagiarism - Students should not plagiarize (or use as their own, without citing the original creator) content, including words or images, from the Internet. Students should not take credit for things they didn’t create themselves, or misrepresent themselves as an author or creator of something found online. Research conducted via the Internet should be appropriately cited, giving credit to the original author.
Personal Safety - Users should never share personal information, including phone number, address, social security number, birthday, or financial information, over the Internet without adult permission. Users should recognize that communicating over the Internet brings anonymity and associated risks, and should carefully safeguard the personal information of themselves and others. Users should never agree to meet someone they meet online in real life without parental permission. If you see a message, comment, image, or anything else online that makes you concerned for your personal safety, bring it to the attention of an adult (teacher or staff if you’re at school; parent if you’re using the device at home) immediately.
Cyberbullying - Cyberbullying will not be tolerated. Harassing, dissing, flaming, denigrating, impersonating, outing, tricking, excluding, and cyberstalking are all examples of cyberbullying. Don’t be mean. Don’t send emails or post comments with the intent of scaring, hurting, or intimidating someone else.Engaging in these behaviors, or any online activities intended to harm (physically or emotionally) another person, will result in severe disciplinary action and loss of privileges. In some cases, cyberbullying can be a crime. Remember that your activities are monitored and retained.
Acceptable Use Guidelines
I will only use the school device assigned to me to and I will:
Bring my fully charged laptop to school every day.
Use school technologies for school-related activities.
Follow the same guidelines for respectful, responsible behavior online that I am expected to follow offline.
Treat school resources carefully, and alert staff if there is any problem with their operation.
Encourage positive, constructive discussion if allowed to use communicative or collaborative technologies.
Alert a teacher or other staff member if I see threatening, inappropriate, or harmful content (images, messages, posts) online.
Use school technologies at appropriate times and in approved places.
Cite sources when using online sites and resources for research.
Recognize that use of school technologies is a privilege and treat it as such.
Be cautious to protect the safety of myself and others.
Help to protect the security of school resources.
Unacceptable Use Guidelines
I will not:
Use another student’s laptop or allow others to use my laptop.
Attempt to bypass the school’s mobile (internet) filter.
Use school technologies in a way that could be personally or physically harmful.
Attempt to find inappropriate images or content.
Engage in cyberbullying, harassment, or disrespectful conduct toward others.
Try to find ways to circumvent the school’s safety measures and filtering tools.
Use school technologies to send spam or chain mail.
Plagiarize content I find online.
Post personally-identifying information, about myself or others.
Use language online that would be unacceptable in the classroom.
Use school technologies for illegal activities or to pursue information on such activities.
Attempt to hack or access sites, servers, or content that isn’t intended for my use.
Alter a school device’s hardware or installed software.
Limitation of Liability - South Adams will not be responsible for damage or harm to persons, files, data, or hardware. While South Adams employs filtering and other safety and security mechanisms, and attempts to ensure their proper function, it makes no guarantees as to their effectiveness.South Adams will not be responsible, financially or otherwise, for unauthorized transactions conducted over the school network.
Students who knowingly allow other individuals to use their laptops are responsible for anything that may occur (usage violations and/or damages) to the laptops during that time. If the other individual is a South Adams student they may also face corrective action and/or restitution.
All fees owed during the school year for technology purposes must be paid in full before the laptop will be returned. If the school year ends and the payment has not been made the laptop will not be reissued the following year until the amount due is paid in full.
Corrective Action:
Student fails to bring laptop to class and/or uses laptop inappropriately during class time (play games, watch videos, listen to music, etc.)
First Violation - Teacher Classroom Policy.
Second Violation - Written Warning.
Third Violation - After-School Detention.
Fourth Violation - ISS.
Charging laptops during the school day
First Violation - Written Warning.
Second Violation - After-School Detention.
Third Violation - ISS.
Uninstalling and/or bypassing the mobile filter/user agent:
First Violation - After-School Detention and possible technology restrictions.
Second Violation - ISS and possible technology restrictions.
Third Violation - RISQ referral and possible technology restrictions.
Other conditions to be determined by administration may include suspension/restrictions of network, technology, or computer privileges, restitution and notification of law enforcement and possible prosecution.