Descriptor Term Descriptor Code Issued Date

GBTA-R 11/20/97
Internet Use Procedures
for Staff
Rescinds Issued



In order to support the curriculum and the informational needs of students and staff, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools provide a wide variety of materials representing a broad range of opinions and ideas and presented in many formats. In keeping with this goal, the district provides Internet access to students and staff.

CHCCS requires that staff make use of the Internet in an acceptable manner. "Acceptable use" means that Internet access may only be used for educational purposes that are consistent with the objectives of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, such as to research, plan or coordinate the creation of instructional materials. Internet use must comply with the rules established by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, as well as with any state or federal laws or regulations. In addition, a user who accesses another organization's network or computing resources must comply with the rules and procedures of that network.

All Internet users must use Internet access in a responsible manner. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Check e-mail daily.
Use Internet access for educational purposes in a manner that is consistent with acceptable use as described above.
Be polite. Do not become abusive in your messages to others.
Use appropriate and professional language.
Use information and equipment in a careful and responsible manner.

In addition to the above responsibilities, the User may not use Internet access to do the following:
Send, receive or display restricted material (see below);
Use obscene language;
Use the network for commercial profit or gain;
Inappropriately use copyrighted materials (see Use of Copyrighted Materials below);
Intentionally harm or destroy data and/or equipment by introducing a digital virus, damaging operating system files or files not belonging to you or physically damaging equipment (see Destruction of Property );
Intentionally waste network resources (i.e. "chain letters" or "spamming");
Gain access to private data or equipment;
Intentionally harass, attack, or insult others (see Restricted Material and Harassment or Attacking Others );
Discuss, access, or commit illegal activities;
Share confidential information about students or employees;
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Promote political parties or candidates;
Promote a specific religion or religious teachings;
Access information that has a cost involved - the employee will be responsible for such cost.

Employees shall not intentionally access, send, receive or download any file or engage in any conference that

  1. includes material which is obscene, libelous, indecent, vulgar, profane or lewd.

  2. advertises any product or service not permitted by law or school policy and regulations.

  3. constitutes insulting or fighting words, the very expression of which injures or harasses others; or presents a clear and present likelihood that, either because of its content or the manner of distribution, it will cause a material and substantial disruption of the proper and orderly operation, discipline of the school or school activities, will cause the commission of unlawful acts or will cause the violation of lawful school regulations.

Inappropriate use of networks may be reported to employee's supervisor who will take appropriate action. Violations may result in loss of access and/or other disciplinary action depending on the nature of the offense. When applicable, law enforcement agencies may be involved.

  1. Destruction of Property
    If a staff member destroys property (network hardware, software or data), then a fine for equipment, software, and/or labor required to repair the damage may be assessed. CHCCS may also file charges if damage is determined to be malicious.

  2. Harassment or Attacking Others
    Unacceptable use involving harassment can also result in charges being brought by the person being harassed - particularly if that person is out of state or not a member of CHCCS. CHCCS does not control whether charges are filed in these cases.

  3. Use of Copyrighted Materials
    Much of the information on the Internet may be subject to a copyright privilege or licensing agreement that, among other things, prohibits copying and distributing the material. Users should assume that all communications and information accessed on the Internet is private property subject to copyright protection. The duplication of software is specifically prohibited by this regulation and is a violation of the law. Other material accessed on the Internet may be reproduced for "fair use." Fair use allows copyrighted materials to be reproduced for limited purposes such as teaching or research. Reproduction beyond fair use needs the permission of the copyright holder. A good rule is to reproduce/photocopy
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materials only for your own personal use - not to be distributed to others. Violations of copyright law could result in liabilities and excessive monetary penalties. If an employee is found to have violated copyright law, the employee, not the school, will be held liable for such violation.

Network storage areas are not necessarily private. Network administrators may review files and communications to maintain system integrity and insure that users are using the system responsibly and according to these procedures. Users should not expect that information on district servers will always be private.

Users should also recognize that information on the Internet, including e-mail, is not private. Companies with home pages can record when the site is accessed and identify the users by tracing the modem and phone numbers used. As a result, employees should not send messages containing personal or private information about themselves or others.

CHCCS will not be providing privileged information about employees on the Internet, whether on the district web site or on individual school sites. Information designed to make an employee accessible to parents, such as office phone number, title and email address may be published electronically.

The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. The Board will not be responsible for any damages users suffer. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, nondeliveries, misdeliveries, or service interruptions caused by the Board's or the users' negligence, errors or omissions. Use of any information obtained via the Internet is at the user's risk. The Board specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its Internet access services.




Established: May 1995 Last Modified: May 13, 1998
To No-Nonsense Net-Learning   Suggestions to Seawell Web Ms.
© 1998 Seawell Elementary School