DUFF , WHITE & TURNER, L.L.C.

Attorneys And Counselors At Law

SCHOOL LAW
"ISSUE OF THE MONTH"
January 2008

Monitoring the Use of District Electronic Mail, Internet, and Other Electronic Resources

In this day and age, virtually anything can be accessed through the internet, stored in a database, created on a webpage, or sent via electronic mail (email). At the same time, school districts have educational and operational reasons for providing employees and students with email, internet and other electronic resources for a variety of research, data compilation, and communication purposes. Policies governing the "acceptable use" of these electronic resources, adopted by districts when computers were first used in schools, may now be inadequate due to the range of uses and misuses districts now find the need to address. Districts may wish to review their policies on use of electronic resources to assure that they require all authorized users to receive notice and instruction on acceptable use, establish procedures for monitoring use and investigating possible misuse, and specify consequences for users who violate the policies and administrative procedures. The following is a summary of other important provisions to be included in district policy or accompanying procedures.

Scope - District policy and procedures should apply to all employees including regular, part-time, temporary and contract employees; all students enrolled in district schools; and all other authorized users of any of the district's electronic resources; as well as district owned or operated electronic resources or systems which are subscribed to and/or paid for by the district.

Confidential Information - District electronic resources should have security measures in place. Because such measures do not guarantee total security, however, users must be informed that information generally considered to be personal or confidential should not be sent via district electronic resources.

General Computer Usage - Users should be notified of what constitutes prohibited conduct, to include 1) knowingly loading or creating viruses; 2) loading or attempting to load software or files onto a school computer or the district network without permission; 3) accessing or modifying data without authorization; 4) modifying passwords without authorization; and 5) computer vandalism.

Internet Usage - Specific to district internet usage, users also should be prohibited from intentionally accessing, viewing, downloading, storing, transmitting, or receiving any information that contains material which is in violation of any district policy or administrative rule, or any local, state and/or federal laws or regulations. Examples of prohibited materials should include 1) obscenity and pornography; 2) threats; 3) material that is intended, or could reasonably be perceived, to be harassing or discriminatory; 4) material that is copyrighted or protected by trade secret; and 5) material used to further any commercial business, product advertising, virus transmission or political activity.

Email Usage - Users also should be prohibited from using district email for unprofessional and/or inappropriate purposes, to include, but not be limited to 1) creating, transmitting or receiving emails containing any language or depictions that could reasonably be perceived by others as being offensive, threatening, obscene, sexual or racist; 2) any use that violates local, state and/or federal laws or regulations; and 3) setting up or operating a commercial business.

Handheld Communication Device Usage - Use of district-issued cell phones and other handheld communication devices should be limited to use only by the employee to whom the communication device was issued and only for matters directly related to the employee's job responsibilities. The prohibitions that apply to general computer usage, as well as use of district internet and email, also should be made applicable to district-issued communication devices.

Personal Use of District Electronic Resources - Limited personal use of district electronic resources may be permitted as long as such use does not disrupt or interfere with the operation of the district and its instructional programs. Excessive personal use that may disrupt or interfere should be prohibited. Districts should reserve the right to monitor and access all use of district electronic resources, and all authorized users should be notified that they have no expectation of privacy in any information accessed, downloaded, created, transmitted or received.

Violations - All authorized users of district electronic resources should be required to report any use that is believed to be unauthorized, excessive or otherwise in violation of district policy or an accompanying administrative rule. District policy or procedures should specify to whom a report is to be made, depending upon whether the user who experiences or otherwise learns about a suspected violation is an employee, student or other authorized user. All suspected violations should be investigated thoroughly and consequences and/or corrective actions should be implemented when it is determined that a violation has occurred. Consequences and corrective actions may include: 1) changes to the level of supervision and the circumstances under which use is allowed; 2) limitation, suspension and/or termination of privileges; 3) disciplinary measures based on the seriousness of the violation, up to and including expulsion in the case of a student or termination in the case of an employee; and 4) report to law enforcement when the violation is believed to constitute a violation of a state or federal law or regulation.

Should you have any questions about developing a policy or procedures related to the use of district electronic resources, or need assistance in revising your current policy or procedures, please feel free to contact this firm.