A helpful guide to the internet policies and procedures of the District.

David Douglas School District
Student Internet Policy Handbook

A. Educational Purpose

1. The DDNet has been established for a limited educational purpose. The term “educational purpose” includes classroom activities, career development, and limited high-quality personal research.
2. The DDNet has not been established as a public access service or a public forum. David Douglas School District has the right to place reasonable restrictions on the material you access or post through the system. You are also expected to follow the rules set forth in the district student conduct regulations and the law in your use of DDNet.
3. You may not use DDNet for commercial purposes. This means you may not offer, provide, or purchase products or services through DDNet.
4. You may not use DDNet for political lobbying. However, you may use the system to communicate with elected representatives and to express your opinion on political issues.

B. Student Internet Access

1. Elementary students will have access only under their teacher’s direct supervision using a classroom account. Elementary students may be provided with individual e-mail accounts under special circumstances, at the request of their teacher and with the approval of their parent.
2. Secondary students may obtain an individual account with the approval of their parent and the school.
3. You and your parent must sign an Account Agreement to be granted an individual account on DDNet. This Agreement must be renewed on an annual basis. Your parent can withdraw their approval at any time. [Back]

C. Unacceptable Uses

1. Personal Safety
   •  You will not post personal contact information about yourself or other people. Personal contact information includes your address, telephone, school address, work address, etc.
   •  You will not agree to meet with someone you have met on-line without your parent’s approval. Your parent should accompany you to this meeting.
   •  You will promptly disclose to your teacher or other school employee any message you receive that is inappropriate or makes you feel uncomfortable.
2. Illegal Activities
   •  You will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to DDNet or to any other computer system through DDNet or go beyond your authorized access. This includes attempting to log in through another person’s account or access another person’s files. These actions are illegal, even if only for the purposes of “browsing”.
   •  You will not make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means. These actions are illegal.
   •  You will not use DDNet to engage in any other illegal act, such as arranging for a drug sale or the purchase of alcohol, engaging in criminal gang activity, threatening the safety of a person, etc.
3. System Security
   •  You are responsible for your individual account and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use your account. Under no conditions should you provide your password to another person.
   •  You will immediately notify a teacher or the system administrator if you have identified a possible security problem. Do not go looking for security problems, because this may be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access.
   •  You will avoid the inadvertent spread of computer viruses by following the standard virus protection procedures if you download software.
4. Inappropriate Language
   •  Restrictions against Inappropriate Language apply to public messages, private messages, and material posted on Web pages.
   •  You will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful language.
   •  You will not post information that could cause damage or a danger of disruption.
   •  You will not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks.
   •  You will not harass another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person. If you are told by a person to stop sending them messages, you must stop.
   •  You will not knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or organization.
5. Respect for Privacy
   •  You will not re-post a message that was sent to you privately without permission of the person who sent you the message.
   •  You will not post private information about another person.
6. Respecting Resource Limits
   •  You will use the system only for educational and career development activities and limited, high-quality, personal research.
   •  You will not download large files unless absolutely necessary. If necessary, you will download the file at a time when the system is not being heavily used and immediately remove the file from the system computer to your personal computer.
   •  You will not post chain letters or engage in “spamming”. Spamming is sending an annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people.
   •  You will check your e-mail frequently, delete unwanted messages promptly, and stay within your e-mail quota.
   •  You will subscribe only to high quality discussion group mail lists that are relevant to your education or career development as determined by your instructor.
7. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement
   •  You will not plagiarize works that you find on the Internet. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were your own.
   •  You will respect the rights of copyright owners. Copyright infringement occurs when you inappropriately reproduce a work that is protected by a copyright. If a work contains language that specifies appropriate use of that work, you should follow the expressed requirements. If you are unsure whether or not you can use a work, you should request permission from the copyright owner. Copyright law can be very confusing. If you have questions ask a teacher.
8. Inappropriate Access to Material
   •  You will not use DDNet to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography), that advocates illegal or dangerous acts, or that advocates violence or discrimination towards other people (hate literature). A special exception may be made if the purpose of your access is to conduct research and both your teacher and parent have approved.
   •  If you mistakenly access inappropriate information, you should immediately tell your teacher or another District employee. This will protect you against a claim that you have intentionally violated this Policy.
   •  Your parents should instruct you if there is additional material that they think it would be inappropriate for you to access. The district fully expects that you will follow your parent’s instructions in this matter.

D. Your Rights

1. Free Speech
   •  Your right to free speech, as set forth in the district student conduct regulations, applies also to your communication on the Internet. DDNet is considered a limited forum, similar to the school newspaper, and, therefore, the District may restrict your speech for valid educational reasons. The District will not restrict your speech on the basis of a disagreement with the opinions you are expressing.
2. Search and Seizure
   •  You should expect only limited privacy in the contents of your personal files on the District system and records of your on-line activity. The situation is similar to the rights you have in the privacy of your locker.
   •  Routine maintenance and monitoring of DDNet may lead to discovery that the you have violated this Policy, the district student conduct regulations or the law.
   •  An individual search will be conducted if there is reasonable suspicion that you have violated this Policy, the district student conduct regulations or the law. The investigation will be reasonable and related to the suspected violation.
   •  Your parents have the right at any time to request to see the contents of your e-mail files.
3. Due Process
   •  The District will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation related to any illegal activities conducted through DDNet.
   •  In the event there is a claim that you have violated this Policy or the district student conduct regulations in your use of DDNet , you will be provided with notice and opportunity to be heard in the manner set forth in the district student conduct regulations.
   •  If the violation also involves a violation of other provisions of the district student conduct regulations it will be handled in a manner described in the district student conduct regulations. Additional restrictions may be placed on the use of your Internet account.

E.Limitation of Liability

1. The District makes no guarantee that the functions or the services provided by or through the District system will be error-free or without defect. The District will not be responsible for any damage you may suffer, including but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service. The District is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through or stored on the system. The District will not be responsible for financial obligations arising through the unauthorized use of the system. Your parents can be held financially responsible for any harm to the system as a result of intentional misuse.