BP 6163.4 — Student Use of Technology
Section: 6000 - Instruction
Status: Active
Adopted: 2016-03-22
Revised: 2022-06-02
Policy text
STUDENT USE OF TECHNOLOGY
The Governing Board intends that technological resources provided by the district be used in a safe and responsible manner in support of the instructional program and for the advancement of student learning. All students using these resources shall receive instruction in their proper and appropriate use.
Teachers, administrators, and/or library media specialists are expected to review the technological resources and online sites that will be used in the classroom or assigned to students in order to ensure that they are appropriate for the intended purpose and the age of the students.
The Superintendent or designee shall notify students and parents/guardians about authorized uses of district technology, user obligations and responsibilities, and consequences for unauthorized use and/or unlawful activities in accordance with this Board policy and the district’s Acceptable Use Agreement.
District technology includes, but is not limited to, computers, the district’s computer network including servers and wireless computer networking technology (wi-fi), the Internet, email, USB drives, wireless access points (routers), tablet computers, smartphones and smart devices, telephones, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, pagers, MP3 players, wearable technology, any wireless communication device including emergency radios, and/or future technological innovations, whether accessed on or off site or through district-owned or personally owned equipment or devices.
Before a student is authorized to use district technology, the student and their r parent/guardian shall sign and return the Acceptable Use Agreement. In that agreement, the parent/guardian shall agree not to hold the district or any district staff responsible for the failure of any technology protection measures or user mistakes or negligence and shall agree to indemnify and hold harmless the district and district staff for any damages or costs incurred.
The district reserves the right to monitor student use of technology within the jurisdiction of the district without advance notice or consent. Students shall be informed that their use of district technology, including, but not limited to, computer files, email, text messages, instant messaging, and other electronic communications, is not private and may be accessed by the district for the purpose of ensuring proper use. Students have no reasonable expectation of privacy in use of the district technology. Students’ personally owned devices shall not be searched except in cases where there is a reasonable suspicion, based on specific and objective facts, that the search will uncover evidence of a violation of law, district policy, or school rules.
Whenever a student is found to have violated Board policy or the district’s Acceptable Use Agreement, the principal or designee may cancel or limit a student’s user privileges or increase supervision of the student’s use of the district’s equipment and other technological resources, as appropriate. Inappropriate use also may result in disciplinary action and/or legal action in accordance with law and Board policy.
The Superintendent or designee, with input from students and appropriate staff, shall regularly review and update procedures to enhance the safety and security of students using district technology and to help ensure that the district adapts to changing technologies and circumstances.
Internet Safety
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that all district computers with Internet access have a technology protection measure that protects against access to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors and that the operation of such measures is enforced.
To reinforce these measures, the Superintendent or designee shall implement rules and procedures designed to restrict students’ access to harmful or inappropriate matter on the Internet and to ensure that students do not engage in unauthorized or unlawful online activities.
Harmful matter includes matter, taken as a whole, which to the average person, applying contemporary statewide standards, appeals to the prurient interest and is matter which depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct and which lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
The district’s Acceptable Use Agreement shall establish expectations for appropriate student conduct when using the Internet or other forms of electronic communication, including, but not limited to, prohibitions against:
- Accessing, posting, submitting, publishing, or displaying harmful or inappropriate matter that is threatening, obscene, disruptive, or sexually explicit, or that could be construed by a reasonable person as harassment, embarrassment, or disparagement of others based on their race/ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or political beliefs;
- Intentionally uploading, downloading, or creating computer viruses and/or maliciously attempting to harm or destroy district equipment or materials or manipulate the data of any other user, including so-called “hacking”;
- Distributing personal identification information, including the name, address, telephone number, Social Security number, or other personally identifiable information, of another student, staff member, or other person with the intent to threaten, intimidate, harass, embarrass, or ridicule that person; and,
- Use of another person’s password and/or personal information.
The Superintendent or designee shall provide age-appropriate instruction regarding safe and appropriate behavior on social networking sites, chat rooms, and other Internet services. Such digital citizenship instruction shall include, but not be limited to, the dangers of posting one’s own personal identification information online, misrepresentation by online predators, how to report inappropriate or offensive content or threats, behaviors that constitute cyberbullying, and how to respond when subjected to cyberbullying.
Legal
EDUCATION CODE
49073.6 Student records; social media
51006 Computer education and resources
51007 Programs to strengthen technological skills
60044 Prohibited instructional materials
PENAL CODE
632 Eavesdropping on or recording confidential communications