The Marion County Board of Education recognizes the value of technology and electronic resources which augment student learning and enhance the administration and operation of its schools. Due to the fact that the Internet is unregulated, information available to faculty and staff is difficult to regulate. Therefore, the Marion County Board of Education has adopted the following Employee Acceptable Use Policy governing the use of electronic resources and the Internet.
It is the policy of the Marion County Board of Education to maintain an environment that promotes ethical and responsible conduct in all online network activities by faculty and staff. It shall be a violation of this policy for any employee to engage in any activity that does not conform to the established purpose and general rules and policies of the network. Within this general policy, the Marion County Board of Education recognizes its legal and ethical obligation to protect the well-being of those in its charge. To this end, the Marion County Board of Education considers the following to be examples of Unacceptable Use:
It is the policy of the Marion County Board of Education to maintain an environment that promotes ethical and responsible conduct in all online network activities by faculty and staff. It shall be a violation of this policy for any employee to engage in any activity that does not conform to the established purpose and general rules and policies of the network. Within this general policy, the Marion County Board of Education recognizes its legal and ethical obligation to protect the well-being of those in its charge. To this end, the Marion County Board of Education considers the following to be examples of Unacceptable Use:
- Communicating personal information online about another person, including home address and phone number, is strictly prohibited.
- Any use of the network for commercial or for-profit purposes is prohibited.
- Any use of the network for product advertisement or political lobbying is prohibited.
- Sharing of network and employee username and passwords beyond the scope and sequence of work without authorization is prohibited.
- Users shall not intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files, other data, or passwords belonging to other users, or misrepresent other users on the network.
- No use of the network shall serve to disrupt the use of the network by others. Hardware and/or software shall not be destroyed, modified, or abused in any way.
- Malicious use of the network to develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computing system and/or damage the software components of a computer or computing system is prohibited.
- Use of profanity, obscenity, racist terms, or other language that may be offensive to another user is prohibited. Hate mail, chain letters, harassment, discriminatory remarks, and other antisocial behaviors are prohibited on any network accessible within the school.
- The unauthorized installation of any hardware or software, including shareware and freeware, for use on the Marion County Board of Education computers/networks is prohibited.
- Use of the network to access or process pornographic material, inappropriate text files (as determined by the system administrator or building administrator), or files dangerous to the integrity of the local area network are prohibited.
- The Marion County Board of Education network may not be used for downloading entertainment software or other files not related to the mission and objectives of the Marion County Board of Education for transfer to a user's home computer, personal computer, or other media. This prohibition pertains to freeware, shareware, copyrighted commercial and non-commercial software, and all other forms of software and files not directly related to the instructional and administrative purposes of the Marion County Board of Education.
- Downloading, copying, otherwise duplicating, and/or distributing copyrighted materials without the specific written permission of the copyright owner is prohibited, except that duplication and/or distribution of materials for educational purposes is permitted when such duplication and/or distribution would fall within the Fair Use Doctrine of the United States Copyright Law (Title 17, USC).
- Establishing network or Internet connections to live communications, including voice and/or video (relay chat) as well as Instant Messenger, Snapchat, type of communication, are prohibited unless specifically authorized by the system administrator.
- Web page publishing that violates West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2460 (Use of the Internet by Students and Educators).
- Outside e-mails addresses (Yahoo, Comcast, Hotmail are not to be used for school business. Employees are to use the Microsoft “Office 365” account for school use. It is imperative that all school employees acquire and utilize their “k12.wv.us” accounts.
- Purchasing technology for Marion County Schools by (PTO, Grants, Booster Organizations, and School General Fund) should mirror specifications that are stated in the West Virginia State Contract Price List. Consulting with the County Technology Director and state contract will ensure compatibility with existing systems and ensure resources for repair.
- Disposal of county technology equipment outside established county protocol is prohibited. Theft of equipment must be promptly reported to the Superintendent of his/her designee.
