Introduction
The School City of Hammond has established a districtwide computer network (SCHEdNet). SCHEdNet encompasses Internet usage, electronic mail, hardware, and all facets of an information technology system. In addition to SCHEdNet, Internet access is or may be available through a variety of local, regional and national commercial sources. Regardless of the source of Internet access and funding to support such access, any and all Internet activities engaged in or undertaken by School City of Hammond personnel and students while using School City of Hammond resources are subject to the guidelines of this policy. All participants are required to know and follow the guidelines and policies contained herein, as well as the School City of Hammond Educational Network Handbook. The policy has been developed and updated by a committee of School City of Hammond personnel and community representatives called the SCHEdNet Appropriate Use Advisory Council, which has been in existence since 1997.

Policy Statement
This Appropriate Use Policy covers all Internet activity taking place within any School City of Hammond facility or on School City of Hammond owned computers and other hardware. This includes research, site access, e-mail, and all other computer network services. The use of SCHEdNet remains a privilege and not a right; therefore, SCHEdNet system administrators reserve the right to formulate and establish guidelines regarding the conduct required for the responsible use of SCHEdNet. Individual schools within the School City of Hammond may wish to impose further restrictions not inconsistent with those stated in this document. This policy and all its provisions are subordinate to local, state, and federal statutes.

School City of Hammond Philosophy
Freedom of expression, which encompasses the right to freedom of speech and the right to receive information, applies to minors as well as adults. In a free and democratic society, access to information is a fundamental right of citizenship.

The School City of Hammond's primary purpose of SCHEdNet and Internet use is to promote education through the collaboration and exchange of information with other Internet agencies and networks. In making decisions regarding student access to the Internet, the School City of Hammond considers its own stated educational mission, goals and objectives, as well as local, state and federal statutes.

Electronic information research skills are now fundamental to preparation of citizens and future employees. Access to the Internet enables students to explore thousands of libraries, databases and other resources. The School City of Hammond expects that staff will blend thoughtful use of the Internet throughout the curriculum and will provide guidance and instruction to students in its use. As much as possible, access from school to Internet resources should be structured in ways that point students to those sites that have been evaluated prior to use. While students will be able to move beyond those resources to others that have not been previewed by staff, they shall be provided with guidelines and lists of resources particularly suited to learning objectives.

Responsible Internet Use
SCHEdNet resources may be used, but not limited, to access information for educational purposes, research projects, class assignments, career development, etc. Responsible use of the Internet consists of School City of Hammond administrators, teachers, parents and students working as a team to insure its most effective and proper use. Responsible Internet use requires consistent monitoring by parents as well as teachers and other school personnel. Parents and/or guardians shall be notified by the school that Internet access is available at school in order to promote educational objectives. They will be made aware that some material accessible via the Internet may contain items that may not be appropriate or that may be offensive to some people, and they will be notified that it is possible to purchase certain goods and services via the Internet which could result in unwanted financial obligations for which a student's parent or guardian would be liable. Parents and guardians will be given the option to request alternative activities not requiring Internet access for their students.

Safeguards for Responsible Use
Permission of and supervision of the school's professional staff is required before a student may use a school account or resource to access the Internet. Guidelines will be provided to staff and student Internet users for proper handling of certain situations, such as responding to unsolicited on-line contact, as well as safe-guarding personal information, such as name, address, telephone number, etc. In addition, the School City of Hammond may use technical methods such as filters to regulate students' Internet access. These methods cannot guarantee compliance with the School City of Hammond's acceptable use policy. However, the School City of Hammond believes that the benefits to students of access to the Internet exceed any disadvantages. Ultimately, parents and guardians of minors are responsible for setting and conveying the standards that their children should follow when using media and information sources. To that end, all School City of Hammond Internet policies will be made available for review by all parents, guardians, staff and members of the community.

Unacceptable Use
As the primary purpose of SCHEdNet is the promotion of education, use of the Internet shall not frustrate the goal of achieving innovative educational excellence. Specifically, the following uses of school-provided Internet access are not permitted:

a. to access, upload, download, or distribute pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit material

b. to transmit obscene, abusive, sexually explicit, racially offensive, harassing, intimidating, or threatening language

c. to violate any local, state, or federal statute

d. to vandalize, damage, or disable the property of another individual or organization

e. to access another individual's materials, information, or files without permission

f. to violate copyright or otherwise use the intellectual property of another individual or organization without permission

g. to make use of SCHEdNet to conduct activity which may be construed as having a commercial or political purpose

h. to gain access to another person's account and assigned password or otherwise attempt to login in violation of an individual participant's security

i. to engage in behavior which may be deemed destructive to the computer network services, including overloading, spamming, hacking, spreading viruses, or physical vandalism.

Violations/Sanctions
The purpose of School City of Hammond provided Internet access is to facilitate communications in support of research and education. To remain eligible as users, participants' use must be in support of and consistent with the educational objectives of the School City of Hammond. Access is a privilege, not a right. Access entails responsibility for all students, parents, employees and community users. In the event that the guidelines provided herein are violated, a user's Internet privileges may be terminated. Additional disciplinary action may be taken, which must be consistent with the Student Conduct section in the Guide for Students and Parents of the School City of Hammond. When and where applicable, law enforcement agencies may be involved.

In order to assure adherence to the guidelines provided for the use of SCHEdNet through the School City of Hammond, system administrators reserve the right to monitor all activity on the system and to inspect any files stored on the system. Users should not expect that files stored on school-based computers will always be private. Electronic messages and files stored on school-based computers may be treated like school lockers. Administrators and faculty may review files and messages to maintain system integrity and insure that users are acting responsibly.

Disclaimer
The School City of Hammond makes no warranties of any kind, neither expressed nor implied, for the Internet access it is providing. The School City of Hammond will not be responsible for any damages users suffer, including, but not limited to, loss of data resulting from delays or interruptions of service. The School City of Hammond will not be responsible for the accuracy, nature, or quality of information stored on SCH diskettes, hard drives, or servers; nor for the accuracy, nature, or quality of information gathered through SCHEdNet-provided Internet access. The SCH will not be responsible for personal property used to access SCHEdNet computers or networks or for SCHEdNet provided Internet access. The School City of Hammond will not be responsible for unauthorized financial obligations resulting from SCHEdNet-provided access to the Internet.

Adopted 3/6/95; revised 2/28/98; revised 09/04/01