Farrell Area School District Student Use of Technology Agreement

The Farrell Area School District provides access to technology owned or otherwise provided by the district in order to facilitate learning, teaching and daily operations through interpersonal communications and access to information, research and collaboration. The district believes that technology skills are necessary for students to succeed in the workplace and global community. The use of district technology is a privilege, not a right, is permitted at the district’s discretion, and is subject to the conditions and restrictions set forth in Board Policy 815 - Acceptable Use of Internet, Computers and Network Resources, Board Policy 237 - Personal Electronic Devices, and any other applicable Board policies, administrative regulations, and this Use of Technology Agreement. The district reserves the right to suspend access at any time, without notice, for any reason.

Each student and their parent or legal guardian, prior to being given access to use district technology, shall sign and return the attached form at the end of this Use of Technology Agreement as an indication that they have read and understand the agreement.

DEFINITIONS

District technology includes, but is not limited to, computers, the district’s computer network including servers and wireless computer networking technology, the internet, email, external storage devices, wireless access points, tablet computers, smartphones and other mobile computing devices, telephones, cellular telephones, 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.

Digital citizenship refers to the responsible use of technology by anyone who uses computers, the Internet, and digital devices to engage with society on any level.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Students are expected to use district technology safely, responsibly, and only for educational purposes. The student in whose name district technology is issued is responsible for its proper use at all times. Students shall not share their assigned online services account information, passwords, or other information used for identification and authorization purposes, and shall use the system only under the account to which they have been assigned. Students shall not gain unauthorized access to the files or equipment of others, access electronic resources by using another person’s name or electronic identification, or send anonymous electronic communications. Furthermore, students shall not attempt to access any data, documents, emails, or programs in the district’s system for which they do not have authorization.

Students are prohibited from using district technology for improper purposes, including, but not limited to, use of district technology to:

1.	Intentionally disrupt or harm district technology or other district operations such as destroying district equipment, placing a virus or other malware on district computers, adding or removing a computer program without permission, changing settings on shared computers.
2.	Install unauthorized software.
3.	Engage in or promote unethical practices or violate any law or Board policy, administrative regulation, or district practice.

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

Good digital citizenship engages young students and shows them how to connect with one another, empathize with each other, and create lasting relationships through digital tools. Bad digital citizenship, on the other hand, entails cyberbullying, irresponsible social media usage, and a general lack of knowledge about how to safely use the Internet.

All students must be good digital citizens and must follow concepts for appropriate online etiquette which include but are not limited to:
1.	Students should not access, post, display, or otherwise use material that is discriminatory, defamatory, obscene, sexually explicit, harassing, intimidating, threatening, or disruptive. This includes cyber bullying.
2.	Students should not quote personal communications in a public forum such as social media without the original author’s prior consent.
3.	Students must not infringe on copyright, license, trademark, patent, or other intellectual property rights.

4.	Students should not send text, image, sound, video or files, or otherwise use technology for the purpose of academic dishonesty.
5.	Students may not swear, use vulgarities, or use any other inappropriate language.

6.	Students are not permitted to post or otherwise reveal any personally identifiable information such as address or phone number.
7.	Students should only use equipment and accounts that are assigned to them. Under no circumstances should students use a device that is assigned to another student or staff member or log into or use an account that is not theirs.

8.	Students should be aware that, in most instances, many things they do online such as web searches, emails, and social media posts cannot truly be erased or deleted.

PRIVACY

Students should have no expectation of privacy when using district technology. The district reserves the right to monitor and record all use of district technology, including, but not limited to, access to the Internet or social media, communications sent or received from district technology, or other uses within the jurisdiction of the district. Such monitoring/recording may occur at any time without prior notice for the purposes of record retention and distribution, determining if any policy has been violated, and/or investigation of improper, illegal, or other activity prohibited by law.

All passwords created for and used on any district technology are the sole property of the district. The creation or use of a password by a student on district technology does not create a reasonable expectation of privacy.

PERSONALLY OWNED DEVICES

Students are permitted to use their personally owned devices to access district technology for academic purposes. All other uses of personally owned devices accessing district technology are prohibited. If a student chooses to use a personally owned device to access district technology for academic purposes, they shall abide by all applicable Board policies, administrative regulations, and this Use of Technology Agreement. Any such use of a personally owned device may subject the contents of the device and any communications sent or received on the device to disclosure pursuant to a lawful subpoena or public records request. Students should also be aware that their usage of district technology on personally owned devices is monitored and logged.

The district shall not be liable for the loss, theft, damage, or misuse of any personally owned device brought to school, possessed/used during the school day, in/on district buildings, district property, district vehicles or contracted vehicles, during transport to/from school, while attending school-sponsored activities during the school day, and/or any/all school-sponsored activities generally.

The district will provide no technical support, troubleshooting, or repair for personally owned devices.

REPORTING

If a student becomes aware of any security problem such as any compromise of the confidentiality of any login or account information or misuse of district technology, they shall immediately report such information to their teacher, a member of the technology staff, or their school’s office. Under no circumstances should a student attempt to exploit the security problem or share information about the problem with other students. Doing so constitutes a violation of this Use of Technology agreement and Board policy. Failure to report the problem also constitutes a violation of this agreement and Board policy.

CONSEQUENCES FOR VIOLATION

Violations of the law, Board policy, or this Use of Technology Agreement may result in revocation of a student’s access to district technology and/or disciplinary action. In addition, violations of this law, Board policy, or this agreement may be reported to law enforcement agencies as appropriate.

Parents or legal guardians shall be responsible for any damages or theft of district technology devices and for any damages or legal fees incurred by the district due to misuse of the device.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

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.

Farrell Area School District Student Use of Technology Agreement

Please fully complete, detach, and return this form. You may keep the rest of this Use of Technology Agreement for your reference.

Student

I have received, read, understand, and agree to abide by this Use of Technology Agreement and the other applicable policies, laws, and procedures this agreement references in their entirety. I understand that there is no expectation of privacy when using district technology or when my personal electronic devices use district technology. I further understand that any violation may result in revocation of user privileges, disciplinary action, and/or appropriate legal action.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Student’s Name (Please print)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Student’s Signature

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Date

Parent or Legal Guardian

I have received, read, understand, and agree to this Use of Technology Agreement and the other applicable policies, laws, and procedures this agreement references in their entirety. I understand that this access is provided to my child for educational purposes. I also understand that it is not possible for the district to restrict access to all controversial materials, and I will not hold the district or its employees responsible for materials acquired on the internet or through these systems. I accept responsibility for any damages or theft of district technology devices and for any damages or legal fees incurred by the district due to misuse of the device.

I hereby grant permission to issue district technology accounts for my child and allow him/her to access and use district technology equipment, networks, and other systems while he/she is a student of the Farrell Area School District.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Parent or Legal Guardian’s Name (Please print)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Parent or Legal Guardian’s Signature

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Date