APPENDIX D

 

CATHEDRAL HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENT INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

 

 

The Internet and email provides invaluable resources and communications to Cathedral High School students. Students accessing the Internet are representing Cathedral High School and therefore have a responsibility to use the Internet and their e-mail in a productive manner that meets the ethical and moral standards of an educational institution.  Our goal is to provide Internet and e-mail access to facilitate resource sharing, innovation, and communication as a tool to promote educational excellence. As a condition of using Cathedral High School’s telecommunications system, I understand that access to telecommunication networks (e.g., e- mail, the internet) is a privilege, and agree to the following Acceptable Use Policy:

1)   The use of the Internet must be in support of education and research and consistent with educational standards and objectives of Cathedral High School.

2)   Transmission or storage of any material in violation of any U.S. or state regulation is prohibited. This includes copyrighted material, threatening, offensive, obscene, or otherwise intended to harass or demean recipients must not be transmitted.

3)   E-mail communications should be used for professional reasons and utilized in an ethical and lawful manner. As in all educational settings, there is no legal expectation of privacy when communicating over the network via the Internet or e-mail.

4)   POP email accounts such as Yahoo, CompuServe, AOL, Hotmail and the like are acceptable e- mail accounts. Such e-mail accounts should be used by the student as a learning and communications tool to promote educational excellence that is in support of education and research that is consistent with the educational standards and objective of Cathedral High School and the Diocese of El Paso. Students may use e-mail in a political campaign as long as the e-mail is part of instruction guided by a teacher.

4)   Private, commercial or illegal use is prohibited. This prohibition extends to the use of the Internet or other electronic media equipment to access, store, or display pornographic or other offensive material.

5)   Programs that infiltrate computing system and/or damage software components are prohibited.

6)   Files, data, or information of others must not be improperly accessed or misused.

7)   User accounts must not be shared or left open and unattended.

8)   Backup copies and transfer of data between computers of documents and files are the responsibility of the user.

9)   Anonymous communications are strictly prohibited.

10) Security violations must be reported to the Librarian immediately upon detection.

11) Personal information must be given out only in an instructional context.

12) Remote access to the Cathedral High School network is strictly prohibited.

13) Any downloaded material must be in support of education and research and consistent with educational standards and objectives.  To prevent viruses to Cathedral High School equipment, prior to downloading, determine that resident antivirus software has been updated with the latest files. Download only software of which you have a legal right to download. If a download is going to require excessive bandwidth of the network, obtain permission from the Director before proceeding with the download.

14) No data is to be saved to hard drives without the prior consent of the Librarian or the course instructor.

15) Malicious attempts to harm or destroy hardware, software, or data are strictly prohibited.

16) Any action, which violates existing Board policy or public law, is prohibited.

 

Cathedral High School has taken reasonable measures to prevent obscene and controversial materials from appearing on our network, but cannot completely control access to all inappropriate materials. Cathedral High School firmly believes that the valuable information, interaction and communication available on this worldwide network far out weighs the possibility that students may procure material that is not consistent with the educational goals of Cathedral High School and the Diocese of El Paso. 

STUDENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have read and agree to comply with the Cathedral High School Acceptable Use Policy.  As a user of Cathedral High School’s computer network and the Internet, I hereby agree to comply with the Cathedral High School Internet Acceptable Use Policy Agreement while under the jurisdiction of Cathedral High School. As a student of Cathedral High School, I acknowledge that my acceptance of this Internet Acceptable Use Policy is implied by my use of Cathedral High School’s equipment or of its transmission lines.


PARENTAL AUTHORIZATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 

Cathedral High School Internet and e-mail use will allow students the opportunity to access and share information and communicate through the school computers with countless computer networks and databases throughout the world. Students will be able to access documents and literature from thousands of educational and government agencies.

 

With this educational opportunity also comes responsibility. Parents should understand the terms of this Student Internet Acceptable Use Policy.  It is extremely important that these rules are followed. Inappropriate use of the school's computers or Internet material may result in the loss of the privilege to use this educational tool, in addition to disciplinary and legal measures.

 

Parents should be aware that in addition to a great wealth of useful information and outright wonders on the Internet, there also exists some unacceptable material. Parents acknowledge that it may not be possible to filter out all of these objectionable materials.  Also, because the school has a limited number of Internet computers, preference on individual use is given to students who do not have access to the Internet outside of school hours.  All classes may use the Internet for research at any time with the supervision of their teachers.

 

By signing the Cathedral High School Student Handbook Statement of Understanding, parents give their sons permission to access the Internet through the school's computers. Parents will not hold Cathedral High School or any of its personnel responsible for their sons accessing any objectionable material. Parents may withdraw their approval at any time in writing to a school administrator or the librarian.

 

Date:    _____/_____/_____

 

Parent/Guardian Name: ___________________________________________

                       (Please Print)

Parent/Guardian Signature:        ___________________________________________