1.  The school system provides Internet access to its employees and students. The school system's Internet access has a limited educational purpose and has not been established as a public access service or a public forum. The term "educational purpose" includes use of the system for classroom activities, continuing education, professional or career development, and high-quality, educationally enriching personal research.  The school system has the right to place restrictions on and monitor use to ensure that use of the Internet is in accord with its limited educational purpose.

2.   Student use of the Internet is governed by this policy, related system and school regulations, and the student disciplinary code. School system employees’ use is governed by this policy, related system and school regulations, system employment policy, and the collective bargaining agreement. The due process rights of all users will be respected in the event there is a suspicion of inappropriate use of the Internet. Users should have limited privacy expectations in the contents of their personal files and records of their online activity while on the system.  School system Internet and technology use is routinely monitored.

3.   Students’ and school system employees’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom to access information is protected when they use the Internet in school. The school system Internet access is a limited public forum. The school system may restrict access to materials or may place restrictions on student speech for valid educational reasons. The school system does not restrict student or school system employee access to information or speech on the basis of viewpoint discrimination.

4.   The school system makes no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, that the functions or the services provided by or through the Internet will be error-free or without defect. The school system is not responsible for any damage users may suffer, including but not limited to, loss of data, interruptions of service, or exposure to inappropriate material or people. The school system is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through the Internet. The school system is not responsible for financial obligations arising through the unauthorized use of the Internet. Users or parents of users will indemnify and hold the school system harmless from any losses sustained as the result of misuse of the Internet by user. Use of the Internet by students is limited to those students whose parents have signed a disclaimer of claims for damages against the school system.

5.   The school system has developed and approved this policy in accord with the statutory requirements of the Children's Internet Protection Act. The policy was developed with input and feedback from school system employees and community members. The policy represents the school system's good faith efforts to promote the safe, ethical, responsible, and legal use of the Internet; support the effective use of the Internet for educational purposes; protect students against potential dangers in their use of the Internet; and ensure accountability.

a.   The school system promotes the effective, educational use of the Internet in school through professional development and links to web sites that provide access to prescreened, appropriate, educationally relevant material.

b.   Users of the Internet receive instruction regarding the safe, ethical, legal, and responsible use of the Internet and of their rights and responsibilities under this policy.

c.   Student use and activities is structured and supervised in a manner that is appropriate to the age and skills of students, recognizing the importance of providing more secure environments for younger students and supporting safe, responsible, independent use by older students.

d.  The school system protects against access to materials that are considered inappropriate for users to access through the Internet in the following manner:

i.                    Internet access is monitored as appropriate to the student age. Students receive instruction, appropriate to their age, regarding strategies to avoid the inadvertent access of inappropriate material and what to do if they accidentally access such material.  Prohibited material may not be accessed by the students or school system employees at any time, for any purpose. In accord with the Children's Internet Protection Act, the Carteret County Public School System designates the following types as prohibited materials: Obscene materials, child pornography, material that appeals to an unhealthy interest in, or depicts or describes in a patently offensive way, violence, nudity, sex, death, or bodily functions, material that has been designated as for "adults" only, and material that promotes or advocates illegal activities. Other materials not specifically named above will be deemed appropriate or inappropriate on a case-by-case basis.  Decisions will be based upon age of student and relevance of content to curriculum.

ii.                   The school system has implemented the use of a Technology Protection Measure, which is a specific technology that protects against access to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, and materials that are harmful to minors, as defined by the Children's Internet Protection Act. At the discretion of school system employees, the Technology Protection Measure may also be configured to protect against access to other material considered inappropriate for students to access.

iii.                 The Technology Protection Measure may not be disabled at any time that students may be using the school system Internet access, if such disabling will cease to protect against access to materials that are prohibited under the Children's Internet Protection Act. Authorized school system employees may temporarily or permanently unblock access to sites containing appropriate material, if access to such sites has been inappropriately blocked by the Technology Protection Measure.

iv.                 The determination of whether material is appropriate or inappropriate shall be based on the content of the material and the intended use of the material, not on the protection actions of the Technology Protection Measure.

e.   The school system upholds regulations and procedures to protect the safety and security of students when using direct electronic communications .

f.     The Student Internet Safety and Technology Responsible Use Agreement includes requirements that address the following safe and responsible use issues:

i.                    Access to inappropriate material.

ii.                   Privacy and communication safety standards for self and others.

iii.                 Illegal activities, including computer security violations, actions taken to disrupt the performance of a computer system, and the use of the Internet to engage in criminal acts.

iv.                 Inappropriate language .

v.                  Plagiarism and copyright infringement .

vi.                 Actions or use that may disrupt or jeopardize the security or effective performance (Appendix I) of the school system's network or the Internet.

g.   The school system protects against the unauthorized disclosure, use, or dissemination of personal or confidential information of students.

h.   The school system reviews contracts with third party providers of data management services to ensure compliance with federal and state student privacy laws.

i.    The school system upholds regulations for school system employees pertaining to the transmission of student confidential information via direct electronic communications to ensure that such transmissions are in compliance with the federal and state student privacy laws.

j.    The school system upholds regulations for school system employees and students to ensure the protection of student personal information when accounts are established or information is provided by or about students on third party web sites.

k.   The school system upholds regulations addressing the disclosure of student information, posting student-created material, and posting pictures of students on the system web sites.

6.   Each school provides written notice to the parents/guardians of students about the school system’s Internet access, the policies governing its use, and the limitation of liability of the school system. Parents/guardians must sign an agreement to allow their child to access the Internet. Upon receipt of the executed agreement, the student is issued an Internet Use Permit (or some other method of designating permission). Parents/guardians have the right at any time to investigate the contents of their child's e-mail and data storage files.  Parents/guardians have the right to request the termination of their child's Internet access at any time.

7.   The school system upholds copyright management regulations that protect the rights of copyright holders, including students and school system employees, related to material that is accessed through or placed in the Internet.

8.   The school system upholds web site regulations to promote the effective educational use of the Internet, protect the privacy rights and other rights of students and school system employees, limit potential liability of the system for the inappropriate placement of material, and present an image that reflects well on the system, schools, school system employees, and students.

9.   The administrative responsibilities of the school system administrative staff related to the Internet Safety and Technology Responsible Use Plan are as follows:

a.   The Director of Technology and Media serves as the coordinator to oversee the Internet Safety and Technology Responsible Use Plan. The Director is authorized to develop regulations and agreements for the use of the Internet that are in accord with this policy and other system policies.

b.   The building administrator and school Media and Technology Advisory Team serve as the building-level coordinators for the Internet Safety and Technology Responsible Use Policy, develop building-level regulations necessary to implement this policy and system regulations, establish procedures to ensure adequate supervision of students using the system, maintain executed user agreements, and are responsible for interpreting this policy and related regulations at the building level.

c.   The school system Web Keepers are responsible for ongoing evaluation of the issues related to this policy, related regulations, and the strategies implemented by schools under this policy. The Web Keepers welcome input and feedback from school system employees, students, parents, and the community in this evaluation process.