Policy 1111.3 – School and District Web Sites
(Policy reference 5125.3, 6161.1, 6177.1)
The Board of Education recognizes and supports the educational value of the regulated use of the Internet and the development of educationally sound web pages for instructional and communication purposes that are consistent with the goals and policies of the District. The use and development of this electronic resource shall be used with the necessary cautions that will ensure that the learning environment remains safe for all children.
The District and each school shall have an authorized web site. Students, district employees, community members, and any other persons are strictly prohibited from authoring a private web site that represents itself as an official site for the District and/or school.
Web pages shall be periodically updated for the purposes of providing timely and accurate information.
The front page of each District and school web site shall contain a copyright notice that shall contain the following: "The opinions of students and employees of the School District of Elmbrook expressed in this web site do not necessarily express the opinions of the School District of Elmbrook, the Board of Education or (district) school. The District is not responsible for content on web sites outside of the District web site which are linked to District websites."
Students' privacy rights shall be respected on District and school web sites.
With the exception of District or school-sponsored events, District and school websites shall not be used (unless curriculum-related) to advertise, promote, sell tickets, or collect funds for any organizations, events, or programs that are political, for-profit, non-profit, or involve direct advertising or selling without the approval of the Superintendent/designee.
The Superintendent/designee has final approval of all content on District and school web sites and shall remove any inappropriate content/links. The school webmasters shall be responsible for thoroughly investigating all web sites that link directly from the school web sites. The district webmaster shall be responsible for thoroughly investigating all web sites that link directly from the District web site.
Wis. Stats. 19.36
Adopted -- November 27, 2001
Revised -- 2/2003, 10/2005, 10/2008
Practice Statement 1111.3 – School and District Web Sites
(Policy reference 5125.3, 6161.1, 6177.1)
Each site shall establish a primary building "Webmaster" e-mail address to allow the public to comment on the contents of the web site and to request District/School information. The link to the primary building contact will be listed on the home page as a minimum. It is preferable and encouraged to list the primary building contact on all pages.
To maintain security and encourage appropriate expanded participation by employees in the use and development of instructionally beneficial web pages, electronic folders containing web page(s) shall be made available to employees approved by the Superintendent/designee and secured to an individual's user name. The employee shall be advised by the Superintendent/designee regarding the review of web-related policies and practices prior to the use of such electronic folders. Upon review, understanding, and acceptance of such policies, employees shall be allowed all the necessary rights/access privileges to independently maintain their electronic folders that contain their web page(s). These rights and access privileges are to remain private and secure. Information stored in these electronic folders shall be purged by the owner when such information is no longer relevant.
Students shall be allowed access to such rights, if the need for such rights is determined as a curriculum necessity by the Superintendent/designee. In the event such student rights are granted, the exercising of these rights will only be done under the direct supervision of a District employee.
Where possible, web pages shall be consistent in format and style with the District and/or school site web page design. The Superintendent/designee shall approve design variation.
Each school web site shall have a link to the District web site – www.elmbrookschools.org. The District web site shall link to each school web site.
The front page of each web site shall contain the following copyright notice: "Copyright has been held since 1997, School District of Elmbrook. The entire contents of this web site are under copyright protection. To obtain permission to copy any portion of the Elmbrook School District web site, contact the District Webmaster at the School District of Elmbrook." School websites shall be approved by the school webmaster.
Identifiable photos of students engaged in curricular and/or extracurricular activities may be used on District or school web pages. Names shall not be used in conjunction with student pictures. With discretion, full names may be used when pictures are not used (e.g. honor roll list and athletic teams).
Web page documents shall not, under any circumstances, include a student's phone number, address, names of other family members, names of friends or any other personally identifying information of a student.
Published District e-mail addresses shall be restricted to District employees or to a general group e-mail address.
Web page documents shall not include any information that indicates the physical location of a student at a given time, other than attendance at a particular school or participation in school activities.
Each web site shall contain current school activity and co-curricular activities.
Links to other educational web sites shall be made for curriculum-related purposes only. Web sites shall not link to individual student web sites on non-district servers. Linking to District employee web sites shall be permitted only after thorough investigation of the linked site by the School Webmaster and/or District Webmaster. Acceptable non-curricular links provide information about other youth activities, agencies, or organizations which are known to be non-sectarian, non-political, exclusively devoted to community interests or child welfare, are non-profit, and non-discriminatory.
School web sites shall only reside on the District web server. Web pages shall be periodically updated for the purposes of providing timely and accurate information. An update schedule shall be developed and adhered to by each webmaster that will meet the requirement of providing such timely and accurate information.
The following "Internet Use Rights, Responsibilities and Consequences Contract," shall be included in the student handbook of all District schools.
a. Internet and e-mail shall be used for administrative and educational
purposes only, consistent with the District's mission and goals.
b. Students shall be instructed not to provide their address or telephone
number to someone they "meet" on the Internet.
c. Accessing, communicating, displaying, downloading, or sending messages,
pictures, or any other material that is offensive, objectionable,
inappropriate, or unlawful shall not be allowed.
d. Using obscene or vulgar language or harassing others through the
Internet shall not be allowed.
e. Students shall not be allowed to use another's networks ID and/or
password, with or without permission.
f. Students shall not be allowed to access another's data folders, delete,
examine, copy, modify or use another's data files without permission.
g. The playing of multi-user dimension or other network-intensive games
or intentionally wasting District resources shall not be allowed.
h. Access to the Internet will be given after demonstrating Internet usage
competency or attending training sessions to gain competency for proper
Internet use.
Violations of these rights and responsibilities by either students or District employees, as determined by the Superintendent of Schools/designee, shall result in temporary or permanent loss of Internet access privileges. Depending on the severity of the offense, violations shall range from a warning to permanent loss of Internet access. Severe violations shall result in other disciplinary and legal action. The District shall not be responsible nor liable for any damage, harm, or injury caused by individuals who violate this contract.
Students and District employees should not expect files and other information communicated or stored on District fileservers, computers, or floppy disks to remain private.
Parents/Guardians shall sign Practice Statement 1111.3 Opt-Out form in the event they do not wish to have their student's schoolwork posted on school or District web sites.
Wis. Stats. 19.36
Date Approved -- November 27, 2001
Revised -- 3/2003, 10/2008