Arp Independent School District Posting & Publishing Policies

Posting Policies
 

The Arp ISD Posting Policies require that students, community, faculty, and stakeholders be presented in a positive light in all academic and athletic areas and settings. 

Web Content – The content of Arp ISD Website, DVDs, CDs, videos, PodCasts, Blogs, Wikis, streaming video sessions, and other  publications directly reflect on the image of the district and as such must be handled responsibly, ethically, and taken seriously. Publications and media are intended to be used for the communication of school information and the activities of classes, clubs, athletics and other school events. The content of these Web pages and publications follow the same guidelines as the Arp ISD's acceptable Internet use policy. Submissions to the site will not permit unacceptable, obscene, derogatory or objectionable information, language, media or images as defined by the Arp ISD administration.
 

Publication purposes for all productions or products -- using Web, CD, DVD, video, newspapers, magazines, yearbook, broadcasts or any media shall be to:

  1. Promote successful students and educational practices
  2. Provide educational and technical awareness to parents, community, faculty, students, and all stakeholders
  3. Allow students the opportunity to develop ethical and technical expertise in the fields of communications, broadcasting, and telecommunications
  4. Provide a learner-centered environment for: 
  5. Provide a forum for the ethical exchange of knowledge under copyright laws
  6. Promote best-practices for educational objectives (excluding violence, unethical behavior, or abusive language or acts)
  7. Provide teaching and learning 24-7
  8. Allow students & teachers to gain recognition for successful practices.
  9. Promote Internet Safety and Technical Literacy
  10. Protect the identity of minors

Who May Publish Information on the AISD Web Site?

The following persons and organizations will be allowed to publish information on the AISD Web Site:

  • School, departments, offices, official committees, and organizations of the school district
  • Official student organizations or approved student products
  • Currently-employed faculty and staff
  • Each school's PTA and
  • Other groups or individuals whose purposes are consistent with the mission of the school district, at the discretion of the district superintendent and the Web Design Team for the district site.
  • There will be no personal student pages published on any AISD district or campus server without prior authorization.  Faculty pages are allowed, providing that they offer appropriate information.  Vitas for students and faculty members must have prior authorization.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WEB SITES?

The Web Design Team for the district site will be under the direction of the Director of Curriculum and Technology. Each campus and department web site will be led by a staff member named by the Director of Curriculum & Technology.   Each staff member must attend training to learn the necessary skills to manage the campus site and learn design requirements. Site webmasters are responsible for the content of their sites.

DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

The District shall not be held liable for the following:

• users' inappropriate use of the District's electronic communication resources

• violations of copyright restrictions

• users' mistakes

• negligence

• costs incurred by users

• The District shall not be responsible for ensuring the accuracy or usability of any information found on the Internet.

 

ACCEPTABLE USE

 

The Superintendent or designee shall develop and implement administrative regulations, guidelines, and user agreements, consistent with the purposes and mission of the District and with law and policy governing copyright.

 

MONITORED USE

 

Electronic mail transmissions and other use of the electronic communication system(s) by students and employees shall

not be considered confidential and may be monitored at any time by designated staff to ensure appropriate use for:

  • educational or administrative purposes.

    •

  • AISD Web Publishing Policy ©2000

  • Revised from the Bastrop ISD & Deer Park ISD-Web Publishing Policy

  • Modified 01/06/04

TRAINING

Training for employees and students in the proper use of the system(s) will be provided. Users will be provided copies of the District's acceptable use guidelines. Training in the District's system(s) will emphasize ethical use of the system(s)' resources.

 

COPYRIGHT

Copyrighted software or data may not be placed on any system connected to the District's system(s) without permission from the holder of the copyright. Only the owner(s) or individuals the owner(s) specifically authorize may upload copyrighted material to the system(s).

 

PUBLISHING GUIDE FOR DISTRICT AND CAMPUS PAGES

 

BASIC CONSIDERATIONS

 

It is desirable that the district and the campus sites present a unified and coherent picture of our school district and the AISD mission. Therefore, the following guidelines are meant to remind publishers of the variety of details that should be considered when designing a web page:

• Before you begin to design a page, investigate what already exists. This may give you ideas as to what should be

considered.

• Make your page titles specific with regards to each page's content. The title, which falls between the TITLE…/TITLE tags, is the phrase that appears when a visitor bookmarks your page.

• Web pages should be a collection of smaller pages accessed from a top-level page (versus one long page).

• Web pages should contain links to appropriate parent home pages.

• Longer web pages should contain a hypertext index and links throughout the document to facilitate navigation.

• Test all of the links in your page(s) to make sure they work before sending them to the webmaster for uploading.

• Be sure to observe copyright laws when using the work of others.

Graphics

• Images should have a resolution of approximately 72 dpi (dots per inch).

• For quickness in loading, images should be a maximum size of about 2" by 3" or 70 KB.

• If larger images are used, thumbnail sketches and text alternatives should be provided.

• JPG graphics should be used wherever possible.

• Photographs of staff members or students may be used if that staff member or parent/guardian has signed an electronic release form.

When using student photographs, first names only will be used to identify a student who is a minor.

 

Content Specifications for Web Pages

 

Remember that the purpose of the web pages is to educate. Information contained on the site should be of benefit to students, parents, staff members, and community. Pages should also be updated frequently and correct in both grammar and spelling.

Each web page must contain the following:

• A title that appropriately describes the content of the page and includes the campus name,

• A last modified date stamp

• Well-edited text, including correct spelling and grammar

• Factually-correct information

• If copyright material is used, references which point to the origin of the information must be given.

No AISD Page May Contain:

• Inappropriate material or links to inappropriate material. (Remember that the purpose of the link should be to improve the academic performance of all students.) The Directory of Curriculum & Technology and the Web Design

Team of AISD will define what is objectionable or inappropriate for a school site.

• Schools or departments must not post defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, harassing, offensive, or illegal language or material. These items are defined by the Board of

Education.

• Links to resources that no longer exist.

• Full names of students with identifying picture. (If a student picture is to be used in an article, students must be referred by their first name only)

AISD Web Publishing Policy ©2000

Revised form from Bastrop ISD-Web Publishing Policy

Modified 01/06/04

Any graphic or information that is in violation of copyright laws.

• Commercial advertisements or links, including banner ads and promotions.

• Commercial use is prohibited. Commercial use is defined as “offering or providing products or services”.

• Engaging in fund-raising, political lobbying or other political activities is prohibited for AISD employees.

PLANNING GUIDELINES FOR WEB PAGES

DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

Web pages may be created in any HTML editor available. Currently, FrontPage and Dreamweaver are available to the schools through the Curriculum & Technology Department.

FREE SPEECH

The schools’ right to free speech applies also to communications on the Internet. The AISD web pages are considered a limited forum, similar to the school publications, and therefore the district may restrict the speech for valid educational reasons. The district will not restrict any speech on the basis of a disagreement with the opinions being expressed.

Design Tips

• Identify the audience to be served by the first page.

• Plan fonts and graphics with the audience in mind.

• Identify potential participants to contribute to the page.

• Clarify the organization of information.

• Create home pages that are easy to read.

• Create a top-level home page that is short, includes the purpose of the web page, and links to additional pages.

• Additional pages should provide detailed information.

• Sketch out the visual design and evaluate its effectiveness.

• Evaluate the "overall look."

• Strive for a consistent layout style.

• Only use graphics that serve a purpose and use appropriate graphics for that purpose.

Web Browser Considerations

• Design web pages that can be viewed by Netscape or Internet Explorer 5.0 or later.

• Include only exemplary work for publishing.

Arp ISD Acceptable Use Internet Policy for Staff

To ensure the use of this system in a productive manner, a list of guidelines has been developed. All employees are required to abide by the guidelines. If you are a Arp ISD teacher or administrator, and would like a web account, please contact the Web Design Team at 903-859-2408. Training is required before an account will be generated. New accounts will be operational during training sessions.

GUIDELINES

1. The account belongs to the person to whom it is issued, and only that person is authorized to use it.

2. The account is provided through the Arp Independent School District. It is to be used in support of the district's educational goals and in a manner consistent with the policies and procedures of ARISD.

3. In order to ensure smooth system operations, the system administrator has the authority to monitor all accounts.

4. Different access and service levels for different types of personnel may be given to employees, depending on the nature of their work (Web, ClassServer Lesson, Intranet Publications). AISD reserves the right to block access to certain Internet sites if necessary.

5. You are legally and ethically responsible for protecting and preserving AISD proprietary rights. This means that no messages disclosing sensitive, confidential, restricted, non-public, or proprietary information may be published.

6. AISD reserves the right to withdraw account privileges at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

 

PROHIBITIONS

The following practices are NOT acceptable:

• Giving out your password.

• Sharing your account.

• Using someone else's account.

• Using your account to harass, discriminate against, or abuse someone.

• Using your account for commercial purposes.

• Using your account to access inappropriate, obscene, or pornographic material.

• Using unauthorized chatrooms.

• Seeking unauthorized access to any resource.

• Downloading/uploading of software or files without first checking for viruses.

• Transmitting email messages without your correct identity.

• Copying, downloading, or distributing any copyrighted materials including but not limited to email, text files,

program files, image files, database files, sound files, and music files.

 

CONSEQUENCES

Violating any of the guidelines or prohibitions listed above can result in any or all of the following:

1. Restricted network access.

2. Termination of your network account.

3. Disciplinary or legal action including, but not limited to, criminal prosecution and/or penalty under appropriate state and federal laws.

Student Posting Of Original Work Permission Slip

(last edited: 06/27/07)

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