General Requirements
All material published on the District Web site must have educational value and/or support the District guidelines, goals, and policies. Material appropriate for Web publishing includes information about the District and its Board Members, agendas, policies, appropriate administrative procedures, Department activities or services, schools, teachers or classes, student projects, and student extracurricular organizations. Personal information, not related to education, will not be allowed on the District Web site.
The District Webmaster shall implement a centralized process for review and uploading of material onto the District’s Web site to ensure that, before material is published, it complies with District policy and procedures. The District Webmaster shall supervise the efforts of all staff members responsible for Web publishing at each level of District Web publishing and, when appropriate, hold in-serve opportunities for those staff members. The staff members responsible for Web publishing are identified in these procedures in the section “Different Levels of Web Publication.” The District Webmaster shall provide regular feedback and suggestions to the Superintendent regarding these Guidelines.
All content published on the District Web site must:
1. Comply with all State and federal law concerning copyright, intellectual property rights, and legal uses of network computers.
2. Comply with Board policies, administrative procedures, these Guidelines, and other District guidelines provided for specific levels of publishing.
3. Due to limited storage space and varying network speeds, file sizes must be kept under 50 kilobytes unless the District Webmaster approves otherwise.
4. Comply with the publishing expectations listed below.
Material that fails to meet these Guidelines or is in violation of Board policy and/or procedures shall not be published on the District Web site. The District reserves the right to remove any material in violation of its policy or procedures. Failure to follow these Guidelines or Board policy and/or procedures may result in loss of privileges, disciplinary action, and/or appropriate legal action.
Publishing Expectations
The following are minimum expectations for all District Web pages:
1. The style and presentation of Web published material should be of high quality and designed for clarity and readability. Material shall not be published in violation of the District’s policies and procedures including material that is defamatory, abusive, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, racially offensive, or harassing or material that invades the privacy of any individual. Anonymous messages are prohibited.
2. Correct grammar and spelling are expected.
3. All information must be verifiable.
4. Publications must include a statement of copyright when appropriate and indicate that permission has been secured when including copyrighted materials.
5. Publications must identify affiliation with the District, school and/or department.
6. Widespread use of external links to non-District Web sites is discouraged, but if used, the external sites must contain appropriate educational materials and information as exclusively determined by the District. Every effort should be made to insure that all links are operational. Every link to an external Web site must open a new browser window.
7. Relevant dates are required on all publications, including the date on which the publication was placed on the District Web site. Each site should contain the date the page was last updated.
8. All publications must include the District e-mail address of the staff member responsible for the page. This provides a contact person for questions or comments. If a student is the publisher, the sponsoring staff member’s e-mail must be included as the responsible person. Only District staff members may act as student sponsors.
9. Use of the District’s Web site for personal or financial gain is prohibited. No commercial or private accounts should be listed on any District Web pages.
10. All documents should be previewed on different Web browsers, especially Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, before being posted on the District Web site.
For more information about these expectations or other issues related to Web publishing, please contact the System Administrator.
Protecting Student and Staff Privacy
Personal information concerning students or staff members, including home addresses and telephone numbers, shall not be published on District Web pages.
A student’s last name, last name initial, and grade level shall not be published on District Web pages. In addition, student records shall not be disclosed. In special circumstances (e.g., where accolades are warranted), the sponsoring staff member should contact the Building Principal who may seek permission from the student’s parents/guardians. Web pages shall not display student pictures with a student identified by his or her name unless written parental permission was first. Student e-mail addresses, whether a personal or District account, shall not be listed on any District Web page.
Submitting Material to Be Published
Everyone submitting material for publication on the District’s Web site shall comply with the district’s Acceptable Use Policy. Before material is published on the District Web site, the author must authorize the District in writing to publish the material, unless the District owns the copyright. All material submitted by a teacher or other staff member for publication on the District’s Web site is deemed “work for hire,” and the copyright in those works vests in the District. All material submitted for the District Web site is subject to treatment as a District-sponsored publication.