EDU 6560

Exam #1

Jay Brown

Legality: Computer software has legal licensing agreements that must be followed in accordance with the U. S. Copyright Office and section 117 of the Copyright Act. Installation of a single license software package on more than one computer is a violation of copyright law.

Policy and Procedure: To address the software licensing agreement issue, I would convene a meeting of all faculty and staff personnel at each school. At each meeting I would distribute on paper our new Technology Policy Guidelines (TPG), which will include a summary of the copyright law as it relates to computer software. I will also use a projector to display and read aloud the summary of the copyright law as it appears in the school district’s new TPG. I would also emphasize that the TPG state that the technology director in each school has the responsibility for the purchase and installation of all software on school-owned computers. The technology staff for each school will configure every computer so that the process of software installation is password protected. Teachers who wish to have software installed on school-owned computers must go through the technology staff, who will be the keepers of the administrative password for software installation.

Legality: According to the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), school districts that receive federal funding for telecommunications must use a filtration system to block images on a computer screen that are considered obscene, pornographic, or harmful to minors. Allowing users to access inappropriate material may jeopardize federal funding for Internet access within the school district.

Policy & Procedure: Our school district Technology Policy Guidelines will also include a new Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for computer technology that must be signed and dated by every student, their parents or legal guardians in order for students to obtain network access within the school district. The AUP will be consistent with all federal and state laws and regulations, and clearly state the rules of the school district. The AUP will have specific responsibilities for all students, who must use their accounts to support education and research consistent with the mission of the school district, and follow rules of good behavior called “netiquette.” A portion of the AUP will list several forbidden activities, such as attempting to login as someone else, using another person’s account, sending mass e-mail, attempting to harm or destroy data, or access inappropriate material. Students who are found in violation of the district AUP may have their Internet account revoked, and be referred to school administrators for additional disciplinary action. The procedure of installing an Internet filter to block Web sites that contain obscene, pornographic, or harmful information will be implemented at once, and inspected every six months by the technology staff for security breeches, and maintenance updates.

3. Legality: Depending on the age of the student and issues of legal consent, putting video clips of students engaged in school activities online may be in violation of federal laws. The Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is intended to protect the personal information of children under the age of 13, which may be accessible from a video clip. Additionally, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects against the release of student records without expressed written consent from parents, guardians, or students 18 years of age or older. Since a video clip may contain a record of student performance at school, the district must observe both COPPA and FERPA guidelines.

Policy & Procedure: Included in the new school district Technology Policy Guidelines document will be a section that addresses issues relating to COPPA and FERPA for online privacy of students. Specifically, schools within the district must have a signed and dated written consent form from a parent, guardian, or student age 18 or older for images of their child to appear on any school district Web page. Additionally, teachers and staff who publish images or video clips to district Web sites must ensure that student identities are protected, and may only use a student’s first name in any description or caption. To further protect students, the Webmaster for each school within the district will be directed to design a password-protected layer into the school Web page, allowing only those who sign the written consent forms to view images and video clips. As part of a procedure to address these issues, it is recommended that negotiators for the school district and teachers union convene a special meeting to include a contract amendment with the AUP and the Technology Policy Guidelines to be ratified as soon as possible, with clearly articulated consequences for infractions.

Legality – While racial and obscene comments in a school newspaper may be covered as freedom of speech in the U.S. Constitution, publishing this information on a school district Web site may be considered harmful to individual students. The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) states that school districts receiving federal funding for telecommunications must use a filtration system to block Web sites that contain information harmful to minors. Allowing students to post obscene commentary with racial slurs qualifies as harmful material should not be allowed on any school district Web page. Additionally, legal defense for a student suing the school district for defamation of character could point to the school district AUP, and claim that by not enforcing the AUP, the school district is negligent.

Procedure: The school AUP must clearly state that all students, faculty, and staff must use their Internet accounts to support education and research consistent with the mission of the school district, and follow rules of good behavior called “netiquette.” The term netiquette refers to appropriate e-mail, which should be non-threatening, as well as using good judgment when it comes to posting information on school Web sites. Specifically, the school district AUP will include language stating that it is forbidden to post information on school district Web pages considered obscene, pornographic, or harmful to minors. Students who are found in violation of the district AUP may have their Internet account revoked, and be referred to school administrators for additional disciplinary action.

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