Technology Guidelines

Millis Public Schools
Responsible Use Policy (RUP)


Purpose

This Millis Public Schools Responsible Use Policy (RUP) is a written agreement that outlines the terms and conditions for all users using district-owned technology, as well as any personal technology that is on school property, including district networks and accounts.

All Millis Public Schools (MPS) students and staff have access to the district’s robust and secure network infrastructure, as well as a variety of mobile devices and digital learning applications. MPS technology and network facilities are to be used in a responsible, efficient, ethical, and legal manner in accordance with the educational mission of the district.

This RUP helps protect our district network and technology, as well as comply with legislation including the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Massachusetts Public Records Law. This RUP also clarifies the educational purpose of district technology.

Goal

The goal of the Millis Public Schools is to promote innovation and educational excellence for all learners, pre-kindergarten through our post-high school transition program. To achieve this goal, the network must provide high-quality information and communication resources to the educational community in an equitable, cost-effective manner, while promoting a safe and secure environment for use of the network and respect for the individual rights of all users.

Users

Primary users of the Millis Public Schools' network are teachers, administrators, other educators, and students. Under certain circumstances, network administrators may permit a non-educator to use the network or other related school technology, provided the individual demonstrates that his/her use furthers the purpose and goals of the network and public education in general.


Responsible Use of District TechnologyAll students and employees of Millis Public Schools must read and attest to understanding and agreement with the provisions of this Responsible Use Policy (RUP) annually in order to retain access to District technologies and accounts.


Passwords
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School or district passwords shall not be shared with others, including other district staff or students.

* It is important to log out of unattended devices or accounts in order to maintain privacy and security.

Professionalism

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    Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools are expected to use professional language in all work-related communications, including email, social media posts, audio recordings, conferencing, and artistic works. Social media posts refer to any content or messages shared on public or private social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. in the course of their work-related activities.

  • *MPS technology may not be used for commercial activities, gambling, political lobbying, or product advertisement when not directly related to the educational purposes of MPS.

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    Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools are responsible for modeling and actively practicing positive digital citizenship.

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    What students,  teachers, and others employed by MPS do and post online must not disrupt school activities or compromise school safety and security.

Privacy

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    Users should have no expectation of privacy regarding their use of MPS equipment, network, and/or Internet access or files, including email. The district will only review electronic mail transmissions on an individual basis if there is a determined need to examine that particular information. 

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    Do not share personal information about students or employees, including, but not limited to, names, home addresses, date of birth, telephone numbers, student ID numbers, employee numbers, and visuals.

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    The transfer of student information should be only through approved district information systems.

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    Email is not a secure method for transmitting student data.

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    All students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools are responsible for protecting students’ data privacy by only using digital learning applications and websites that have been vetted and approved for use by the school district. 


Cyberbullying

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    Bullying in any form, including cyberbullying, is unacceptable both in and out of school.

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    Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools are expected to report all cases of known or suspected bullying to the building principal or a district administrator.

Security

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    All users are responsible for respecting and maintaining the security of district electronic resources and networks.

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    The district network and district technology may not be used to obtain unauthorized information, attempt to access information protected by privacy laws, or impersonate other users.

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    Bypassing security settings and filters, including through the use of proxy servers, is strictly forbidden.

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    The use of illegal software or files, including unauthorized software or apps, on any district device is prohibited.

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    Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools are expected to report any observed security concerns, such as websites that should be blocked or filtering that doesn’t seem to be working properly.

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    Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools must report any suspected password or network breaches to their relevant administrators and the Technology Services Team. 

Equipment and Network Safety

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    Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools are expected to use all reasonable precautions when handling district equipment.

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    Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools are expected to promptly report technical issues to the Technology Services Team.

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    Students, Staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools are expected to use caution when downloading files, opening emails, clicking on links, or opening attachments, as these could be phishing attacks containing viruses or malware that may impact our district network and security in significant ways.

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    Vandalism in any form is prohibited and must be reported to an appropriate administrator or the Technology Services Team. Vandalism will result in the cancellation of privileges, disciplinary action, and possible legal action. Vandalism in this instance is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy computer system hardware and/or user data on our network or other networks on the Internet and includes, but is not limited to, the downloading, uploading, or creating of computer viruses.

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    Tampering with computer security systems will be considered vandalism, destruction, and defacement of school property.

Data Storage

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    The district provides students and employees with a Google account for storing and managing school-related files and content. Students and employees should use a personal account for storing and managing personal files and content.

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    Personal data, files, images, and content should not be stored on district devices.

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    The district may reimage any device at any time to maintain equipment in good working order.

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    Personal information from a district device risks being backed up or stored on district storage systems, which may be subject to subpoenas or information requests.

Inappropriate Material

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    Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools may not seek out, display, or circulate material that is hate speech, discriminatory, harassing, sexually explicit, or violent while at school or while identified as a district employee. Exceptions may be made in an appropriate educational context.

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    The use of the district network for illegal, political, or commercial purposes is strictly forbidden.

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    Transmitting large files that are unrelated to district business and disruptive to the district network is prohibited.

Copyright and Trademarks

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    Intellectual property rights must be respected.

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    Copyright guidelines must be observed when using the work of others.

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    Downloading or use of illegally produced/obtained music, video, imagery, software, apps, and other works is prohibited.

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    Plagiarism of any kind is strictly forbidden.

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    MPS logos and symbols are for school district use only.

Communications and Compliance with Public Records Laws

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    In order to comply with the Commonwealth’s public records laws, employees and appointees must only use district-approved resources and accounts when communicating with students, staff, and families/guardians or conducting school business.

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    Employees are expected to check their school-issued email account for daily communications.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Students, staff, and those contracted to provide service to the Millis Public Schools will follow all procedures as outlined in the BYOD protocol.

Consequences for Unacceptable Use

Appropriate behaviors for network and technology use follow the general guidelines for all appropriate behaviors and are outlined in individual school handbooks.  Misuse of MPS technologies, as outlined in the provisions of this RUP, may result in restricted access or account cancellation. Failure to uphold the RUP provisions listed above constitutes misuse. Such misuse may also lead to disciplinary and/or legal action, including personnel action and/or criminal prosecution by government authorities. The administration of the Millis Public Schools may direct network administrators to deny, revoke, or suspend specific user privileges. Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of computer or network-related problems might be denied access to the network. The district will attempt to tailor any disciplinary action to specific issues related to each violation.

The Millis Public Schools makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the services it is providing. The Millis Public Schools will not be responsible for any damages suffered. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, misdeliveries, or service interruptions caused for any reason.

Disclaimer

MPS makes no guarantees about the quality of the services provided and is not liable for any claim, losses, damages, costs, or other obligations arising from the use of the network or district accounts. Users are responsible for any charges incurred while using district devices and/or networks.

MPS also denies any liability for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through user access. Any statement accessible online is understood to be the author’s individual point of view and not that of the district, its affiliates, or employees and appointees.

 

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