Acceptable Use Policy

The Caldwell Parish School District is committed to excellence in teaching and learning by fostering a robust digital ecosystem that reinforces academic excellence and career readiness. In support of that commitment, the district attempts to offer advanced technology, including a 1:1 device environment, and telecommunication tools for educational purposes to its students and staff. The term educational purposes includes classroom activities and assignments, directed student research, interpersonal communication, professional development, collaborative projects, testing, and dissemination of successful educational practices, methods, and materials. These resources are provided to cultivate an AI-forward educator workforce while ensuring that all digital tools align with state academic standards.

The purpose of this document is to set forth policies and guidelines for access to the Caldwell Parish School District computer network and to clearly define the professional and ethical use of the Internet, computer hardware, and emerging technologies. The district expects the faculty will blend thoughtful use of the network and the Internet throughout the curriculum and will provide guidance and instruction to students in its use. District IT staff offers staff development in the use of the Internet to facilitate the use and ethical application of these technologies.

INTERNET ACCESS AND EMAIL ACCOUNTS

The Caldwell Parish School District network has not been established as a public access service or a public forum. Therefore, Caldwell Parish School District has the right to place reasonable restrictions upon its use.

Employee Email

Any employee of the district may request and receive an Electronic Mail (email) account, upon approval from their supervisor and district Technology Personnel.
Email is not guaranteed to be private. The School Board, Superintendent, and Technology Department personnel who operate the system have access to all email. All district-issued email addresses and their contents are the exclusive property of the School Board.
Web mail (i.e. gmail or yahoo mail) is not permitted on any computers located in classrooms or used by students.
Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities must be reported to authorities.
Caldwell Parish School District email accounts are to be used for professional correspondence. Uses of employee email accounts that are prohibited include but not limited to:
Using profane, abusive, or impolite language;
Disguising one's identity, impersonating other users, or sending anonymous email messages;
Threatening, harassing, or making defamatory or false statements about others;
Accessing, transmitting, or downloading offensive, harassing, or disparaging materials;
Accessing, transmitting, or downloading computer viruses or other harmful files or programs.

The district network and the Internet should be used for educational or professional purposes. Staff may primarily use the network for personal use only if such use is incidental and occurs during duty-free time.

UNACCEPTABLE USES

Unacceptable uses of technology are listed here as a guideline; however, the list is not all-inclusive, and the final determination of acceptable or unacceptable uses will be made by the school district Superintendent and/or the School Board.

Illegal Activities: Selling or purchasing any illegal substance; conducting or participating in any other illegal activity.
Inappropriate Matter: Accessing, transmitting, uploading, or downloading pornography, obscene depictions, harmful materials, or materials that encourage others to violate the law; or transmitting or downloading confidential information or copyrighted materials.
Monitoring Circumvention: Attempting to use communication or network access methods not within the district's monitoring systems, including anonymous email sites, chat rooms, or instant messaging programs.
Personal devices are prohibited from use on school board networks with the exception of cell phones for security reasons unless authorized by immediate supervisor and the Technology Department.
Security Interference: Attempts to remove, modify, or bypass software, hardware, and configurations installed to prevent Internet or other access to obscene or pornographic material, other objectionable materials, or prohibited resources.
System/Property Damage: Deleting, copying, modifying, or forging other users' emails, files, or data; damaging computer equipment, files, data, or the network; or accessing another user's email without permission.
Harassment: Hate mail including statements that bully, threaten, intimidate, and harass discriminatory remarks, defamatory or false statements, cursing, and other anti-social behaviors.
Hacking/Unauthorized Access: Using any district computer to pursue "hacking," internal or external to the district, or attempting to access information that is protected by privacy laws; using other users' account passwords or identifiers; or interfering with other users' ability to access their accounts.
Commercial Activity: Employees shall not use school-issued technology for personal monetary gain or commercial activities, including the operation of a private business, consulting, or external commercial ventures.
Data Security: Information placed on school-issued devices should not include sensitive information or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) on local drives unless specifically authorized and secured.
Reporting Security Risks: Employees have a responsibility to report technology security problems to their immediate supervisor. To keep the district safe, employees must not show or share these flaws to other users (e.g., forwarding suspicious emails to coworkers as a "warning").
Mandatory Reporting of Student Misconduct: Consistent with R.S. 17:416, staff must report any student violation of technology policies or the student code of conduct to the immediate supervisor.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

Employees are encouraged to explore AI as a "thought-partner" while maintaining "human-in-the-loop" oversight to ensure AI is never the sole factor in high-stakes decisions like grading or discipline. For comprehensive guidelines, please refer to the separate CPSB Artificial Intelligence Policy (EFAB).

INTERNET SAFETY CIPA

Compliance and Monitoring

In compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), the district has implemented Technology Protection Measures to restrict access to sites containing child pornography, obscene depictions, or other harmful materials. Filtering software scans for objectionable words or concepts. The district monitors all on-line activities and may disclose files to others as necessary to enforce district policies and the law.

Technology Protection Measure - Internet Filtering

It is the policy of Caldwell Parish School District that all access from within School Board facilities be filtered with no exceptions. Faculty and staff use of school computers shall be for academic purposes and the conducting of business aspects of the school system. All personnel using a school computer, or other device to access the Internet shall do so through the filtered district computer network when on school property, and shall be accountable for its use. Use of other means to access the Internet (circumvention) is prohibited from within the property of the school district. No software, however, is foolproof, and there is still a risk an Internet user may be exposed to a site containing inappropriate materials. An employee user who incidentally connects to such a site must immediately disconnect from the site and notify a member of the Technology Department. If a user sees another user is accessing inappropriate sites, he or she should notify the principal or Technology Department personnel immediately.

Authorized Technology Department staff may temporarily or permanently disable the Technology Protection Measure (filter) for bona fide research or other lawful purposes.

Additionally, students will be monitored by faculty and staff in a manner that is appropriate to the age of the students and circumstances of use. Older students will be allowed to do independent research so long as the guidelines herein are met and the research is conducted under faculty supervision.

Disclosure of Personal Information

Student information should be treated as confidential. Students are prohibited from disclosing personal contact information, and faculty/staff shall guard the confidentiality of student information in electronic communication.

Use of Student Images

Photographs of students in electronic format may be posted on school or district web pages unless written notification by a parent or guardian prohibits such use. Students must not be identified by more than their first name.

Software: Illegal copies of software shall not be made or used on district equipment. Archival backup copies may not be used on a second computer simultaneously. All software loaded on a district computer must be approved by Technology Department personnel and covered by a written license agreement.
Text and Graphics: Users will respect the rights of copyright owners for materials found on or disseminated through the Internet. The district follows the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Students have full rights to work they create using the district's technology resources. Employees, as agents of the district, have limited rights to work they create using district resources; the district retains the right to use any product created for its use by an employee even when the author is no longer an employee of the district.

PROPERTY RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY

Physical and Software Care: Employees are responsible for the physical care and maintenance of issued devices and all attachments, including chargers and cases.
Financial Liability: The School Board retains the power to recover costs for any damage or loss to property in its charge. Employees may be held financially responsible for physical or software damage resulting from unauthorized installations, neglect, or misuse. Replacement costs may vary based on the nature of the damage, the type of device and the age of the device.

CONSEQUENCES FOR INAPPROPRIATE USE

Access to the district network and the Internet is a privilege. A violation of any provision of this policy may result in disciplinary action, including but not limited to:

A formal reprimand will be added to the employees folder.
Suspension or revocation of technology privileges.
Financial restitution for damages or loss.
Dismissal from employment.

POLICY AMENDMENT

This policy may be amended from time to time to reflect changes deemed necessary to the needs of the district.

EMPLOYEE USER TECHNOLOGY CONTRACT

Every employee shall be given a copy of the Acceptable Use Policy and sign a contract which acknowledges that a violation of the regulations may be cause for revoking of privileges and other disciplinary action.