District Procedures & Regulations For Website Use
District Website and Web Pages
The District recognizes the value of web pages on the World Wide Web as informational and educational tools. The district will create and maintain a website with linked web pages for the following purposes:
Purposes of Web Pages
- To support the District's mission: Explore Empower Excel
- To provide the community with information about the District and its schools. (e.g. policies, curricular and extra-curricular programs, opportunities for students, student/staff achievements, calendars, schedules, operations, and employment opportunities).
- To provide students and the community with support for learning.
- To serve as a channel for feedback from students, families, and the community.
Standards for School Web Pages
- Web pages must serve one or more of the above-mentioned District purposes.
- Web page content and construction must adhere to the laws, policies, and rules governing computer use, including, but not limited to, copyright laws, rights of software publishers and proprietors, license agreements, and rights of privacy established by federal and state laws. In particular, an attempt must be made to gain permission to use any material found on another website, and that website must be credited.
- Web pages must reflect high standards of content, design, respectability, good taste, and appropriateness for the Horseheads Central School community.
- Web pages operated by the Horseheads Central School District or on its behalf are considered District publications over which the District maintains full editorial control.
- District-related web pages will be linked to the District website.
All District web pages must adhere to the following criteria:
APPROVALS
Web page creators are encouraged to use the pre-approved Teacher's Toolbox to create classroom web pages that will automatically be linked to the District page. Web pages created outside this system must be submitted for approval to the Director of Technology or his/her designee on the Process for Approval form (Exhibit 4527-E1). In addition, the web pages created outside this system must also be sponsored by a member of the District faculty, staff, or administration who will be responsible for the content, design, currency, and maintenance.
All sponsored web pages shall include the following notice: "This is a Horseheads Central School District web page. Opinions expressed on this page are not necessarily those of the Horseheads Central School District". (This includes Web pages created by school groups, extracurricular organizations, athletic organizations, or departments.)
CONTENT
Web page content may include school-related material such as student work, school and department news, events and activities, calendars, class work and assignments.
IDENTIFYING INFORMATION
Web pages that do not comply with these criteria are subject to having their approval revoked and removed from the District's web presence.
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- Web pages must be designed to protect students, families, employees, and any other persons from unwanted disclosure of personally identifying information or derogatory or inflammatory statements.
- Web pages may include student first names only, grade and school activity but under no circumstances home telephone numbers, addresses, home and personal e-mail addresses, or other identifying information such as names of family members.
- Parents/guardians must sign a personal/photo release form in order for their children's photos to be displayed (including non-Horseheads students). Photographs posted on a web page will not identify individuals by name.
- Anytime written or drawn works created by students are posted on line, you need both the student and the parents' permission to post that work on the Internet. (Never use a student's last name with his or her posted project.).
- Web pages may mention commercial interests only in the context of school programs (e.g. students may want to promote a candy sale that is for a school purpose). Web pages must not include for-profit advertising or promotions of commercial interests.
- Links to non-District websites are allowed as long as those sites are consistent with the purposes of District web page and District standards. However, the District link must contain a disclaimer indicating the user is leaving the District website and that the linked material has not necessarily been reviewed or approved by the District.
- Neither staff nor students may publish personal web pages as part of the District's web presence (e.g. a student may put up an individual page relating to a specific class assignment but may not publish a page that promotes personal or editorial concerns, hobbies, etc.)
- Contact person(s) for projects should be the instructor, not the student.
Oversight
The Superintendent or designee has the authority to approve or deny proposed web pages. Such approval or denial will be based on whether the proposed web page meets the terms and conditions set forth in this Administrative Regulation.
The District Technology Administrator or his/her designee will be designated the webmaster and will be responsible for maintaining the district web site.
Changes to Approved Website/Pages
The content provider may make changes to keep information current and/or responsive to changing curricular or co-curricular needs. As long as the general nature of the website or web pages remains the same, such changes do not require prior approval from the Building Administrator. The content provider will be responsible for ensuring that all changes in an approved web page remain in compliance with all terms of District policies and regulations.
At the bottom of the web page, there must be an indication of the date of the last update to that page and the name or initials of the person(s) responsible for the page or update.
Approved: December 1, 2003
This entire document, including the request form, is available in Microsoft Word format here or Adobe Acrobat format here.