The Brooke County Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP) is an outgrowth of the West Virginia Department of Education’s "Safety and Acceptable Use of the Internet by Students and Educators Policy"—Policy 2460. The WVDE’s policy is comprehensive; however, schools may develop local use policies that further define the state policy to meet their individual needs. Our schools adhere to all state guidelines, but we provide the following summary of what is expected of students after a general statement that all of Policy 2460 applies to our students. Should students have a question about Policy 2460, all teachers have a copy, and one will be given to any student who requests it, or the policy may be accessed at http://wvde.state.wv.us/policies/p2460.html.

To obtain an Internet/E-mail account students must:

1. Be trained on Acceptable Use of the Internet in an educational setting
2. Pass a test on Acceptable Use of the Internet in an educational setting
3. Sign the Internet Account Application Form indicating they are aware of and will adhere to guidelines of the Brooke County Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)
4. Have Parents/guardians sign the Internet Account Application Form granting permission for students under the age of 18 to access the computer network and the Internet and acknowledge that students must adhere to the Brooke County Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

• Computers in Brooke County schools are to be used for educational purposes.
• Modification of the school computer system without the permission and supervision of a system administrator is not permitted. This includes, but is not limited to:

1. Installing or deleting programs to any computer or to the network.
2. Modification of the software or hardware configuration of any computer or of the network.
3. Copying of any copyrighted software from school computers is not permitted.
• Only programs authorized for student use may be run.
• Computer games are not permitted. An exception is educational games that are part of a classroom teacher’s lesson plan and have been approved by the chairperson of the Technology Committee or the principal.
• Sending a network broadcast message from one computer to another computer or to a group of computers is not permitted.
• Use of food and beverages near the computer, printers, or other computer- related equipment is not permitted.

Accounts

• Student passwords and accounts are private. Only the person to whom an account is assigned is permitted to use it. This is for the student’s protection. Students will be held responsible for any traffic credited to their account.
• A student’s real name and user ID must be used to register for an account to access the Internet or e-mail.
• Allowing another student to use your account is not permitted.
• Using another person’s account is not permitted.

Internet, Web Pages

• Accessing obscene or pornographic content is not permitted.
• Using proxies, anonymizers, or similar methods to circumvent filtering or security is STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
• Using any method to hide, obscure, or change ones identity and/or online activities is PROHIBITED.
• Promotion of unlawful activities or activities inappropriate in the school setting is prohibited. Examples include but are not limited to alcohol, tobacco, drugs, computer hacking, and abusive or profane language. This includes hypertext links to such sites.
• Use of chat rooms or instant messaging programs is not permitted unless it is a part of a classroom teacher’s lesson plan that has been approved by the chairperson of the Technology Committee or the principal.
• Using the Internet to play games is not permitted.
• Use of copyrighted material on Web Pages without written permission of the copyright owner is not permitted.

E-Mail

• A student’s real name and user ID must be used when sending e-mail.
• Abusive, profane, obscene, or pornographic messages are not permitted.
• Chain letters and mass mailings are not permitted.
• Sending games, copyrighted material, or large files is not permitted.

Failure to comply with the Brooke County AUP will result in disciplinary action ranging from detention to a 10 day suspension depending upon the circumstances. Also Internet and E-mail privileges may be discontinued.

A copy of this document can be found at

http://bhs.broo.k12.wv.us/TechPlan/Brooke_County_AUP.html