Acceptable Use Policy

[David Downing]

I teach in a PK-8 school. We are revamping our acceptable use policy. The charge given to me and two others by the technology committee is to come up with consequences for violations of the AUP. In a short time online I notice that few schools include consequences in the AUP students and staff sign. Is that true for your school? Why? If you work in an elementary school and do include consequences, what are they? Do you find that they work? Do parents sign the AUP (i.e., they use the intranet for parents association business)? Do you include consequences for them (i.e., they use the intranet for advertising for their business)?

[Demetri Orlando]

There are some links and excerpts on the wiki that may be of interest: http://schoolcomputing.wikia.com/wiki/Acceptable_Use_Policies

Many have said, and I agree, that infractions should be dealt with by the school's disciplinary office, not the technology department. Removing access to tech resources (internet, computer, etc.) is sometimes a suggested response, but then some ask, "Would we remove all pencils and paper from a student who had written a nasty note?" In my time at the k-8 level we did occasionally restrict internet access on a student who had done something wrong (repeatedly.) But when her class was doing a writing project that necessitated internet use, the teacher logged her on to the net and supervised her closely because we didn't want the disciplinary consequence to interfere with her learning. All this is to say, I think each case needs to be judged individually and creative consequences that don't harm the educational process need to be imposed. I also think it's good when those consequences make their way through the student grapevine, so that the students know that real consequences do get imposed for virtual infractions.

[Drew Forsberg]

I agree with Demetri. The punishment should be like doing anything else inappropriate at school. It forces people to take "cyber crimes" seriously like they would bullying, cheating, or skipping class.

[Cindy Marston]

I also agree with Demetri - and I wouldn't want the job of coming up with a list of infractions and possible consequences. I prefer a more fluid approach. We have adopted a new document this year based on Doug Johnson's 3Ps - Privacy, Property, and aPpropriate use. And we are calling them principles, not policies. Policies change; principles do not. We have had 30 minute conversations with students before signing to start the discussion of what the principles look like in practice. Very good start to the year, and we plan to keep the discussion alive. Also shared with all of our teachers, so that we can all support the idea of the 3Ps.
David Warlick has a site that may be of interest to you, if you have not already seen it. http://landmark-project.com/aup20/pmwiki.php (Not sure why link isn't working...)

[Anna Baralt]

David,
Our school revised our Acceptable Use Policy last year. All students and parents must sign the AUP, PK3-12th grade which is written in our divisional manuals. We have a new online community being used school-wide, including faculty, staff, students 5-12, parents and alumni. Our staff does not have to sign the policy, but it is included in our faculty handbook. As for consequences, they are handled by each division but there is a statement in the AUP.

The consequences section of the AUP reads:
Consequences:
Consequences for violating the above mentioned rules shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, verbal warnings, detention, suspension of technology/computer privileges, school suspension, and separation (expulsion) from Shorecrest Preparatory School. Any abuse of the Acceptable Use Policy for Educational Technology may be considered a disciplinary violation and/or violation of the Shorecrest Honor Code.

We also have the following statement regarding misuse of cell phones or technological devices:
Any misuse of cell phones and/or electronic devices while committing any offense of the honor code may result in more severe disciplinary action, including but not limited to detention, suspension or separation (expulsion) from Shorecrest Preparatory School.

1st Offense - Warning issued to student - item retained by student
2nd Offense - Item confiscated - item returned to student at the end of school day
3rd Offense - Item confiscated - item returned to student after contact is made with parent/guardian
4th Offense - Item confiscated - item returned to parent - student shall lose the privilege of use on campus for a period of time outlined by division head

Hope this is helpful.

[David Downing]

Anna,

Many thanks for taking the time to reply in such depth. Fortunately, we haven't had to deal with consequences often. Because we are primarily an elementary school, any "infractions" are almost always done in ignorance of what is right. No flagrant disobeying the rules, in other words.

I like your school' s cell phone policy. We do have a lot of middle school -- and, increasingly, younger -- students who have cell phones and want to call their parents if the adults are five minutes late picking them up at dismissal. This is an area where I have been met with tremendous disbelief when I tell the student to put away the cell phone, and sometimes a heated discussion of why I want the student to do so.

[Curt Lieneck]

We list a range of possible consequences for all users, but do not map a particular violation to a particular consequence. The flexibility is important if you see disciplinary action with students as more than just punishment. With adults, contractual issues arise and so we follow normal corrective action procedures as specified per contract as if the employee had had an issue with any other school policy.

On the few occasions when parents have overstepped, a conversation with their respective Division Head seems to be enough.