this document is draft 1 of our attempt to write this policy.
Arlington Public Schools has created several documents regarding guidelines for use of technology within the Arlington Public Schools network. All of these guidelines can be separated into two categories. The first category are those guidelines created to safeguard our children, and the appropriate use of the internet (or APS network) in a public forum. This PTA site will adopt and follow all APS guidelines regarding safety, privacy, ethics, and appropriate content. The remainder of the APS Guidelines are driven by resource constraints (both hardware and personnel). Whereas APS has limited resources, and uses those resources sparingly to match those resources with instructional need, this private PTA site will not limit its content to APS guidelines relating to limited resources (eg. APS discourages the use of large photo images, slideshows, and various multi-media (such as sound) due to the file size, and the limited space available on APS servers).
Arlington Public Schools has implemented an Acceptable Use Policy with regard to Technology, a Code of Ethics, a summary on Inappropriate Material, and staff Areas of Responsibility. This PTA web site will respect and comply with all Guidelines suggested by APS with regard to safeguarding our children and parents rights to privacy, and appropriate use of content.
This PTA web site will adopt the APS Disclaimer and Privacy Policy (taken directly from APS web site): "Some of the links on this site lead to resources outside Arlington Public Schools {and our PTA site}. The presence of these links should not be taken as an endorsement by APS {or the PTA} of these sites or their content. The existence of these links should not be interpreted as APS sanction, approval or authorization of the information on, or the information that is obtainable through these other homepages. The Arlington Public Schools makes no guarantee or warranty, express or implied, concerning the content or accuracy of any material on any links. We respect your privacy! Any and all information collected at this site will be kept strictly confidential and will not be sold, reused, rented, loaned, or otherwise disclosed."
Goals and Objectives of our Web site:
To facilitate two-way communication between our PTA Officers and Committee Heads, and the Taylor School Community of Parents and Teachers.
To Archive and preserve digital materials created for and by the PTA.
Recognizing that the Internet is a communication tool that provides instant information at all hours of the day, every day, the Zachary Taylor Elementary School PTA has decided to build and maintain a web site for our members. We will use this tool to the best of our ability to provide current and useful information to all of our Parents and Teachers. This web site will constantly undergo changes and edits. We will constantly solicit feedback on content, form, and design of this website. If you have a suggestion regarding any improvements or changes to this website, please do not hesitate to offer those suggestions freely.
Rules for updating or changing the website or information on the website:
Any changes to the design of the web site must have prior approval from the PTA President.
Any updates to the information on the web site must have prior authorization from the Taylor School Principal.
Committee Heads or Activity Leaders may add or edit information regarding their portion of the web site. These changes may be sent directly to the web site manager if the PTA President or Taylor School Principal has previously approved these changes or additions.
Any recommendations for changes, edits, or new information must be approved by both the PTA President, and the Taylor School Principal. Suggestions should be submitted to the PTA President for review.
At minimum, the Principal, the PTA President, and the web site webmaster will have 24 hour access to edit or change any page on the PTA web site. Other requests for this access must be approved by the PTA President.
Taylor PTA Web Site Guidelines:
All information on the web site should relate to PTA or APS information that is of interest and appropriate for others. No personal home pages, or home pages related to any other individual or organization not affiliated with the PTA or APS may be published on this site. Staff or student work may be published only as it relates to a class project, course, or other school related activity.1
All web pages must be free of spelling and grammatical errors. Documents may not contain objectionable material or point (link) directly to objectionable material as outlined in the APS Internet Use Policy.1
All web pages are the property of the Zachary Taylor Elementary School PTA.
Decisions on publishing student names, pictures (video or still) and audio clips are based upon the Principal's judgment. The Principal must first determine if the student's parents / guardians have objected to such a publication as safeguarded by the Privacy Act process. Written permission by a parent / guardian must be obtained.1 This permission slip will be kept by the PTA President and Principal as long as the content remains on the web site.
Web page documents with public access may not include information which indicates the physical location of a student at any given time in the future, other than attendance at school or participation in school activities.1
Web page documents may only include the first name and the initial of the student's last name unless parental guardian permission has been granted.1
Web page documents may not include a student's phone number, address, names of other family members, or names of friends.1
Published e-mail addresses or phone numbers are restricted to password protected pages. Student e-mail addresses or phone numbers will not be listed or linked to this web site.1
Passwords will be distributed by the PTA President. Passwords should be changed at minimum once per year.
Web pages may not contain any survey response links or any other type of direct response links unless approved by the Principal and PTA President.1
No unlawful copies of copyrighted materials may be knowingly displayed or stored on this web site.1
Web page links may not include entities whose primary purpose is commercial, religious, fundraising, or political, unless authorized by the Principal and PTA President.1
No stealth monitoring or spyware will be attached to this web site (Spyware refers to a practice of many commercial web sites that download information to your PC that will then periodically send information about your PC use to their marketing department).
Through this web site, we hope to encourage polite and civil communication, honesty, integrity, and respect for others' thoughts and private property.
1 Guideline taken directly from the APS Office of the Superintendent, Management Bulletin # 32
The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires that a school block or filter internet access for students to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or, with respect to the use of computers by students, harmful to minors. Although the Supreme Court denied the law's constitutionality for public libraries, the requirement still applies to schools. This PTA web site will support this law by not linking to any web sites that meet the following "filtering" categories2:
Anarchy - sites containing information regarding militias, weapons, anti-government groups, terrorism, overthrowing of the government, killing methods, etc.
Criminal Skills - promotion of illegal activity, pyrotechnics, computer hacking, credit card number generating, password cracking, surveillance and murder.
Drugs - sites that promote use or purchase of illegal drugs. Marijuana seeds for sale, growing methods, techniques, and products for testing clean for drugs, acid, mushrooms, all other forms of narcotics.
Gambling - betting sites, bookmaker odds, lottery, bingo, horse / dog track, online sports betting, casinos, etc.
Obscene / Tasteless - sites that involve mutilation, murder, bodily functions, horror, death, candid scenes, executions, violence.
Personals / Dating - contains sites that are related to personal ads, dating sites, dating services, relationships, introductions, etc.
Pornography - sites that contain nudity, of any sort, vulgarity, including the likes of Playboy, Hustler, and Penthouse.
R-rated - dating services, lingerie and swimsuits, revealing pictures. Sites that are adult in nature without being explicitly pornographic.
The following sites have been deemed questionable by CIPA, and should be reviewed and approved by the Principal and PTA President before linking from our web site: Alcohol (use of alcohol, home brewing, drink recipes, advertisements, etc.), Automobile (dealers, leasing, sales, clubs, manufacturers), Chat sites, Cults or Gothic (mind control, paranoia, fear, psychological control or manipulation), Employment, Entertainment, Financial, Free Hosts, Games (computer games or game websites), Hate and Discrimination (material related to the discrimination of any group of people based on race, religion, gender, nationality, etc.), Humor (comedy, jokes, fun, etc.), Lifestyle (sites with material relative to sexual persuasion (gay, lesbian, straight or otherwise), particular cultures, behaviors, organizations, societies, clubs, etc.), Magazines, News, Opinion - Politics - or Religion (pertinance to politicians, election campaigns, opinion articles, political organizations, political publications, churches and related publications, discussion forums and religions), Self-Help (diet, nutritional facts, therapies, counseling services, motivation, conferences, articles, etc.), Shopping (online shopping, travel agencies, real estate, automobiles, classified and on-line trading services), Sports (professional team sites, sports magazines, events like summer and winter Olympics), Tickets, Travel, Web-based e-mail, Web-based Newsgroups, and Search Engines.2
2 Guideline taken directly from the APS Office of the Superintendent, revised 8/1/02.
Taylor School Technology resources:
http://www.arlington.k12.va.us/schools/taylor/techguide.htm
APS Instructional Technology Strategic Plan
updated: October 06, 2003