Web Site Guidelines

The district’s web site provides an opportunity for students and staff to contribute to the school
district’s presence on the World Wide Web. These websites provide information to the world
about school curriculum, instruction, school-authorized activities, and other general information
relating to our schools and the district.

Teachers may have a page on this system or through Google sites.

Employees that create web pages must comply with the following guidelines or they may lose
privileges to maintain a website or receive disciplinary actions depending on the website.

Content Standards

  1. If at any time the principal, district technology coordinator, or any central office administrator feels the site does not meet the standards approved by the district, the site will lose its district privileges.
  2. Web page documents may include the first name of the student but not the last name.
  3. Student’s phone number, address, names of other family members, or names of friends may not be posted on the website.
  4. Only employee’s district e-mail addresses may be posted.
  5. Decisions on publishing student pictures (video or still), audio clips or student work are based on the supervising teacher and the building principal’s judgment. The teacher who is maintaining the site must retain written permission on file from the parents using the attached form.
  6. Web page documents may not include any information that indicates the physical location of a student at a given time, other than attendance at a particular school, or participation in activities.
  7. Students may not have direct access to update web pages. Only district employees may save files to the web site.
  8. Users must exhibit care when creating web pages with extensive backgrounds or large graphics. Such files require extensive download time, are frustrating for modem users, and slow down the file servers.
  9. Every reasonable attempt must be made to ensure that web pages are educationally sound and do not contain links to any questionable material or anything that can be deemed in violation of this policy.
  10. Student work or photos may not be published without signed parental consent.

Other

  1. Material on web pages reflects an individual’s thoughts, interests, and activities. Such web pages do not, in any way, represent individual schools or the District, nor are they endorsed or sanctioned by the individual school or the District. Concern about the content of any page(s) created by students or staff should be directed to the building principal of that school.
  2. Given the rapid change in technology, some of the technical recommendations outlined in these standards may require change throughout the year. The District Administration will make such changes.
  3. Personal pages or links to personal pages cannot be linked to the district site.
  4. Advertising for businesses cannot be part of the district site, unless the business links are educational, provide technical support, or are germane to the philosophy of the Shippensburg Area School District.

Copyright Information

  • Every person who writes a document published on the Internet, who creates a graphic or icon, who scans his own photograph or who creates a document for a newsgroup or who designs a web page owns the copyright to his creative work.
  • Web-based material is copyrighted just as other forms of communication are and notification of copyright status is not required. Websites must have the proper rights for the graphics, designs, logos, and photos you use. Permission must be gained not only from the photographer, but also from any recognizable person in the photograph.
  • Students own the copyrights to their own works. Before publishing original student work, or posting it on the web, permission from the parents of the student must be gained. If a student is a minor, parental approval is required.
  • An administrator who knowingly or unknowingly allows copyright infringement to occur is likely to be named among the defendants in any legal action. Penalties can be stiff. The administrator need not actually participate in the infringement to be considered responsible, at least in part, for the violation.
  • UNLESS THERE IS A CLEAR STATEMENT THAT ART, PHOTOS, AND TEXT ARE “PUBLIC DOMAIN” AND AVAILABLE FOR FREE USE, ONE SHOULD ASSUME THAT THEY ARE COPYRIGHTED. This material should not be used for replication on a local area network, a wide area network or a website unless permission is granted from the owner.