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School System Web Site/Web Pages

Administrative Procedure

A. Web Site Purpose

The purpose of the Maine School Administrative District #71 School District’s official web site is to provide general information about our school system, as well as information about educational programs, extracurricular activities, school events, and student and staff achievements. This web site is intended to support the educational mission of the schools, to enhance the curriculum and learning opportunities for students and staff, and to provide valuable information to the larger community about our schools. The following guidelines are intended to ensure that the web site meets these goals and to establish reasonable controls to protect the privacy of students and staff, to ensure that the web site is in compliance with applicable laws, and to ensure that it meets the highest educational and quality standards.

B. Web Site Structure

The School District web site includes the following components:

1. System-wide information (including, but not limited to, Central Office information, Board of School Directors information, Transportation, Facilities and Food Service information);

2. Individual school information;

3. Individual department, grade level and/or classroom information (including student work and/or teacher-created work and resources/; and

4. School-sponsored extracurricular organization information.

C. School District Authority and Webmaster Responsibilities

The School District reserves the right to edit, delete, or modify any web page content as it sees fit to comply with the intended purposes of the web site and these guidelines.

The Superintendent shall designate a Webmaster, who shall be responsible for maintaining the School District’s web site, approving all material to be posted on the site, and monitoring all web site activities for compliance with Board policies, applicable laws and regulations, and these guidelines. If the Webmaster is unsure whether particular material is appropriate, he/she shall consult with the Superintendent, whose decision shall be final. The Webmaster and authorized school staff shall have the only password-protected access to the web server to place and remove web pages and content.

D. Content, Quality and Subject Matter

1. The School District web site does not create, nor is it intended to create, a public or limited public forum. All materials placed on the web site must serve the educational mission of the school and comply with all Board policies, administrative procedures and school rules concerning the publication and distributions of school-sponsored material.

2. All materials placed on the web site must meet academic standards for proper spelling, grammar, content and accuracy.

3. All materials placed on the web site must comply with all School Board policies, administrative procedures and school rules concerning the acceptable use of technology.

4. Web page content must be limited to school-sponsored information and activities. No personal student or staff web page, chat rooms, or discussion groups are permitted on the web site.

E. Confidentiality of Student Information

1. The web site shall be in compliance with all applicable confidentiality laws and regulations.

2. At no time shall personal information about students (such as home address, telephone number, e-mail address, birth date, social security number, etc.) or information made confidential by state or federal law appear on the web site. The web site will not include any information that indicates the physical location of students at any given time, other than attendance at a particular school or participation in school activities.

3. Student information, photographs or work may only be published on the web site if the student’s Parent/guardian has signed the Parent/Guardian Agreement Form to Publish Student Information. For purposes of these guidelines, student information includes name, class rosters, awards/honors received, and team/extracurricular activity participation lists.

F. Confidentiality of Staff Information

1. At no time shall personal information about staff appear on the web site (including home address, home telephone number, home e-mail address, birth date, social security number, etc.)

2. Because the School District web site is maintained in part to enhance communication with students and their families, the school e-mail address and/or telephone numbers of staff are available on the web site.

G. Copyright

1. Appropriate permission will be obtained before any copyrighted or trademarked material is used on the web site. No copyrighted material may be reproduced, transmitted or stored on the School District web site without obtaining permission from the copyright owner.

2. Students shall retain the copyright on materials that they create.

3. An appropriate copyright notice will appear with all copyrighted material published on the web site.

4. Except for the above exceptions, all web pages and materials published on the web site are the property of and owned by the School District.

H. Advertising

The School District web site will not include any advertising, nor will it include any selling activities outside of publicity for school-sponsored and/or approved fundraising activities.

I. Links to External Sites

1. The School District web site will not include links to any personal web sites of students or staff.

2. The web site may include links only to web sites that have demonstrated educational value to students, staff and/or the community, as deemed appropriate by the Webmaster.

3. The web site shall include a disclaimer informing users that links are provided as a convenience, and that the School District does not endorse these sites or have any responsibility for the content of these sites.

J. Additional Requirements

1. The web site shall inform users about how to contact the Webmaster.

2. Each web section will contain the date of last update.

3. The Webmaster will provide appropriate information to school users regarding technical requirements for publishing material on the web site.

4. The web site will strive to meet Accessibility standards as suggested by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).