At its meeting on Tuesday, June 26, the West Windsor-Plainsboro school board will present the second reading of its policy regarding the acceptable use of computer networks, computers, and resources at school. The policy outlined the purpose of the school district’s computer networks: “to assist in preparing students for success in life and work in the 21st century by providing them with a wide range of information and the ability to communicate with people from throughout the world.”
The policy also describes the purpose of the school district’s information technology (referred to as WW-P ITS) as being used to increase communications, enhance productivity, and assist district employees in upgrading their skills “through greater exchange of information with their peers,” the policy states.
Areas covered in the full text of the policy include responsibilities of the school district in providing IT, the district’s limitation of liability, parameters for system access, parental notification and responsibility, students’ rights to free speech, selection of materials, and privacy issues.
Of note, one of the 20 “responsibilities” outlined in the school district’s responsibilities mentions cyberbullying. “Users will not send, access, submit, publish, display, or print over the WW-P ITS any defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, obscene, profane, threatening, offensive or illegal material. Cyberbullying is specifically prohibited,” the policy states.
