Board Policy IFBGB: Web Pages

WEB SITE AND ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA PUBLISHING GUIDELINES

1. PURPOSE

The availability of Internet access provides everyone, including DeKalb County School District students and employees, an opportunity to have a presence on the World Wide Web. An online presence allows the District to provide information to the world about the curriculum and activities in its individual schools as well as other general information. This policy addresses the privileges, responsibilities, and guidelines for proper web publishing on the District’s web server, in addition to web page design and publishing taught in the classroom. It also addresses proper use of District-sponsored social media as well as guidelines and recommendations for personal use of social media.

1. Online Content Coordinator

The Superintendent or his/her designee will designate an individual or individuals to serve as the District Online Content Coordinator, responsible for maintaining District-sponsored web sites and social media accounts and for compliance with all DeKalb County Board of Education policies, any implementing regulations, and local, state, and federal laws.

The District Online Content Coordinator will maintain and distribute written Web Publishing and Compliance Guidelines for use with District-sponsored web sites and social media. All material placed on the District’s web sites or social media accounts will be consistent with these Web Publishing and Compliance Guidelines and approved by the District Online Content Coordinator.

The District Online Content Coordinator will maintain and distribute written Guidelines and Recommendations for Personal Use of Web Sites and Social Media Accounts for employees and students who maintain a personal online presence. These Guidelines and Recommendations for Personal Use will include guidance for avoiding disruption of the school environment.

The District Online Content Coordinator will create a registration procedure for use by individual schools, teachers, students, and extracurricular organizations that wish to create District-sponsored web pages and social media accounts.

1. DISTRICT-SPONSORED WEB SITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

2. Establishment and Maintenance

The District will establish and administratively maintain one or more web sites (including an official District web site) hosted on one or more web servers. The District also will establish and administratively maintain one or more social media accounts, which may include a message delivery system. Material appropriate for placement on or dissemination via the District’s web sites and social media accounts includes:

1. DeKalb County School District information;

2. DeKalb County Board of Education information;

3. Individual school information;

4. Teacher or classroom information;

5. Student projects; and

6. Extracurricular organization information.

7. Web Pages and Social Media Accounts Created by Individual Schools, Teachers, Students, and Extracurricular Organizations

Individual schools, teachers, students, and extracurricular organizations may create District-sponsored web pages and social media accounts, provided they have properly registered with the District Online Content Coordinator and received permission. Schools and extracurricular organizations may not create web pages and social media accounts that are not District-sponsored.

The Principal at each school or his/her designee will designate a School Online Content Coordinator, responsible for managing the individual school web pages and social media accounts and monitoring school, teacher, student, and extracurricular organization web pages and social media accounts.

1. Schools

Individual schools may create web pages under the District’s main web site and establish social media accounts. All official material originating from the individual school and placed on the school web pages or social media accounts will be consistent with the Web Publishing and Compliance Guidelines.

1. Teachers

Teachers may create web pages under the individual school web pages and establish social media accounts. The teacher web pages and social media accounts will be used in conjunction with class activities or to provide a resource for other teachers. Each teacher will be responsible for maintaining his/her web pages or social media accounts. All material originating from the teacher and placed on the teacher web pages or social media accounts will be consistent with the Web Publishing and Compliance Guidelines.

1. Students

Students, as part of a classroom activity, may create web pages under the individual school web pages and establish social media accounts. Material presented on the student web pages and social media accounts must meet the educational objectives of the class activity and be consistent with the Web Publishing and Compliance Guidelines. Student web pages and social media accounts will be removed at the end of each term unless special arrangements are made with appropriate authorized personnel. A notice will not be provided to students prior to such removal.

1. Extracurricular Organizations

Extracurricular organizations may create and maintain web pages under the school web pages and establish social media accounts. Extracurricular organizations include, but are not limited to, school sports teams, school bands and orchestras, and other clubs and student organizations as defined in the DeKalb County Board of Education policies. Material presented on the organization web pages and social media accounts must relate to organization activities and must be consistent with the Web Publishing and Compliance Guidelines.

1. Appropriate Content for District-Sponsored Web Sites and Social Media Accounts

The District reserves the right to remove material from District-sponsored school, teacher, student, or extracurricular organization web pages or social media accounts, including removal of the web pages or social media accounts in their entirety, if the material fails to meet established educational objectives or violates any DeKalb County Board of Education policy or implementing regulation or the Web Publishing and Compliance Guidelines.

1. WEB PUBLISHING AND COMPLIANCE GUIDELINES FOR DISTRICT-SPONSORED WEB SITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

This section applies to District-sponsored web sites and social media accounts. The information herein shall be included in the Web Publishing and Compliance Guidelines to be established by the District Online Content Coordinator, as specified in Section II above.

The Guidelines will address (1) content and quality, (2) intellectual property ownership issues, (3) student information and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) concerns, and (4) any additional issues deemed relevant by the District Online Content Coordinator.

The Guidelines will state that District-sponsored web sites and social media accounts do not create, nor are they intended to create, a public or limited public forum and that these web sites and social media accounts will not contain public message boards, chat room areas, or other opportunities for comment.

The Guidelines will state that all material on the District-sponsored web sites and social media accounts will serve an educational purpose only. Further, all posted material is expected to meet academic standards of proper spelling, grammar, and accuracy of information. Postings may not contain inappropriate material or link directly to inappropriate material.

In questions of quality, propriety of web page material, appearance, or content, the judgment of the District Online Content Coordinator, with input from the School Online Content Coordinator, will prevail.

1. GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PERSONAL WEB SITES AND ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

This section applies to personal web sites and social media accounts. The information herein shall be included in the Guidelines and Recommendations for Personal Use of Web Sites and Social Media Accounts to be established by the District Online Content Coordinator, as specified in Section II above. The Guidelines and Recommendations for Personal Use of Web Sites and Social Media Accounts will be provided for employees and students who maintain a personal online presence outside of work or school without using District equipment or network.

The Guidelines and Recommendations for Personal Use of Web Sites and Social Media Accounts will state that employees and students should not allow their personal online activity to disrupt the school environment.

The Guidelines and Recommendations for Personal Use of Web Sites and Social Media Accounts will state that if employees and students choose to establish their own personal social media accounts off campus, such accounts shall not be accessed using the District’s equipment or network.

The Guidelines and Recommendations for Personal Use of Web Sites and Social Media Accounts will state that students who choose to participate in social media must do so in accordance with applicable policies, including Board Policy JCDAG (Bullying).

The Guidelines and Recommendations for Personal Use of Web Sites and Social Media Accounts will state that employees who choose to participate in social media must do so on their own time and in accordance with the District’s Acceptable Use policies and other applicable policies. Additionally, when employees post on social media, they should maintain transparency and be honest about their identity. Employees may identify themselves as District employees, but they must be clear that they are expressing views as an individual, not as a representative of the District.