NWESD Policy Manual & Administrative Procedures

6571-P – NWESD 189-Owned Equipment/Electronic Resources Procedures

Information System (Network)

1. All use of the system must be supportive of education and research and be consistent with the mission of the NWESD 189 and its member districts. The NWESD 189 reserves the right to prioritize use and access to the system.
2. Any use of the system must conform to state and federal law, network provider policies and licenses, and NWESD 189 policy. Use of the system for personal gain, commercial solicitation and compensation of any kind is prohibited. Use of the system for charitable purposes must be approved in advance by the Superintendent, or designee.
3. The system constitutes public facilities and may not be used to support or oppose political candidates or ballot measures.
4. No use of the system shall serve to disrupt the operation of the system by others; system components, including hardware or software, shall not be destroyed, modified, or abused in any way.
5. Malicious use of the system to develop programs that harass other users or that gain unauthorized access to any computer or computing system and/or damage the components of a computer or computing system is prohibited, including but not limited to:
   1. hacking, cracking, vandalizing, the introduction of viruses, worms, Trojan horses, time bombs and changes to hardware, software, and monitoring tools;
   2. unauthorized access to other NWESD 189 computers, networks and information systems; or,
   3. downloading and installation/use of games, or other software applications (including shareware and freeware) without permission or approval from the Technology Services Director or designee.
6. Streaming media from the Internet can sometimes be an impact on network performance. Care should be taken by users to ensure their use is limited to support of NWESD 189 functions.
   1. Users are responsible for the appropriateness and content of material that they transmit or publish on the system. Hate mail, harassment, discriminatory remarks, or other antisocial behaviors are expressly prohibited, including but not limited to: Cyber bullying, hate mail, defamation, harassment of any kind, discriminatory jokes and remarks.
   2. Use of the system to access, store, or distribute obscene, pornographic or sexually explicit material is prohibited.
   3. Use of interactive video systems shall be in accordance with procedures published on the video support web pages located on the intranet pages (http://intranet.nwesd.org).
7. Attaching unauthorized devices to the NWESD 189 network is prohibited.

Network Security and Privacy

1. System accounts are to be used only by the authorized owner or in the case of an account created specifically for sharing with two (2) or more users, only those users are authorized to use the account. Users may not share their account name(s) or password(s) with other(s) or leave an open file or session unattended or unsupervised. Account owners are ultimately responsible for all activities under their account(s).
2. For reasons of system and personal security, each system account holder must authorize NWESD 189 review of email messages. A director-level or higher authority may, in writing, with copies to the Superintendent, request technology staff to provide access to another employee’s data for a specific period of time and a clearly-stated justification.
3. Users shall not seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files, other data, or passwords belonging to other users, or misrepresent other users on the system, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the system.
4. If email communications or other documents are to be encrypted, encryption key pairs and/or passwords are to be submitted to the Technology Services Director for safe keeping in order to allow for security review.

Copyright

1. The NWESD 189 is responsible for consequences of copyright infringement and reserves the right to discipline responsible system users for infringements. Users should assume that all Internet material is copyrighted and federal copyright law must be respected unless permission to copy is included on the web site. Users may not reprint or distribute without permission of the author.
2. The unauthorized installation, use, storage, or distribution of copyrighted software or materials on NWESD 189 computers is prohibited.
3. Material posted on the Internet through the NWESD 189’s system during the poster’s designated work hours is a work-for-hire that shall be copyrighted by NWESD 189. Petitions for copyright ownership by the individual poster shall be considered by the Superintendent only.

Ownership of Work

1. All work completed by staff/contractors while employed by the NWESD 189 shall be considered property of the NWESD 189. The NWESD 189 will own any and all rights to such work, including any and all derivative works, unless a written agreement prescribes otherwise.

General Use

1. Diligent efforts must be made to conserve system resources. For example, users should frequently delete email and unused files. For more information on email procedures and aging policy, please see Procedure 6570-P.
2. Software shall only be installed by Technology Services personnel. Installation of personally-owned software or purchase of software by anyone other than Technology Services is strictly prohibited.
3. Purchases of technology equipment shall be in accordance with procedures outlined on the intranet at https://intranet.nwesd.org/Departments/TS/Operating_Procedures/Purchasing_Technology_Items.
4. A signed Staff Network User Agreement Form must be on file with the NWESD 189 (see Form 6571-F2). All users are strongly encouraged to seek out training in the use of the system if they find that they are in any way uncomfortable with the technology.
5. Employees may not use NWESD 189 resources (including any person, money, or property) under their official control or direction or in their custody, for personal benefit or gain, or for the benefit or gain of any other individuals or outside organizations. This prohibition does not apply to the use of resources that are reasonably related to the conduct of official NWESD 189 duties or the use of resources that promote organizational effectiveness or enhance job-related skills and do not interfere with the employee’s performance of official NWESD 189 duties. Using NWESD 189 property for private financial gain may be a misappropriation of state funds, could enable NWESD 189 employees to compete unfairly with private businesses, and may result in disciplinary action.
6. Occasional limited personal use of NWESD 189 facilities, computers, and equipment, including email and Internet access, is permitted only if all five of the following conditions are met:
   1. There is little or no cost to the NWESD 189.
   2. Use is brief and occurs on non-paid time (e.g., before/after work, lunch).
   3. Use occurs infrequently.
   4. Use does not interfere with the performance of any other NWESD 189 employees’ official duties.
   5. Use does not compromise the security or integrity of NWESD 189 property, information, or software.
7. Personal use of NWESD 189 resources, computers, equipment, or consumables that have been removed from the NWESD 189 or other official duty stations, is not permitted even if there is no cost to the NWESD 189 (e.g., use of NWESD 189 tools or equipment for home improvement projects), unless a specific written permission has been provided by the Superintendent.
8. In making a decision to use NWESD 189 equipment/electronic resources, employees are reminded that there is no expectation of privacy. The NWESD 189 reserves the right to monitor, inspect, copy, review and store without prior notice information about the content and usage of:
   1. the network;
   2. user files and disk space utilization;
   3. user applications and bandwidth utilization;
   4. user document files, folders and electronic communications;
   5. e-mail;
   6. Internet access;
   7. facsimile transmissions;
   8. voicemail; and,
   9. any and all information transmitted or received in connection with network and e-mail use.

The NWESD 189 reserves the right to disclose any electronic messages to law enforcement officials or third parties as appropriate. All documents are subject to the public records disclosure laws of the State of Washington.

Personal Technology Devices

1. NWESD 189 prefers that if an employee needs a particular piece of personal technology to perform his/her job, consultation with the supervisor and the Technology Services Director takes place prior to purchase.
2. As computing technology matures, the lines between personal and work use of sophisticated devices such as laptops, tablets and other “smart” devices become blurred. At this writing, the NWESD 189 network is primarily geared toward support of NWESD 189-owned computing devices especially when printing.
3. Because the personal technologies evolve so quickly, staff are required to consult with their supervisor and/or the Technology Services Director to seek out the current recommended best practices for use of personal technology devices.

Social Networking Services

1. NWESD 189 views the use of Social Networking Services (SNS) as a personal activity. Posting to social networks (e.g., blogs, Wikis, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin) and/or picture sharing that contains information related to the conduct of NWESD-189 business are subject to disclosure through a public records request, and as such are prohibited on NWESD 189-provided and personal technology (including personal computers, cellular telephones/MCDs, etc.) due to the limited ability to access such records. The only exceptions are social network postings on official NWESD 189-sanctioned accounts. The following guidelines should be noted by NWESD 189 staff when using SNS:
   1. Personal blogs and SNS writings are not to mention /reference work-related topics. Employees are reminded that personal postings on the Internet in any form are subject to scrutiny by your current and future employers.
   2. Only the Superintendent may, in writing, designate that a SNS and its author be granted permission to represent the views of the NWESD 189.

Disciplinary Action

1. All users of the technology systems are required to comply with NWESD 189’s policy and procedures. Violation of this and other NWESD 189 policy and procedures could be cause for disciplinary actions which may include revocation of technology system use privileges, suspension, expulsion, or termination.
2. From time to time, the NWESD 189 will make a determination whether specific uses of the system are consistent or not with the regulations stated above. Under prescribed circumstances non-student or non-staff use may be permitted, provided such individuals demonstrate their use furthers the purpose and goals of the NWESD 189. For security and administrative purposes, the NWESD 189 reserves the right to review system use and to edit file content by authorized personnel, while respecting the rights of user accounts. The NWESD 189 reserves the right to remove a user account on the system to prevent further unauthorized activity.
3. Violation of any of the conditions of use may be cause for disciplinary action.

Presented to Board: 08/24/11
Revised: 02/22/12
Revised: 06/28/17

Date Revised: 6/28/17