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Cell Phones & Electronic Devices - AL

Students carry cell phones and electronic devices at their own risk. The Hometown School District is not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged cell phones or electronic devices.

A. Cell Phone Policy Students may possess cell phones during the school day, but may not be used during instructional time. It is each student’s responsibility to make certain that their devices are turned off and properly secured at all times. The instructional time is defined as the time period between a student’s arrival on campus and the final dismissal bell for all students. The instructional day includes lunch periods and class changes. Cell phones may not be turned on or visible during instructional time, unless they are being used under the supervision of a teacher for educational purposes only. Students observed using cell phones during the instructional day, except for health reasons, will face consequences and will forfeit their ability to have such devices.

The use of cell phones includes making phone calls, receiving phone calls, ringing or other sounds, playing music or video, text messaging, use of cell phone cameras, or any other electronic function. Upon any infraction of the policy, cell phones will be confiscated immediately. Phones confiscated will only be released at the end of the school day. - On the first infraction the phone will be confiscated and the student will be warned. - On the second infraction the student will be given after-school detention. - On the third infraction the student will be referred to Student Support Services for further disciplinary action.

School buses are not considered part of the instructional day, and use of cell phones is permitted on school buses.

B. Electronic Devices ( iPods, iPhone, MP3 players, digital cameras, PDAs) Electronic devices may not be used during instructional time. It is each student’s responsibility to make certain that their devices are turned off and properly secured at all times. The instructional time is defined as the time period between a student’s arrival on campus and the final dismissal bell for all students. The instructional day includes lunch periods and class changes. Electronic devices may not be turned on or visible during instructional time, unless they are being used under the supervision of a teacher for educational purposes only. Upon any infraction of the policy, electronic devices will be confiscated immediately. Devices confiscated will only be released at the end of the school day. - On the first infraction the phone will be confiscated and the student will be warned. - On the second infraction the student will be given after-school detention. - On the third infraction the student will be referred to Student Support Services for further disciplinary action.

School buses are not considered part of the instructional day, and use of electronic devices is permitted on school buses.  (Madras Middle School) (Stockdale High School)

**Use of Computer Policy- LL** The following **Guidelines for Appropriate Computer Use** apply throughout the district: 1. Any student use of computers must be directly related to curricular or extra-curricular programs authorized by the Hometown Board of Education. 2. Computer users must respect the privacy and ownership of files and documents, which may be accessible through the networked computer system. Students may not examine, move, alter or delete any computer files that do not belong to them, even if the owner has left the file unprotected. 3. Application programs and operating systems installed on school computers are preconfigured for general use by a variety of students and staff members. Students may not reconfigure or alter preference settings of such software. 4. Ownership rights and licensure of commercial software must be observed. Students may not make copies of any such software programs. 5. Only technology staff members are authorized to install software on school computers. Students may install software only with the expressed permission of the school building’s technology staff. 6. Students may be assigned a limited amount of disk space, either on specific computers or file network servers, for storing personal computer files. School staff members are not responsible for maintaining the integrity of these files. Students may also store their own files on removable media, such as USB flash drives, CDs or floppies. Removable media inserted into school computers will be subject to virus scans, and may be examined by school personnel to ensure computer security and compliance with appropriate use guidelines. 7. Student work may be posted on the district web site only under the supervision of a district staff member. Only first names will be used on web pages for students in the Primary School or Middle School. 8. All usage of school computers, and files stored on school computers or on removable media inserted into school computers, are subject to routine monitoring by supervising teachers and district computer personnel. Students should have no expectation of privacy regarding their use of computers or the contents of these files. 9. Students must respect the capacity limits of available computer systems, and restrict their own use so as not to interfere unfairly with the activity of other users. Examples of capacity limits include: the number of computers in a given area, available disk space, online access time, data transfer over a network, printer access and printer supplies. Students may be held responsible for the cost of supplies consumed in conjunction with inappropriate or unauthorized use. 10. Students are not permitted to use their own personal computers, or other network devices, in the school building without first obtaining approval from building technology staff. 11. Students may not use school computers in any inappropriate way. Examples of inappropriate use include, but are not limited to: Vandalism of equipment or data; attempting to circumvent computer security systems or Internet filtering; uploading, downloading, viewing or printing obscene, vulgar, threatening, abusive or harassing language or materials; any illegal activity; any commercial transactions; any political activity; any activity that violates another user’s privacy, including use or disclosure of another’s password or other personal information such as address, phone number, or social security number. Student possession of items such as bootable volumes, hacker tools, or executable applications capable of compromising computer or network security, or enabling inappropriate use, will be considered a violation of appropriate use guidelines. 12. Computers are located in a variety of educational settings in the schools, including classrooms, computer labs, and media centers. //In each area, any special rules governing computer use will be posted and must be followed, along with the guidelines listed above. // (Independence Schools)