Butte School District

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

5450

Employee Electronic Mail and On-Line Services Usage

Employee use, Internet, and District Equipment

Electronic mail (“e-mail”) is an electronic message that is transmitted between two (2) or more computers or electronic terminals, whether or not the message is converted to hard-copy format after receipt, and whether or not the message is viewed upon transmission or stored for later retrieval. E-mail includes all electronic messages that are transmitted through a local, regional, or global computer network.

Because of the unique nature of e-mail/Internet, and because the District desires to protect its interest with regard to its electronic records, the following rules have been established to address e-mail/Internet usage by all employees:

The District e-mail and Internet systems are owned by the District and are intended to be used for educational purposes only. While occasional personal use is allowed employees have no expectation of privacy in district owned technology equipment, including but not limited to district-owned desktops, laptops, memory storage devices, and cell phones.

Users of District e-mail and Internet systems are responsible for their appropriate use. All illegal and improper uses of the e-mail and Internet system, including but not limited to extreme network etiquette violations including mail that degrades or demeans other individuals, pornography, obscenity, harassment, solicitation, gambling, and violating copyright or intellectual property rights, are prohibited. Abuse of the e-mail or Internet systems through excessive personal use, or use in violation of the law or District policies, will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

All e-mail/Internet records are considered District records and should be transmitted only to individuals who have a need to receive them. If the sender of an e-mail or Internet message does not intend for the e-mail or Internet message to be forwarded, the sender should clearly mark the message “Do Not Forward.”

In order to keep District e-mail and Internet systems secure, users should not leave the terminal “signed on” when unattended and may not leave their password available in an obvious place near the terminal or share their password with anyone except the system administrator. The District reserves the right to bypass individual passwords at any time and to monitor the use of such systems by employees.

Additionally, District records and e-mail/Internet records are subject to disclosure to law enforcement or government officials or to other third parties through subpoena or other process.

Consequently, the District retains the right to access stored records in cases where there is reasonable cause to expect wrongdoing or misuse of the system and to review, store, and disclose all information sent over the District e-mail systems for any legally permissible reason, including but not limited to determining whether the information is a public record, whether it contains information discoverable in litigation, and to access District information in the employee’s absence. Employee e-mail/Internet messages may not necessarily reflect the views of the District.

Except as provided herein, District employees are prohibited from accessing another employee’s e-mail without the expressed consent of the employee. All District employees should be aware that e-mail messages can be retrieved, even if they have been deleted, and that statements made in e-mail communications can form the basis of various legal claims against the individual author or the District.

E-mail sent or received by the District or the District’s employees may be considered a public record subject to public disclosure or inspection. All District e-mail and Internet communications may be monitored.

Policy History:
Adopted on:  10/18/2004
Revised on:   03/19/12