A. Philip Randolph Campus High School Email Usage Policy

Email is a critical mechanism for communications at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School. Use of A. Philip Randolph Campus’s electronic mail systems and services is a privilege, not a right, and must be used with discretion and in accordance with the policies of the New York City Department of Education.

The objectives of this policy are to outline appropriate and inappropriate uses of A. Philip Randolph Campus’s email systems and services in order to minimize disruptions to services and activities as well as to comply with relevant policies and laws.

Account Activation/Termination

Email access at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School is controlled through individual accounts and passwords. Each user of A. Philip Randolph Campus High School’s email system is required to read and indicate their understanding of and agreement with this policy before they will be given an email account and password. It is the responsibility of the user to protect the confidentiality of their account and password information.

Acceptable Use

“Acceptable” e-mail activities are those that conform to the purpose, goals, and mission of the DOE and to each user's duties and responsibilities. Users shall have no right to privacy while using the A. Philip Randolph Campus High School's internet or e-mail system. E-mail may not be used for personal purposes during school hours, except that users may engage in minimal e-mail activities for personal purposes, such as family correspondence, if the use does not interfere with the user’s academic progress.

Individuals at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School are encouraged to use email to further the goals and objectives of the school. The types of activities that are encouraged include, but are not limited to:

• Communicating with fellow students and staff of A. Philip Randolph Campus High School.
• Acquiring or sharing information necessary or related to the performance of an individual’s assigned responsibilities.
• Participating in educational or research activities.

Unacceptable Use

 “Unacceptable” use is defined generally as activities using DOE hardware, software, or networks at any time that does not conform to the purpose, goals, and mission of the DOE and/or A. Philip Randolph Campus High School and to each user's duties and responsibilities. The following list, although not inclusive, provides some examples of unacceptable uses:

• Opening unknown e-mail attachments or introducing computer worms or viruses. Users are prohibited from performing any activity that will or may cause the loss or corruption of data or the abnormal use of computing resources (degradation of system/network performance).
• Using e-mail services for private commercial or business transactions and any activity meant to foster personal gain.
• Using your A. Philip Randolph Campus high School email address to subscribe to websites or other internet services that are not related to educational activities.
• Conducting non-Department of Education fund raising or public relations activities such as solicitation for religious and political causes or not-for-profit activities.
• Transmitting threatening, offensive harassing information (messages or images) containing defamatory, abusive, obscene, pornographic, sexually oriented, racially offensive, or otherwise biased, discriminatory, or illegal material.
• Attempting to subvert network security, impair functionality of the network, or bypass restrictions set by the network administrators. Assisting others in violating these rules by sharing information or passwords.
• Distributing "junk" mail, such as chain letters, advertisements, or unauthorized solicitations.
• Revealing, publicizing, using, or reproducing confidential or proprietary information regarding the DOE including, but not limited to, financial information, databases and/or the information contained therein, computer network access codes, staff or student information and business relationships.

Users should contact their supervisors about questionable e-mail usage.

Monitoring and Confidentiality

The email systems and services used at A. Philip Randolph Campus High School are owned by the institution. This gives A. Philip Randolph Campus University the right to monitor any and all email traffic passing through its systems. While the IT staff does not actively read user’s email, email messages may be inadvertently read by them during the normal course of managing the email system or providing support services.

Email should not be used to communicate confidential or sensitive information. Keep in mind that once an email message is sent, it becomes the property of the receiver. A good rule of thumb is to not communicate anything that you wouldn’t feel comfortable being made public. Use particular care when using "Reply" and "Reply/All" during email correspondence.

In addition, backup copies of email messages may exist, despite end-user deletion, in compliance with A. Philip Randolph Campus High School policy. The goals of backup and archiving procedures are to ensure system availability and to prevent business data loss.

If A. Philip Randolph Campus High School discovers or has good reason to suspect activities that do not comply with relevant laws or this policy, email records may be retrieved and used to document the activity as directed by the appropriate A. Philip Randolph Campus High School authority.

Reporting Misuse

If you receive an email which violates A. Philip Randolph Campus High School policy or relevant laws, do not forward, delete, or reply to the message. Instead, please contact <____________________>.

Disclaimer

A. Philip Randolph Campus High School assumes no liability for direct and/or indirect damages arising from the user’s use of A. Philip Randolph Campus High School’s email system and services. Users are solely responsible for the content they disseminate. A. Philip Randolph Campus High School is not responsible for any third-party claim, demand, or damage arising out of the use of A. Philip Randolph Campus High School’s email systems or services.

Failure to Comply

Violations of this policy will be treated in accordance with A. Philip Randolph Campus High School and the New York City Department of Education policies, procedures, and all relevant federal, state, and local laws. Allegations of misconduct will be adjudicated according to established procedures. Sanctions for inappropriate use of A. Philip Randolph Campus High School’s email systems and services may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

1. Temporary or permanent revocation of email access;