5.19.2. Student Responsibility

GRACE Christian School provides students access to technology as a means to promote achievement and provide diverse educational opportunities. However, the use of these resources is a privilege, not a right. Specifically, the student will adhere to the following guidelines for device use. These guidelines include device safety and security, digital citizenship, classroom rules of conduct, and the care and handling of school owned devices. Each subsection is detailed below.

Student Classroom Guidelines

• The student should arrive at school each day with a fully charged device. Failure to charge the device is equivalent to not being prepared for class and will be considered a discipline offense.
• When entering a class, the student should not open the device without teacher permission.
• The student should close the device when it is left unattended on the desk or when asked to by the teacher.
• Laptop use in study halls is for instructional purposes unless permission is granted by a faculty member.
• Headphones are prohibited in class unless permission is granted by a faculty member.

Student Digital Citizenship

• Students’ online conduct should always be responsible, ethical, and polite. Cyber Bullying, such as personal attacks or threats made by or against our students, are to be reported to responsible school personnel immediately.
• Students should use appropriate language in all communications and avoid profanity, obscenity, and offensive or inflammatory speech in chat and within social media posts.
• Consuming or seeking out obscene and explicit materials, including graphic and violent images, pornography, vulgar media (music, TV, movies, games, podcasts, or books), are prohibited and subject to disciplinary action. The criteria for acceptability is demonstrated in the types of material made available to students by administrators, teachers, and the school media center.
• Inappropriate use of the device camera is prohibited.
• Inappropriate sites will be filtered and blocked. A student should always report an inappropriate website accessed accidentally so that the IT Department can correct the problem and the student will not incur an internet violation.
• Students are not to download VPNs or alternate browsers attempting to go around the GRACE installed content filtering.
• Copyright: Illegal use or transfer of copyrighted materials is prohibited. The student will follow copyright laws and should only download files that he or she is authorized and legally permitted to reproduce.
• The student should not attempt to access networks beyond their authorized access. This is hacking, and it is highly prohibited.
• The student may only use his or her own device and charger.
• Account security: The student may not use another person’s password or account. The student will not share passwords or attempt to discover passwords and will make every effort to keep all passwords secure and private. Sharing a password could make the student liable if problems arise with its use and could be subject to disciplinary action. The student must not reveal identifying information, files, or communications through the internet.
• The student will not connect any personal technologies such as devices and workstations, wireless access points and routers, etc. to school owned and maintained networks. Connection of personal devices such as iPads, smart phones, personal computers and printers are permitted but not supported by GRACE technical staff. Home internet use is the responsibility of the student both in cost and configuration.

Student Device Care and Handling

• The student is responsible for the device at all times and may not leave it unattended.
• The device must remain in the approved case at all times. The device will be taken if the student fails to use the case and will be returned once the case is put back on.
• Unsupervised devices must be secured in a place safe from theft or damage.
• The student is responsible for regularly backing up school documents in a physical location (flash drive, external hard drive, device folder) as well as in the Cloud (Google Drive or OneDrive). This precaution is necessary so that if a device is damaged, students are always able to retrieve their work. Failure to back up documents does not constitute an excuse for not turning work in on time. The student will abide by the following care and handling expectations:
  • Do not eat or drink near the device.
  • Do not allow pets near the device.
  • Do not use the device near water.
  • Do not use the device near flames, candles, or fire.
  • Do not leave the device near table or desk edges, on the floor, or in sitting areas.
  • Do not stack items on top of the device.
  • Do not check the device as luggage at the airport.
  • Do not tamper with hardware or software.
  • Do not close any items in the glass/lid of your device.
  • Do not damage or vandalize technology tools.
  • Do not remove school identification or name tags from the device.
  • Do not install alternative browsers or VPN, or hamper school installed security software.
  • Do not mark the device in any way.
  • Do not use water or other cleaning solutions on the device. Wipes that are designed for cleaning electronic screens may be used on screens.
  • Do not carry the computer by the screen