BarrowNet is an electronic network offering access to documents and applications located on local servers as well as on the Internet.  This access is provided for students, teachers, and staff within the Barrow County School System. The Internet, a global electronic system representing thousands of networks and millions of computer users, offers information and resources previously unavailable to our schools, and develops networks within our schools to help students communicate, retrieve and transfer files in a simplified manner.

The Goals of BarrowNet are to:

1. Support the Barrow County School System instructional goals.  

2. Promote excellence in learning and teaching by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, and communication within our own community, state, nation and world.

3. Afford each student experiences with information technologies.  

4. Provide all students equitable access to Internet information.    

5. Improve learning and teaching through research, teacher training, collaboration, and dissemination of successful educational practices, methods and materials.

6. Promote life-long learning through community outreach programs.

Access includes:

• Information and resources made available on Internet servers by businesses, libraries, educational institutions, government agencies, research institutions, and a variety of other organizations and individuals.

• Telecommunications, such as electronic mail (email) and teleconferences, with individuals and groups around the world.

• Expanding educational opportunities by extending global on-line publishing rights to staff & students via school and district web sites.

• Secure access to district database files and electronic forms for staff and administrators.

Because the Internet provides access to computer networks located all over the world, students and staff (and parents of students, if the student is under 18 years old) must understand that the Barrow County Schools cannot totally control the content of the information available. Some information on the Internet is not appropriate to the K-12 instructional program.  However, the valuable information and interaction accessible on the Internet far outweigh the possibility that users may find inappropriate material. Barrow County Schools does not condone the use of such materials and will take every reasonable precaution to prevent access to inappropriate materials.

Precautions are taken to prevent access to materials and information deemed inappropriate in the K-12 education environment including, but not limited to, vulgarity, profanity, obscenity, discriminatory and other “hate” information, or any type of harassing information or communication.  Specific precautions include:

1. Filtering of Internet access via a proxy server, firewall, or other mechanism, which is constantly updated to prevent access to inappropriate web sites and information.

2. Providing staff and teachers with a quick response method to block newly discovered sites containing inappropriate material.

3. Providing staff development training for teachers emphasizing the sensitive nature of the Internet and establishing on-line strategies that maximize student performance in core curriculum content areas.

Reasonable precautions will also be taken to insure that documents and information provided to Internet users worldwide by students and employees of the Barrow County Schools are accurate, technically effective, and in good taste.  In order to accomplish this, the school system will host web pages for all schools, district departments, and the school system as a whole on one or more web servers managed by the Office of Information Technology Services.  Only documents posted on that/those server/s will be considered “official” school system postings and information.  Prior to such posting, the documents will be reviewed for content and accuracy at the school or department level, and will receive approval of the principal or director of the unit or his/her designee.

School employees, students, and parents must be aware that users who do not respect the rights of others or who do not follow the rules and regulations established by the Barrow County School System will be subject to disciplinary action.

The implementation, management, and maintenance of this policy and all related administrative and instructional procedures are the responsibility of the Director of Information Technology Services and his/her designee(s).  This responsibility includes, but is not limited to, teacher and staff training and licensing, provisions for appropriate network access, management of all resources required for consistent and equitable usability, and periodic updates to this policy and/or related procedures as deemed appropriate by the Board of Education and Superintendent, or as made necessary by advancements in technology and/or knowledge and skills of users.