Internet Use Policy Guidelines for Schools in Tennessee

1. Public Chapter 989§49-1-221 Internet Use in Public and Private Schools in Tennessee

2. What does the law say? § 49-1-221. (a)(1) Every two (2) years, each director of schools shall file with the Commissioner of Education an acceptable use policy, approved by the local school board, for the international network of computer systems commonly known as the Internet • First AUP filing date deadline was October 31, 2008 • Final Implementation Date September 30, 2009

3. Provisions in the Policy • Provisions are designed to: • Prohibit inappropriate use by district employees and students of the district’s computers via the Internet; • Prevent access to material that the district deems to be harmful to kids; • Select a technology to filter or block Internet access to child pornography and obscenity; • Establish appropriate measures to be taken against persons who violate the policy; • Include a component on Internet safety for students that is integrated into the district’s instructional program; • Encourage that communications with parents which raise awareness about Internet safety are made using existing avenues of communication, i.e. parent-teacher conferences.

4. Inclusion of other terms or conditions…….. • The policy may include other terms, conditions, and requirements as deemed appropriate, such as…. • Requiring written parental authorization for Internet use by juveniles, or • Differentiating acceptable uses among elementary, middle and high school students.

5. Guidelines Even though Internet Safety programs from district to district may be similar, each district should formulate their own programs according to specific needs and resources of that district. The program should be inclusive of but not limited to the following: • Development and implementation of a process for reviewing, evaluating, and revising the Internet Safety program biennially • A method by which inappropriate use by school district employees and students of the school district is prohibited • Develop and implement a data and network security plan • Develop and implement procedures to address breaches of Internet security and protect students’ safety • Establish appropriate measures to be taken against persons who violate the policy • Integration of Internet safety in the k-12 curriculum and instruction • Outreach programs to parents, grandparents, caregivers, and community stakeholders • Professional development opportunities for teachers and staff across the district • Safety, security, and ethics measures, including any that already exist

6. The Director’s Responsibilities • Every two years, you will file with the Commissioner of Education an acceptable use policy, approved by the local school board • The director of schools shall take such steps as appropriate to implement and enforce the school district’s policy.

7. The Department’s Responsibilities • Report to the Chairmen of the Education Committees of the Senate and the House on or before December 1, 2008 a summary of acceptable use policies filed with the commissioner pursuant to this section of the law and the status thereof. • Issue guidelines to school districts regarding instructional programs related to Internet safety • Encourage cooperation between school districts and local law enforcement agencies

8. The Attorney General’s Role with the DoE • Is to assist districts in developing their own methods for teaching Internet safety to elementary and secondary students, as well as the parents, which are within the guidelines established by the DoE. • And to establish best practices for teaching Internet safety and make those best practices and other resources, including sample curricula on Internet safety, available to public and private schools across Tennessee.

9. Public Chapter No. 989 • http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills/currentga/Chapter/PC0989.pdf

10. Current Legislation • *SB 0283 by *Black ( HB 0451 by *Dunn) • Requires (rather than recommends) school districts to include certain criteria in policies preventing harassment, intimidation or bullying. Amends TCA Section 49-6-1016

11. Cyberbullying • Is that a word? • What does it mean? • Who’s affected by it? • How do they do it?

12. Definition • According to Hinduja and Patchin, p. 17 (2009), it is the “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.” • One instance of mistreatment cannot be construed as bullying…as it has to involve harmful behavior that is repetitive. • It’s actually harassment taken to the next level.

13. Who’s affected by it?

24. Where/How does it happen? • Cell Phones • Email (s) • Social Networks • Chat Rooms/Instant Messaging

25. Cell Phones • Texting • Now, some cell phones receive email too…as well as updates from social networking sites. • Photos/videos

26. Emails • Fake accounts • Send to multiple people • Can have photo or video attachments or embedded

27. Social Networks • MySpace.com • Facebook.com • Xanga.com • Flickr • Twitter • There are 100s if not 1000s of these types of “gathering places.” However, these are currently rated as the most popular in the United States and at this age level.

28. Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms • Yahoo Messenger • Google talk • AOL – AIM America’s Online Instant Messenger • MSN

29. Anonymity or Fake • Any one of the methods above can be utilized by virtually anyone and without the truth of identity being known. • By blocking numbers, txts can be sent so that they appear to be anonymous • Accounts with fake information and pictures can be used for anonymity or to impersonate another person.

30. Some things to be aware of….. • Txt Acronyms • Ttyl = Talk to you later • Brb = Be right back • Pir = Parent(s) in room • Pos = Parent(s) over shoulder • P911 = My parents are coming in the room • PA = Parent Alert • PAL = Parents Are Listening • PAN or PANB = Parents Are Nearby • IRL = In Real Life

31. Emoticons • Symbolic language to show emotion • :) or :-) = Smiling • :( or :-( = Frowning • (<> or <>) = Alienated • :II or :-II = Angry • :@ or :-@ = Angry or screaming • >:-( = Angry or annoyed

32. Sexting or SexCasting • Sexting:The act of poor judgment when using digital technology by sending an image, video or text message of an explicit (adult) or risque nature to another individual. • SextCasting Summarized:SextCasting: A SextCastTM or SextCastingTM is the process by which an individual(s) performs actions of a risqué or sexually explicit nature via a (live) webcam (or webcast), digital (image or video) camera, or other form of digital technology and sends and/or saves the content of their actions using digital technologies (i.e. a computer, camera card, email, social website, message board, etc).Main Entry: Sext•Cast•ingFunction: nounEtymology: 21st century via The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone CommunicationReference:Urban Dictionary

33. A quote from the Institute’s Executive Director……. • Richard Guerry, the visionary behind the concept of "Responsibility 2.1C", and co-founder of The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication recently stated that "We as a nation need to provide direct proactive communication of Digital Responsibility (Responsibility 2.1C) to a new generation. We cannot be reactionary treating today's digital issues, and we cannot resolve them with 20th century threats, reprimand and curriculum." He went on to say, "The real problem is our youth has grown up learning what we call responsibility 1.0 or offline responsibility. They do not understand the scope of the repercussions when they invoke poor (digital) judgment because they have not been proactively taught digital responsibility or what we call, Responsibility 2.1C. We cannot apply 20th century solutions to 21st century issues.“ • The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell Phone CommunicationSpeakers Bureau200 Walt Whitman Ave. P.O. Box 1131Mount LaurelNJ, 08054http://www.iroc2.org

34. Resources to peruse….. • http://www.iroc2.org or • www.sextingisstupid.com

35. Help Tips for Reporting Offensive ProfilesTo Social Networking Sites Compiled by Patti Agatston, Ph.D. Prevention/Intervention Center Updated 1/29/09 • MySpace: • 1. MySpace provides a link in their help center to report offensive profiles. You can also enter this url to get to the help page that has a link to report harassment or threats: www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.faq&Category=6&Question=6 • 2. Educators can report an “imposter profile” that targets them on MySpace. This is also under the help center and frequently asked questions. The link for educators to report fake profiles targeting faculty members is: www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.faq&Category=6&Question=39 • 3. Parents can request that their child’s profile be removed. The link to make that request is on the parent safety tips page. Here is the url: www.myspace.com/Modules/Common/Pages/SafetyTips.aspx# • 4. Anyone can report inappropriate content. This information is also on the help page. The link is: www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.faq&Category=3&Question= 27

36. Facebook: 1. Abuse can be reported by e-mailing Facebook directly at abuse@facebook.com. There is also a link provided under the security page of Facebook. The security page link is: http://www.facebook.com/safety Scroll down to the security section and click on the link to report abuse. 2. If someone is harassing/libeling you, Facebook gives the following recommendations: “We suggest that you block the person by listing his or her name in the "Blocking People" box at the bottom of the My Privacy page. If this does not resolve the problem, please write an email to info@facebook.com from your login email address. We will need to know your name, login email address, and school. Also, please provide the name and school of the person who is harassing you along with a description of the situation.” 3. Use the e-mail info@facebook.com to report any other information that you think should not be posted.

37. Xanga: 1. Schools and parents can contact Xanga for help at the following url: http://help.xanga.com/contact/parentcontact.htm 2. Xanga also provides a link to wiredsafety’s cyber abuse hotline for severe cases of cyber bullying or other abuses such as cyberstalking, identity theft and child exploitation. The link to wired safety’s cyberabuse hotline is: http://www.wiredsafety.org/911/index.html

38. Youtube: The guidelines for uploading appropriate videos are posted on Youtube’s community guidelines. Here is the link: http://youtube.com/t/community_guidelines Anyone can flag a video as inappropriate. If Youtube reviews the video and finds it to be inappropriate, the video is shut down. If they decide to terminate the user’s account the user is prohibited from ever having another account on Youtube. Contact Us - YouTube Help - http://help.youtube.com/support/youtube/bin/request.py?contact_type=abuse Youtube now has a help center that will assist you in abuse and safety issues. Click the above link for assistance in addressing issues of cyber citizenship, hate speech, cyberbullying, etc.

39. Other Resources http://www.cyberbullying.us/resources.php Videos • Cyberbullying Summarized- Dr. Patchin's video for Sony Creative Software, detailing the basics of online aggression among youth (5:30 in length).

40. Fact Sheets • Cyberbullying Fact Sheet- introduces and details the nature and extent of cyberbullying, the contributive nuances of Internet communication, and provides general advice to respond to the problem • Emotional and Psychological Consequences Fact Sheet - specifies how adolescents are negatively affected by cyberbullying by highlighting how online aggression leads to adolescent strain and stress, which then can create developmental and functional concerns • Victimization of Adolescent Girls Fact Sheet - highlights the specific cyberbullying experiences of female teenagers through the content analysis of detailed responses received from victims • Cyberbullying Victim and Offender Warning Signs- a list of red flags that might indicate the presence of cyberbullying in the life of a child or adolescent • Cyberbullying Legal and Policy Issues Fact Sheet - providing a summary of important court cases and pending legislation that can help school districts evaluate and improve their current cyberbullying policies • Safe and Responsible Use of Social Networking Sites Fact Sheet - a guide encouraging and enabling youth to think about certain important issues when posting content on social networking sites • MySpace: Personal Information of Adolescents on the Internet- summarizes our MySpace research concerning the extent to which adolescents post personal information on their profile pages • Cyberbullying Scripts- provides parent/teenager "scripts" to promote dialogue and discussion about cyberbullying

41. Activities • Cyberbullying Word Find- a word search to be distributed to kids and adolescents to promote discussion about cyberbullying • Cyberbullying Crossword Puzzle- a crossword puzzle to be distributed to kids and adolescents to promote discussion about cyberbullying • Cyberbullying Word Scramble - unscramble the words to uncover cyberbullying‐related concepts and web sites! • Cyberbullying Scenarios- engage youth in a discussion about cyberbullying by reading them these scenarios and asking them how they would handle each situation

42. Reference Materials • Common Chat Abbreviations- defines and explains the multiple textual devices and shortcuts during computer-mediated communication such as instant messaging and chatting • How to Preserve Cyberbullying Evidence Through Screenshots - provides instructions on how to create an image of the contents of your computer desktop so that evidence of Internet harassment can be saved and used to support a case • Viewing Cyberbullying Email Headers in Various Email Programs- specifies how individuals who receive malicious emails can view the email header information to discern the Internet Service Provider to contact and alert of the situation

43. Other Materials • Cyberbullying Report Card - determine how well your school is currently dealing with cyberbullying issues • Internet Use Contract for Parents and Children/Teenagers - a formal agreement to be signed by both parties to help facilitate an open line of communication regarding Internet-related use • Cell Phone Use Contract for Parents and Children/Teenagers - se this to lay the groundwork for safe and responsible cell phone usage • Cyberbullying Incident Tracking Form - to track individual incidents of cyberbullying that occur at your school • Cyberbullying Trustee Designation - signage to let students know that you take cyberbullying seriously and can help them if they need it • Bibliography - a list of the scholarly literature (of which we are aware) that examines issues relating to cyberbullying and electronic peer victimization • Network Query Tool - can be used to identify the Internet Service Provider associated with the Internet Protocol (IP) address of a cyberbully

44. Policy • So….what makes a good policy for cyberbullying? • One that clearly defines cyberbullying, intimidation, and harassment • Graduated consequences and remedial actions • Procedures for reporting • Procedures for investigating • Language specifying that if a student’s off campus speech or behavior results in “substantial disruption of the learning environment,” the student can be disciplined. • Procedures for preventing bullying • Use simple language that students and non-technical folks can understand • Have your legal representation look to make sure you haven’t done something incorrectly or left something out. • Cross your fingers….

45. Contact Info Dr. Barbara Denson Coordinator of Instructional Technology Andrew Johnson Tower – 5th Floor 710 James Robertson Pkwy. Nashville, TN 37243 Barbara.denson@tn.gov 615.532.4757 (o) 615.653.3608 (c)

46. IBgr8t! TTYL! 