Acceptable Use Policies (AUP)

Description

Acceptable Use Policies are documents usually drafted and created by a school’s administration, faculty committee members, and possibly community members.  The AUP provides a general statement of the school’s position on technology and Internet use. The purpose of an AUP is to describe the acceptable and unacceptable uses of technology and the Internet within the school or through the use of school property.  In addition, AUPs outline the rules and obligations of acceptable use and provide the consequences for unacceptable actions.  These documents act as contracts between a school and its students.  AUPs are signed by both parties, often require the signatures of parents/guardians, and should be reviewed by a school attorney.  Schools Boards approve these documents.  In addition, AUPs carry legal weight and may legally protect a school or a district.

What is an AUP?

http://www.schoollink.org/twin/Acceptable%20Use%20Policies.html

Additional Resources:

Rationale and Factors to Consider

Trust – Due to the unreliability of filtering software, many schools implement Acceptable Use Policies to administer technology use in the buildings and curricula.  Instead of depending solely on a filtering device, the school additionally entrusts and relies upon students to make decisions to block objectionable or unacceptable material.

 

Responsibility – Critics argue that the use of filtering systems indirectly sends a message of distrust to the members of a school.  Conversely, it is argued that AUPs often promote a positive sense of collaboration and community within a school that is embodied in trust.  Placing the trust of technology use in student choices and decisions supports the idea of building responsibility and decision-making skills in maturing students.  

 

Censorship and Protection – On the other hand, there are critics who feel that AUPs (and filtering systems) are a form of censorship inhibiting the freedom of speech described in the First Amendment.  They perceive that any means used to protect students will also, in turn, censor information and communication available to them.  Under AUPs, schools can refuse to publish certain types of student work, which may be considered a limit on an individual’s freedom of expression.  At the same time, school districts are held accountable to parents, community members, state standards, and taxpayers to protect students from potentially harmful, unacceptable, and inappropriate material and communication.