San Francisco Unified School District and County Office of Education
Board Policy 1113
District And School Web Sites
This Board Policy applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.
To enhance communication with students, parents/guardians, staff, and community members, the Board of Education encourages the development and ongoing maintenance of District and school web sites. Web sites shall be aligned with the District’s plans for communications and media relations.
The Superintendent or designee may establish design standards for District and school web sites in order to maintain a consistent identity, professional appearance, and ease of use.
The District is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities have an opportunity equal to that of their nondisabled peers to participate in the District’s programs, benefits, and services, including those delivered through electronic and information technology. The District will ensure compliance, as required by Section 504 and Title II and those statutes’ implementing regulations, that individuals with disabilities are not excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination in any of the District’s programs, services, and activities delivered online; and that they receive effective communications with the District’s programs, services, and activities delivered online.
The District’s design standards shall address the accessibility of District-sponsored web sites to individuals with disabilities, including compatibility with commonly used assistive technologies. This standard shall apply to all new, newly-added, or modified online content and functionality on District-sponsored web sites.
Content
The Superintendent or designee shall develop content regulations for District and school web sites, consistent with law and Board policy.
Staff, students, or other persons may submit materials for web publication to the District or school webmaster who shall ensure that the content adheres to District guidelines and policies. In addition to the guidelines developed by the Superintendent or designee, District and school web sites shall not include or link to content that is obscene, libelous, or slanderous, or which creates a clear and present danger of inciting students to commit unlawful acts, violate school rules, or substantially disrupt the school’s orderly operation.
The Superintendent or designee should ensure that copyright laws are not violated in the use of material on District or school web sites.
Any links to external web sites shall support the educational mission and shall include a disclaimer that the District is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
The District shall not accept advertising of commercial products and services on District or school web sites.
Privacy Rights
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that web site content protects the privacy rights of students, parents/guardians, staff, Board members, and other individuals. Phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses of students or their parents/guardians shall not be published on a District or school web page.
Because of the wide accessibility of the Internet and potential risk to students, personally identifiable photograph(s), videos or images of a student shall not be published without the prior written consent of the student’s parent/guardian.
Home addresses, personal telephone numbers, and non-District email addresses of District or school staff shall not be published on a District or school web page without prior written consent of the employee.
District and school web sites shall not post the home address or home telephone number of any elected or appointed official including, but not limited to, a Board member or public safety official, without the prior written permission of that individual. (Government Code 3307.5, 6254.21, 6254.24)
Legal Reference:
EDUCATION CODE
35182.5 Contracts for advertising
35258 Internet access to school accountability report cards
48907 Exercise of free expression; rules and regulations
48950 Speech and other communication
49061 Definitions, directory information
49073 Release of directory information
60048 Commercial brand names, contracts or logos
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE
22580-22582 Digital privacy
22584-22585 Student Online Personal Information Protection Act
22586 Preschool and prekindergarten privacy
GOVERNMENT CODE
3307.5 Publishing identity of public safety officers
6254.21 Publishing addresses and telephone numbers of officials
6254.24 Definition of public safety official
11135 Nondiscrimination; accessibility to state web sites
PENAL CODE
14029.5 Prohibition against publishing personal information of person in witness protection program
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 17
101-122 Subject matter and scope of copyright
504 Penalties for copyright infringement
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20
1232g Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 29
705 Definitions; Vocational Rehabilitation Act
794 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; accessibility to federal web sites
UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 42
12101-12213 Americans with Disabilities Act
CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, TITLE 16
312.1-312.12 Children’s Online Privacy
CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, TITLE 34
99.1-99.67 Family Educational Rights and Privacy
104.1-104.61 Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability
COURT DECISIONS
City of San Jose v. Superior Court, (2017) 2 Cal.5th 608
Aaris v. Las Virgenes Unified School District, (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 1112
Management Resources:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS PUBLICATIONS
Dear Colleague Letter, May 26, 2011
Joint Dear Colleague Letter: Electronic Book Readers, June 2010
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PUBLICATIONS
Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities, June 2003
WORLD WIDE WEB CONSORTIUM PUBLICATIONS
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, December 2008
WEB SITES
CSBA: http://www.csba.org
California Department of Education, Web Accessibility Standards: http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/di/ws/webaccessstds.asp
California School Public Relations Association: http://www.calspra.org
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr
U.S. Department of Justice, Americans with Disabilities Act: http://www.ada.gov
World Wide Web Consortium, Web Accessibility Initiative: http://www.w3.org/wai
Please note that compare references, or “cf”, refer to CSBA model policies and do not necessarily indicate that the San Francisco Unified School District has adopted the referenced policy.