WEB CONTENT, APPS, AND SERVICES | Policy Manual

7540.02 - WEB CONTENT, APPS, AND SERVICES

Creation of Content for Web Pages/Sites, Apps, and Services
1. The Board authorizes staff members and students to create content, apps, and services (see Bylaw 0100, Definitions) that will be hosted by the Board on its servers or District-affiliated servers and/or published on the Internet. The content, apps, and services must comply with all applicable Board policies, applicable State and Federal laws (e.g., copyright laws, Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)), and reflect the professional image/brand of the District, its employees, and students. Content, apps, and services must be consistent with the Board's Mission Statement and staff-created web content, services, and apps are subject to prior review and approval of the Superintendent or designee before being published on the Internet and/or used with students.
  1. In accordance with Florida law, no prohibited application as identified by the Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) shall be installed or utilized on a Board-owned WCD. Upon notice of any changes to DMS's list of prohibited applications, District employees shall have fifteen (15) calendar days to remove such applications.
  2. Student-created content, apps, and services are subject to Policy 5722 - School-Sponsored Student Publications and Productions.
  3. The creation of content, apps, and services by students must be done under the supervision of a professional staff member.
Purpose of Content of District Web Pages/Sites, Apps, and Services
1. The purpose of content, apps, and services hosted by the Board on its servers or District-affiliated servers is to educate, inform, and communicate. The following criteria shall be used to guide the development of such content, apps, and services:
  1. Educate
    
    Content should be suitable for and usable by students and teachers to support the curriculum and the Board’s objectives as listed in the Board's strategic plan.
  2. Inform
    
    Content may inform the community about the school, teachers, students, or departments, including information about curriculum, events, class projects, student activities, and departmental policies.
  3. Communicate
    
    Content may communicate information about the plans, policies, and operations of the District to members of the public and other persons who may be affected by District matters.
2. The information contained on the Board's website(s) should reflect and support the Board’s mission statement, educational philosophy, and the school improvement process.
3. When the content includes a photograph or information relating to a student, the Board will abide by the provisions of Policy 8330 - Student Records.
4. Under no circumstances is District-created content, apps, and services to be used for commercial purposes, advertising, political lobbying or to provide financial gains for any individual. Included in this prohibition is the fact no content contained on the District’s website may:
  1. include statements or other items that support or oppose a candidate for public office, the investigation, prosecution or recall of a public official, or passage of a tax levy or bond issue;
  2. link to a website of another organization if the other website includes such a message; or
  3. communicate information that supports or opposes any labor organization or any action by, on behalf of, or against any labor organization.
5. Under no circumstances is staff member-created content, apps, and services, including personal web pages/sites, to be used to post student progress reports, grades, class assignments, or any other similar class-related material. Employees are required to use the Board‑specified website, app, or service (e.g., FOCUS) for the purpose of conveying information to students and/or parents.
6. Staff members are prohibited from requiring students to go to the staff member's personal web pages/sites (including, but not limited to, their Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest pages) to check grades, obtain class assignments and/or class-related materials, and/or to turn in assignments.
7. If a staff member creates content, apps, and services related to his/her class, it must be hosted on the Board's server or a District‑affiliated server.
8. Unless the content, apps, and services contains student personally-identifiable information, Board websites, apps, and web services that are created by students and/or staff members that are posted on the Internet should not be password protected or otherwise contain restricted access features, whereby only employees, student(s), or other limited groups of people can access the site. Community members, parents, employees, staff, students, and other website users will generally be given full access to the Board’s website(s), apps, and services.
9. Web content, apps, and services should reflect an understanding that both internal and external audiences will be viewing the information.
10. School web pages/sites, apps, and services must be located on Board-owned or District‑affiliated servers.
11. The Superintendent or designee shall prepare administrative procedures defining the rules and standards applicable to the use of the Board's website and the creation of web content, apps, and services by staff and students.
12. The Board retains all proprietary rights related to the design of web content, apps, and services that are hosted on Board-owned or District-affiliated servers, absent written agreement to the contrary.
13. Students who want their class work to be displayed on the Board's website must have written parent permission and expressly license its display without cost to the Board.
14. Prior written parent permission is necessary for a student to be identified by name on the Board's website.
Website Accessibility
1. The District is committed to providing persons with disabilities an opportunity equal to that of persons without disabilities to participate in the District’s programs, benefits, and services, including those delivered through electronic and information technology, except where doing so would impose an undue burden or create a fundamental alteration. The District is further committed to ensuring persons with disabilities are able to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same benefits and services within the same timeframe as persons without a disability, with substantially equivalent ease of use; that they are not excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination in any District programs, services, and activities delivered online, as required by Section 504 and Title II of the ADA and their implementing regulations; and that they receive effective communication of the District’s programs, services, and activities delivered online.
2. The District adopts this policy to fulfill this commitment and affirm its intention to comply with the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794, 34 C.F.R. Part 104, and Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 12131 and 28 C.F.R. Part 35 in all respects.
  1. Technical Standards
    
    The District will adhere to the technical standards of compliance identified at Brevardschools.org. The District measures the accessibility of online content and functionality according to the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level and the Web. Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA 1.1) for web content.
  2. Web Accessibility Coordinator
    
    The Board designates its Section 504/ADA Compliance Coordinator(s) as the District's web accessibility coordinator(s). That individual(s) is responsible for coordinating and implementing this policy.
    
    The District’s Web Accessibility Coordinator(s) can be reached at 321-633-1000 ext 11280.
  3. Third Party Content
    1. Links included on the Board’s website(s), services, and apps that pertain to its programs, benefits, and/or services must also meet the above criteria and comply with State and Federal law (e.g. copyright laws, CIPA, Section 504, ADA, and COPPA). While the District strives to provide access through its website to online content provided or developed by third parties (including vendors, video-sharing websites, and other sources of online content) that is in an accessible format, that is not always feasible. The District's administrators and staff, however, are aware of this requirement with respect to the selection of online content provided to students. The District's web accessibility coordinator or his/her designees will vet online content available on its website that is related to the District’s programs, benefits, and/or services for compliance with these criteria for all new content placed on the District's website after the adoption of this policy.
    2. Nothing in the preceding paragraph, however, shall prevent the District from including links on the Board’s website(s) to:
      1. recognized news/media outlets (e.g., local newspapers' websites, local television stations' websites), or
      2. websites, services, and/or apps that are developed and hosted by outside vendors or organizations that are not part of the District’s program, benefits, or services.
    3. The Board recognizes that such third party websites may not contain age‑appropriate advertisements that are consistent with the requirements of Policy 9700.01, AP 9700B, and State and Federal law.
  4. Regular Audits
    1. The District, under the direction of the web accessibility coordinator(s) or his/her/their designees, will, at regular intervals, audit the District's online content and measure this content against the technical standards adopted above.
    2. If problems are identified through the audit, such problems will be documented, evaluated, and, if necessary, remediated within a reasonable period of time.
  5. Reporting Concerns or Possible Violations
    
    If any student, prospective student, employee, guest, or visitor believes that the District has violated the technical standards in its online content, s/he may contact the web accessibility coordinator with any accessibility concerns. S/He may also file a formal complaint utilizing the procedures set out in Board Policy 2260 and Policy 2260.01 relating to Section 504 and Title II.
Instructional Use of Apps and Web Services
1. The Board authorizes the use of apps and services to supplement and enhance learning opportunities for students either in the classroom or for extended learning outside the classroom. Students are prohibited from accessing social media platforms through the use of Internet access provided by the District unless expressly directed by a teacher solely for educational purposes.
2. The Board requires the Chief Information Officer pre-approve each app and/or service that a teacher intends to use to supplement and enhance student learning. To be approved, the app and/or service must have a FERPA-compliant privacy policy, as well as comply with all requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
Periodic Training

The District will provide periodic training for its employees who are responsible for creating or distributing information with online content so that these employees are aware of this policy and understand their roles and responsibilities with respect to web design, documents, and multimedia content.
One-Way Communication Using District Web Content, Apps, and Services
1. The District is authorized to use web pages/sites, apps, and services to promote school activities and inform stakeholders and the general public about District news and operations. However, the use of TikTok or any successor platform is prohibited on District-owned devices, through Internet access provided by the District, or as a platform to communicate or promote any District school, school-sponsored club, extra-curricular organization, or athletic team.
2. Such communications constitute public records that will be archived.
3. When the Board or Superintendent designates communications distributed via District web pages/sites, apps, and services to be one-way communication, public comments are not solicited or desired, and the website, app, or service is to be considered a nonpublic forum.
4. If the District uses an app and/or web service that does not allow the District to block or deactivate public comments (e.g., Facebook, which does not allow comments to be turned off, or Twitter, which does not permit users to disable private messages or mentions/replies), the District’s use of that apps and web service will be subject to Policy 7544 – Use of Social Media, unless the District is able to automatically withhold all public comments.
5. If unsolicited public comments can be automatically withheld, the District will retain the comments in accordance with its adopted record retention schedule (see AP 8310A – Requests for Public Records), but it will not review or consider those comments.

Revised 4/12/05
Revised 4/26/11
Revised 10/28/14
Revised 3/12/24