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According to the WEA Legal offices, 3 of the top 20 reasons for teachers to be reported to the OSPI and possibly terminated dealt with misuse of e-mails and internet violations. District e-mail is district property and can be viewed by anyone filing a public records request with the school district.
The district does not have the time or interest to monitor your daily email. However, if they have reason to believe an employee is using district e-mail improperly they have the right to review your email.
As a general rule use the web and e-mail only for professional use and never put anything in an e-mail that you wouldn’t be willing to share with your mother.
District policy 6255AP says, in part, the following regarding the use of district email:
Employees are subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal for the following inappropriate behaviors:
Circumventing or attempting to circumvent security and/or authentication measures.
Use of network resources to commit forgery or to create a forged instrument.
Falsifying one's identity to others while using the network.
Sending or retrieving copyrighted materials without permission.
Disclosure of confidential or proprietary information to a third party by electronic means.
SECTION III - EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
SECTION D - ACADEMIC FREEDOM
The certificated employee shall be permitted academic freedom and judgment in the implementation and execution of the Board approved and promulgated curriculum, as long as said exercise of freedom and judgment is not in conflict with District curriculum.
No mechanical or electronic device shall be used in any classroom or brought in on a temporary basis, by means of which any person shall be able to listen to or record the proceedings of any class or parent/teacher conference without prior permission obtained from the teacher and approved by the building principal.
In October of 2007 the CVEA adopted as policy a statement of academic freedom. While academic freedom in the classroom has historically been an issue, the increasing pressure brought forth by the No Child Left Behind Act has created an even greater reason to be concerned. Standardized tests paired with unreasonable goals are producing a move toward standardized teaching and scripted lessons.
An excerpt from the policy is printed below.
Please read through it and discuss it with your colleagues. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns.
We recognize that the Central Valley School District Board of Directors and appropriate administrative staff maintain the right and responsibility to choose appropriate curriculum, including textual materials. We further recognize that said individuals may, within the confines of constitutional law, Washington State educational law, and relevant contracts, require the teaching of said curriculum. However, we also agree with the Federal Court’s opinion in Cary v. Board of Education, 427 F. Supp. 94S (D. Colo. 1977), affd, S98 F.2d S3S, S43 (lOth Cir. 1979), to the effect that teachers cannot be made to simply read from a script prepared or approved by the school board. Teaching is an art. For such reasons, the implementation and teaching of approved school district curriculum is protected by each individual teacher’s first amendment rights and academic freedom.
The CVEA is interested in reforming a grievance committee. If you might be interested in helping your fellow teachers, in learning about how the system works and not having to commit large amounts of time, this could be for you. The plan is to start slow, pick up some informal training this year and shoot for next year to be operational.
Contact me at the office if you think you could be interested. Thanks, Dick
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