A critique of the Upper Dublin district-­level Internet Usage/ Acceptable Use Policy. The paper includes a copy of the policy itself and references to relevant literature on this issue.

1. Ryan White
GRIT 704: Practicum and Portfolio
October 14, 2013
Acceptable Use Policy Critique: Upper Dublin School District
Acceptable use policies, also known as acceptable usage policy or fair usage policy, is a
set of rules and regulations set forth by an owner or administrator of a telecommunications
network, website, or any large computer system. AUP documents are designed to relieve
potential legal action that may be taken by a user against a corporation, school, university,
business, internet provider or any organization that provides networking or internet services. It
is common practice that new users of such organizations sign an AUP release form before use is
granted. For this reason, it is important that AUP documents are written in a clear, concise
manner to inform its users of the appropriate and inappropriate uses of the service and the
sanctions that may exist when the acceptable use of the policy has been broken.
This paper will provide a comprehensive critique of the Upper Dublin School District
AUP with comparisons to that of the School District of Philadelphia.
Upper Dublin School District AUP breakdown:
•
Access: Upper Dublin’s AUP is located on the district’s website under the
administration drop down tab. By clicking Technology Services and scrolling to
the bottom of the page you can find a link titled “acceptable use policy for
students.” The link takes you to the official AUP document in PDF format. The
link is listed as a bullet point under the section titled “Internet Safety Links.” If a
parent or user was looking to access the document it would be difficult to locate
as it is the very last link on the technology page.
•
Purpose: “It is Board policy that the use of any and all information and
telecommunications resources accessed through the Upper Dublin Network
Services (UDNS) will be legal, in adherence with standards of the District and the
community, and solely for educational purposes consistent with the curricular

2. goals of the District.” – The purpose of the document is clear and concise and
goes on to define UDNS as well as the meaning of “educational purposes.”
•
The district AUP does not thoroughly explain what illegal use pertains to but
instead only briefly lists activities that would be considered illegal under local,
state or federal law. “Use of the network or its hardware or software
components for any activities considered criminal under local, state, or federal
law is prohibited, including knowledgeable vandalism of, destruction of,
tampering with or unauthorized entry into computers, files or software.” I have
noticed that in other AUP documents illegal actions are clearly described.
•
Privacy: The district clearly states that any use of the network or internet service
as well as district equipment can be monitored at any time from a remote
location.
•
Parent Notification/Responsibility- The district clearly states that no filtering
software is 100% effective but will closely monitor and censor any inappropriate
content that the students might have access to at school. They also acknowledge
that it is not reasonable to have the district monitor the wide range of student
social values in their use of the internet and responsibility for transmitting a
particular set of family values falls on the shoulders of the parents or guardians.
•
District Limitation of Liability- District places no guarantee that the services
provided will be error-free or without defect. This section also states that users
will indemnify or reimburse the district for any damages caused by their
inappropriate use of the system.
•
Due Process- Again, the district reiterates that they will fully cooperate with
local, State, or federal officials in any investigation concerning the districts
information systems. There is no mention of specific disciplinary actions.
•
Search and Seizure- Users have no privacy expectation in the contents of their
personal files or regarding what appears on their screen. Individual searches may
be conducted if there is “reasonable suspicion that a user has violated the law or
district policies.”

3. •
Copyright- Again, the vague language of document only states that the students
are to abide by the Superintendent’s copyright procedures and that infringement
on these procedures will be punished in accordance with the student disciplinary
code. “Teachers will instruct students in appropriate research and citation
practices.”
Conclusion:
I recently came across an article written by Bradley Mitchell titled “Acceptable Use
Policy” where he mentions that the best “AUPs incorporate "what if" scenarios that illustrate
the usefulness of the policy in real-world terms.” After reviewing the Upper Dublin School
District AUP, I do believe that much of the language in the document is vague with little
description or explanation as to what the do’s and don’ts are when accessing the district
network or internet services. The School District of Philadelphia’s AUP provides circumstances
of inappropriate use that are clearly listed under each section. Upper Dublin’s AUP simply
implies that the reader understands what the appropriate and inappropriate uses are. Mitchell
again states in his article that AUP writers should ask themselves “Have scenarios been
documented unambiguously for the key policy issues? Descriptions of so-called "use cases" or
"situational analyses" help everyone to relate the policy to real life situations especially those
based on actual past experience.” The Philadelphia SD AUP appears to follow this advice
granting it a dual role as to not only serve as a legal document to protect the district in a legal
situation, but also as an informational tool to assist users in understanding what is right and
wrong when using district internet and network services. In my opinion, Upper Dublin’s AUP
only serves to protect the district against legal action. A more comprehensive document may
lend assistance to the district when trying to avoid the inappropriate use of their services.
Citations:
School District of Upper Dublin AUP
School District of Philadelphia AUP

4. Mitchell, Bradley; Acceptable Use Policy
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/filetransferprotocol/a/aup_use_policy.htm