Policy addresses mistrust towards YISD employees!
BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!
On Wednesday, January 19, the School Board will consider and vote to approve a policy update that will prohibit teachers and employees from using their personal computers in the district and will authorize administration to seize personal data storage devices form employees such as USB drives and data-imaging devices without probable cause, which appears to be in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This policy change will now provide full access and employee notice, that system users have no privacy expectations in YISD.
It is unfortunate, that this policy will prohibit teachers, teacher aides, clerks, custodians, and other employee attending our local colleges and universities to use their personal laptops on YISD property. Employees will be required to leave their personal laptops at home or in their vehicles (subject to theft) and will not be allowed to work on advancing their education before work, during their lunch, or after work. This new policy will also prevent them from meeting at work with their colleagues to advance their education, while on their personal computers. This is bad policy that demoralizes and cast a shadow of mistrust on district employees. These same district employees have made the district a “Recognized”, and Broad Prize finalist district. Ysleta Teachers Association urges the YISD School Board to vote it down and we urge administration to begin creating a positive atmosphere of trust and appreciation to the employees that impact our future.
Click here to review proposed policy CQ (Local).
Click here for complete January 19, 2011 Board Book
Part II Policy Update
January 19, 2010
Last night the School Board met in a workshop session, and thanks to the persistence of Trustee Haggerty, some changes were made to the policy language to improve it, by deleting the first sentence. There is still an issue with the second paragraph in the section titled “Personal Devices on the Network” (see below). YTA agrees with the intent of the policy to protect the district intranet network from potential security breech that might put sensitive data in the wrong hands, but the blanket approach is not the way to do it.
Dr. Zolkoski made a statement that “anyone who steps on his district property, is subject to search.” YTA adamantly disagrees with this statement and further insist on it being a Fourth Amendment violation. YTA leadership will submit suggestive language to the policy to make it clear on the intent without jeopardizing the trust and integrity of the employees as well as not violating our Fourth Amendment Right.
Haggerty Proposal accepted by Board last night:
PERSONAL DEVICES ON THE NETWORK
All computer hardware used for YISD purposes or located on YISD property must be the legitimate property of the Ysleta Independent School District. Connecting to the YISD Intranet network (within the District Firewall), either by ethernet cable or wireless, using a personally owned device (computer, tablet pc, iPad, etc.) is not permitted without written approval of the Superintendent or designee is required for any exceptions to this policy.
Any employee using a data storage device (e.g. USB Flash or External HD), or image-recording device on District premises thereby gives permission to the District to inspect the data storage device or image-recording device at any time with personnel of the District’s choosing and to analyze any files, data, data storage devices or media that may be within or conectable to the data or image-recording device in question. Employees who do not wish such inspections to be done on their personal data storage devices or imaging devices should not bring such items to work at all.
