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7000 Property » 7540.06 Electronic Mail

7540.06 Electronic Mail

7540.06 - PROPER USE OF E-MAIL ACCOUNT

E-mail messages transmitted or received through the District's e-mail system may be a public record or an educational record that needs to be maintained by the District in accordance with Policy 8310 – Public Records or Policy 8330 – Student Records, and made available for inspection and/or copying upon request by a member of the public, or a parent or student age eighteen (18) or older. In addition, an e-mail may constitute electronically stored information that is subject to a Litigation Hold pursuant to Policy 8315 – Information Management. The following procedures are established so that the District’s e-mail and Internet capabilities are not compromised, and e-mail messages are maintained in accordance with State and Federal law. For this reason, no user has any reasonable expectation that e-mail messages shall remain confidential.

OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS:
     
A. Types of E-Mail Prohibited
 
1. General Rule: Do not put anything in an e-mail that you would not put on School District letterhead.
 
2. Do not use the District’s e-mail system to send announcements such as items for sale.
      
3. Do not forward or start e-mails with jokes.
            
4. Do not subscribe to the following through your District e-mail account:
      
a. daily jokes,
      
b. daily horoscopes,
      
c. daily recipes,
      
d. vacation information, or
      
e. similar items of information or amusement.
      
Please use your own personal e-mail account for such items.
      
5. Do not respond to chain letters via your District e-mail account. These letters often come from outside sources, which increase the risk of e-mail based virus infection. Such e-mails multiply exponentially, and cost the District in terms of time, money and resources.
      
6. Do not use your District e-mail account to communicate with friends and family throughout the work day, except in case of emergency and when they cannot be reached by telephone.
 
B. Signature Blocks
      
E-mail messages from employees must contain the following signature block:
      
Employee’s Name
      
Position/Title
      
 Building; Address; Phone Number
      
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This message may contain confidential information, including, but not limited to, student personally identifiable information. Such information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, printing, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. If you receive this e-mail message in error, please immediately notify me by telephone at 920-625-3531 to arrange for the return of the original document to me. Please also delete the message from your computer. Thank you.

PUBLIC RECORD CONSIDERATIONS:*

E-mail messages that are kept by the District and that serve to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the District are public records, unless they meet one of the statutory exceptions, and must be maintained in accordance with the Board’s Records Retention Policy and made available for inspection and/or copying by the public. The length of retention of an e-mail message is dependent upon its content and the purpose it serves. The content, transactional information, and any attachments associated with an e-mail message are considered a record if they meet the statutory criteria.

For the purposes of this guideline, there are four (4) categories of e-mail retention: non-record messages, transitory messages, intermediate messages, and permanent messages.
 
A. Categories of E-mail
 
1. Non-Record Materials
      
E-mail messages that do not meet the definition of a public record may be deleted at any time, unless they become part of some official record as a result of special circumstances or must be preserved pursuant to Policy 8315 – "Information Management" and AG 8315 – "Litigation Hold Procedure." These types of messages may include:
     
Non-District  Publications
      
Publications, promotional material from vendors, and similar materials that are "publicly available" to anyone, are not official records unless specifically incorporated into other official records. In the electronic world, this includes listserv messages (other than those you post in your official capacity), unsolicited promotional material ("spam"), files copied or downloaded from Internet sites, etc.
      
      

These items may be immediately deleted, or maintained in a "Non-Record" mail box and deleted later, just as you might trash the unwanted publication or promotional flyer.
 
2. Official Records – Retain As Required
      
E-mail messages that meet the definition of a public record are official records and must be scheduled, retained and disposed of as such. These official records fall into the following categories:
 
a. Transient Retention
      
Much of the communication via e-mail has a very limited administrative value. For instance, an e-mail message notifying employees of an upcoming meeting would only have value until the meeting has been attended or the employee receiving the message has marked the date and time in his/her calendar.
      
Transitory messages do not set policy, establish guidelines or procedures, certify a transaction or become a receipt. The informal tone of transitory messages might be compared to a communication that might take place during a telephone conversation or conversation in an office hallway. Transient documents include telephone messages, drafts and other limited documents that serve to convey information of temporary importance in lieu of oral communication. Transient documents should be retained in accordance with the Board’s Records Retention Policy and the Board's Information Management Policy.
            
b. Intermediate Retention
      
E-mail messages that have more significant administrative, legal and/or fiscal value but are not scheduled as transient or permanent should be categorized under other appropriate record series. These may include (but are not limited to):
 
1) General Correspondence: Includes internal correspondence (letters, memos); also, correspondence from various individuals, companies, and organizations requesting information pertaining to the District and legal interpretations and other miscellaneous inquiries. This correspondence is informative (it does not attempt to influence Board/District policy).
      
Retention: (See Records Retention Policy; ex. one (1) year, then destroy).
 
2) Routine Correspondence: Referral letters, requests for routine information, or publications provided to the District, which are answered by standard form letters.
      
Retention: (See Records Retention Policy; ex. six (6) months, then destroy.)
      
3) Monthly and Weekly Reports: Document status of on-going projects and issues; advise supervisors of various events and issues.
      
Retention: (See Records Retention Policy and Information Management Policy).
      
4) Minutes of Staff Meetings: Minutes and supporting records documenting internal policy decisions.
      
Retention: (See Records Retention Policy and Information Management Policy).
 
c. Permanent Retention
      
E-mail messages that have significant administrative, legal and/or fiscal value and are scheduled as permanent also should be categorized under the appropriate record series. These may include (but are not limited to):
 
1) Executive Correspondence: Correspondence from the District Administrator, Treasurer, or other administrator that deals with significant aspects of the administration of their offices/buildings. Correspondence includes information concerning Board/District policies/guidelines, program, fiscal and personnel matters.
      
Retention: (See Records Retention Policy; and Information Management Policy).
      
2) Departmental/Building Policies and Procedures: Includes published reports, unpublished substantive reports and policy studies.
      
Retention: (See Records Retention Policy and Information Policy).
 
Not all e-mail messages will fall into these record series. For more suggested retention periods, consult the Board’s Records Retention Policy.
 
B. Mailbox Management
      
Guidelines and Best Practices for Managing E-Mail
 
1. Record Copy E-Mail
      
E-mail users should be aware that e-mail messages are often widely distributed to a number of recipients. Determining which individual maintains the record copy of the message, i.e. the original message that must be retained per the retention schedule, is vital to e-mail management. If the holder of the record copy is not identified and aware of his/her responsibility, the District may find that no one retains the message or that everyone retains the message. Neither of these scenarios is appropriate.
      
For example, Board/District policy/guidelines documents that are transmitted to multiple recipients via an e-mail system need not be maintained by each recipient beyond his/her need for this information if record copy responsibility is established so that the record is maintained by some office, employee or agent for its established retention period. In this example, a logical record copy responsibility rests with the creator or original distributor of the policy/guideline document. Prompt deletion of duplicate copies of e-mail messages from an e-mail system makes the system as a whole much easier to manage and reduces disk space consumed by redundant information.
 
Generally speaking, the individual who sends an e-mail message should maintain the record copy of the message. However, the varied uses and wide distribution of e-mail may result in many exceptions to this rule that will have to be dealt with internally.
 
2. Filing
      
Non-transitory e-mail messages should be filed in a way that enhances their accessibility and that facilitates records management tasks. The IT staff will advise users on the set up or modifying of e-mail systems to facilitate records management and appropriate filing systems. Procedures and systems configurations may vary according to the building’s/users’ needs and the particular hardware and software in use.
      
In addition to the IN and OUT boxes that come with your mail account, you usually have the option of creating other "mailboxes" or "folders". After brief periods in your IN-OUT boxes, messages should be transferred to other boxes, based on business and retention requirements.
 
Employees should be responsible for classifying messages they send or receive according to content, the District’s folder/directory structure, and established records series.
 
3. Distribution Lists
 
If you send to a "distribution list" (not a listserv, but a specified list of individuals), you must also keep a copy of the members of that list for as long as you are required to keep the message itself.
      
4. Subject Lines
      
Fill in the subject line on your e-mail both to help your recipient identify and file messages, and to help you file your OUT box messages that must be retained for some period. Subject lines should be as descriptive as possible.
 
C. Mailbox Maintenance and Cleanup
 
1. Each e-mail user is responsible for keeping his/her e-mail account at a manageable size.
      
2. If you do not maintain your mailbox and permit its size to grow beyond the recommended levels, your mailbox could become corrupt. The District's staff is not responsible if the mailbox cannot be recovered due to lack of user maintenance.
      
3. Your District e-mail account is not meant to be a storage folder. Before developing your personal mailbox maintenance and cleanup procedure, you must review the District's Public Records Policy, Information Management Policy, and any accompanying administrative guidelines to these policies. Any questions regarding these policies should be directed to the District Administrator.
            
4. If you want to retain all e-mail items with your work records, you must implement a storage solution outside your e-mail account. Such records shall continue to be the Board's property and may not be removed from the Board's premises for any reasons. .

© Neola 2011
7540.06 - ELECTRONIC MAIL

The Board of Education is committed to the effective use of electronic mail ("e-mail") by all District staff and Board members in the conduct of their official duties. This policy, as well as any guidelines developed pursuant to it are intended to establish a framework for the proper use of e-mail as an official business tool.

When available, the District's e-mail system must be used by employees for any official District e-mail communications. Personal e-mail accounts on providers other than the District's e-mail system may be blocked at any time due to concerns for network security, SPAM, or virus protection. Furthermore, District staff are expected to exercise reasonable judgment and prudence and take appropriate precautions to prevent viruses from entering the District's network when opening or forwarding any e-mails or attachments to e-mails that originate from unknown sources.

District staff may join list servs or other e-mail services (e.g. RSS feeds) that pertain to their responsibilities in the District, provided these list servs or other e-mail services do not exceed the staff member's e-mail storage allotment. Staff members are required to keep their inbox and folders organized by regularly reviewing e-mail messages, appropriately saving e-mails that constitute a public record or student record and e-mails that are subject to a Litigation Hold, and purging all other e-mails that have been read. If the staff member is concerned that his/her e-mail storage allotment is not sufficient, s/he should contact the District's technology coordinator (IT staff). Similarly, if a staff member is unsure whether s/he has adequate storage or should subscribe to a list serv or RSS feed, s/he should discuss the issue with the District Administrator f.

Public Records

The District complies with all Federal and State laws pertaining to electronic mail. Accordingly, e-mails written by or sent to District staff and Board members may be public records, or education records if their content includes personally identifiable information about a student. E-mails that are public records are subject to retention and disclosure, upon request, in accordance with Policy 8310 – Public Records. E-mails that are student records should be maintained pursuant to Policy 8330 – Student Records. Finally e-mails may constitute electronically stored information ("ESI") that may be subject to a Litigation Hold pursuant to Policy 8315 – Information Management.

State and Federal law exempt certain documents and information within documents from disclosure, no matter what their form. Therefore, certain e-mails may be exempt from disclosure or it may be necessary to redact certain content in the e-mails before the e–mails are released pursuant to a public records request, the request of a parent or eligible student to review education records, or a duly served discovery request.

E-mails written by or sent to District staff and Board members by means of their private e-mail account may be public records if the content of the e-mails concerns District business, or education records if their content includes personally identifiable information about a student. Consequently, staff shall comply with a District request to produce copies of e-mail in their possession that are either public records or education records, or that constitute ESI that is subject to a Litigation Hold, even if such records reside on a computer owned by an individual staff member, or are accessed through an e-mail account not controlled by the District.

Retention

Pursuant to State and Federal law, e-mails that are public records or education records, and e-mails that are subject to a Litigation Hold shall be retained.

The District maintains archives of all e-mails sent and/or received by users of the District's e-mail service. Staff members are required to forward copies of any e-mails received in their personal e-mail account(s) not affiliated with the District server to their District e-mail account so that these records are also archived for future retrieval, if necessary.

Unauthorized E-mail

The Board does not authorize the use of its proprietary computers and computer network ("network") to accept, transmit, or distribute unsolicited bulk e-mail sent through the Internet to network e-mail accounts. In addition, Internet e-mail sent, or caused to be sent, to or through the network that makes use of or contains invalid or forged headers, invalid or non-existent domain names, or other means of deceptive addressing will be deemed to be counterfeit. Any attempt to send or cause such counterfeit e-mail to be sent to or through the network is unauthorized. Similarly, e-mail that is relayed from any third party's e-mail servers without the permission of that third party, or which employs similar techniques to hide or obscure the source of the e-mail, is also an unauthorized use of the network. The Board does not authorize the harvesting or collection of network e-mail addresses for the purposes of sending unsolicited e–mail. The Board reserves the right to take all legal and technical steps available to prevent unsolicited bulk e-mail or other unauthorized e-mail from entering, utilizing, or remaining within the network. Nothing in this policy is intended to grant any right to transmit or send e-mail to, or through, the network. The Board's failure to enforce this policy in every instance in which it might have application does not amount to a waiver of its rights.

Unauthorized use of the network in connection with the transmission of unsolicited bulk e-mail, including the transmission of counterfeit e-mail, may result in civil and criminal penalties against the sender and/or possible disciplinary action.

The District retains the right to monitor or access any District e-mail accounts at any time. Users should not expect that their communications sent or received through the District e-mail system will remain confidential and personal.

Authorized Use and Training

Pursuant to Policy 7540.04, staff and Board members using the District's e-mail system shall acknowledge their review of, and intent to comply with, the District's policy on acceptable use and safety by signing and submitting Form 7540.04 F1 annually.

Furthermore, staff using the District's e-mail system shall satisfactorily complete training, pursuant to Policy 7540.04, regarding the proper use and retention of e-mail annually.

© Neola 2009