Committee clears draft web-content policy choices; asks tech staff to advise on technical standards and recommends closing public comments on district pages

The committee reviewed a revised draft of the web-content, apps and services policy and selected core policy options while asking the technology team to review technical standards and advise on hosting, single sign-on and audit requirements.

Why it matters: Policy governs the creation, hosting and publication of staff- and student-created web pages, apps and services. It touches on student privacy (FERPA), ownership of staff-created instructional materials, technical support and who approves third-party apps.

Policy choices and discussion: Committee members approved options that (1) authorize both staff and students to create web pages and use apps/services for instruction under staff supervision, (2) require that staff-hosted instructional content be hosted on district-supported infrastructure (not personal pages) and (3) require annual training and a review process for instructional apps prior to routine classroom use. Committee members were split on whether student-created content posted to district websites should be publicly accessible; they agreed such content that includes students’ personally identifiable information must be protected.

Technical and legal follow-ups: Staff asked technology staff (Alex) to review the technical-standards options and return a recommendation about hosting, single sign-on (Clever) compatibility and acceptable training frequency. The committee also directed staff to remove references to an internal administrative guideline that the district did not have (9700b) and to eliminate two drafting paragraphs about automatically withheld comments; members expressed a preference to disable public comments on district social-media pages and rely on private message channels and a superintendent contact form for public input.

Ownership questions: Committee members discussed work-product ownership for staff-created lesson plans and instructional materials. The discussion highlighted trade-offs between recognizing teacher-created materials and district ownership when resources are created during paid hours or as part of assigned duties; committee members did not adopt a new ownership rule and asked staff and legal counsel to clarify existing practice.

Next steps: Technology staff will review technical options and training cadence; staff will remove the nonexistent guideline reference and the drafting paragraphs about hidden comments; staff will bring the revised policy and a technical recommendation to the board.