Web Page Submission Guidelines
Staff members are encouraged to publish information and student work for parents, students, the community and others on the District the district web server. The prospective audience shall be the determining factor as to which server the pages are published. Each district server will possess a different level of accessibility. The Internet server will house web pages for the entire world to access while the Intranet server will allow only computers within the district to access.
Personal Home Pages: Staff members should not link school web pages to personal home pages hosted by their private Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Photographs: Only group photographs of students may be published on the Internet, and then only if written permission is first obtained from the students' parent or guardian. Text may accompany the photograph only in a manner such that the readers do not readily match any name to a face. Only first names and last initials may be used in the text.
Copyright Issues: All web pages must strictly adhere to all copyright laws. Each author must obtain written permission from the copyright holder to publish copyrighted materials. See the Copyright in the Classroom web page for specific guidelines.
Student Work: The creators of student writings or artwork will be responsible for the accuracy of these materials and must adhere to all copyright laws. All student-created pages and original works should contain the following disclaimer: This page (or work) was created by and represents the views and opinions of the creator(s). It does not represent the views of, nor does the La Porte Independent School District or any of its employees endorse it in any way.
Personal Information: No home addresses, home phone numbers, or other personal information may appear on student-created web pages. Staff members should use caution when posting any personal information on pages published on the Internet.
Accuracy: All electronic publications are expected to conform to applicable academic standards including proper grammar, spelling, and accuracy of information.
Educational Purpose: Content of all web pages should relate to education and La Porte ISD. Student involvement in web page development is highly encouraged. No advertising of products or organizations outside the district shall be permitted without approval of the Associate Superintendent of Administration.
Other Organizations: District-recognized parent organization pages may be created and published in coordination with each campus principal. A teacher or other staff member must post the page for the organization.
External Links: Teachers and students should use caution when linking to external web sites. Check to make sure that all content on sites that are linked to is appropriate for all ages.
Internal Links: All campus home pages must contain a link that will carry the user back to the district's home page. All subsequent pages linked from the campus home page must be linked back to that home page.
Updates and Authors' names: Campus pages should include the date of the last update andthe name of the author(s) of the page. A schedule should be initiated to monitor and update all web pages. The author's name and revision date may be included in the body of the web page or by using meta tags in the head section of the web page.
Publishing on the District Server: Each author should keep a complete back-up of all their web pages prior to submission for publishing. Student work may be submitted only by teachers. Students are not allowed to publish directly on the web server. Principal approval is needed prior to publishing on the district web server. Subsequent updates may be made by teachers without specific approval, but make sure that your principal is aware of substantive content changes and anything that might generate questions from parents or district patrons..
Policy: All web pages must conform to board policy.
Intellectual Property Rights: Students shall retain all rights to work they create using the District's electronic communications system. As agents of the District, employees shall have limited rights to work they create using the District's electronic communications system. The District shall retain the right to use any product created for its use by an employee even when the author is no longer an employee of the District.
Disclaimer of Liability: The District shall not be liable for users' inappropriate use of electronic communication resources or violations of copyright restrictions or other laws, users' mistakes or negligence, and costs incurred by users. The District shall not be responsible for ensuring the accuracy, age appropriateness, usability, or access o resources found on the district network/Internet.
Web Publishing Specifications
Authoring Software: Any appropriately-licensed authoring software may be used to develop La Porte ISD web pages.
Graphics: The use of small graphics is encouraged. Large graphics, sound files, and video may be considered and, where appropriate, should be links within the originating page or displayed as a "thumbnail" sketch. This will allow the user with limited connection speeds to determine which items are to be viewed. Graphics larger than 300k should be avoided whenever possible. JPEG and GIF formats are the preferred format for all photos and graphics.
Audio: Sound files should be inserted as links from a page. Due to the large size of most sound files, overall use of them should be limited to reduce server load.
Video: Movies should be avoided for the same reason.
File Formats: All filenames should be in lower case with no embedded spaces. This format will allow the web pages to be placed on different operating systems with no parsing problems. An extension of htm should also be used at the end of filenames.
Proper Citation: When using externally-produced materials, authors must give credit indicating the original producer with a notation regarding granted permission. The URL should also be included whenever possible.
Copyright Permission: Written permission must accompany any externally-created materials used on a web page for publishing. (A sample form is attached to facilitate obtaining copyright permission.) DO NOT assume any media published on the Internet is free to use. Permission must be obtained from the creator of the media. The web site manager may not be considered a source for permission.
Publishing Student Material: All necessary parental / guardian consents must be obtained prior to publishing any student work or photograph on a district web page.
Accuracy: All web pages submitted for publishing must be spell-checked by authoring software and proofread for content, grammar, and copyright infringements.
Page Length: Web pages should be kept short. A single page should not extend beyond four or five screens in length unless a table of contents is provided at the top of the pages and internal links for navigation are included.
Public Communication: A campus email address should be included with each page to readily communicate with the public.