When the user signs and agrees to the policy, the school grants that user access to the Internet. To help make this contract enforceable, every user under 18 with a parent or guardian, faculty, staff and community users should sign the acceptable use policy before a school district gives them access to the Internet. To help the parents make informed decisions about signing an acceptable use policy, many schools hold parent computer nights to explain and introduce both the Internet and the acceptable use policy. When parents view the acceptable use policy, it should be presented as a permission slip for their child s ongoing Internet school field trip. Just as some parents refuse to allow their students to take health education or gym classes, school policy must address what will happen when a parent refuses to sign an acceptable use policy.
Students also have a role in the enforcement and use of the acceptable use policy.
Students, as well as faculty and staff, must understand that the Internet is a privilege and not a right. As use of the Internet in academia and acceptable use policies become more prevalent, students will come to accept an acceptable use policy as they do any other school policy or guideline. Under an acceptable use policy, students should always have the right to make responsible use of the Internet. Some schools have taken additional steps to see that the acceptable use policy is followed. One idea pioneered in Michigan is the use of Internet access cards.