The District provides electronic mail services to students, staff and others affiliated with the District. It encourages the use of e-mail in support of instruction, communication, research, and public service. Students are urged to make use of email to communicate with teachers, support staff, and fellow students. Incidental personal use is acceptable, provided such use does not excessively burden the electronic mail system.

Guidelines

• Students and Staff should never share your email password with anyone, nor should you save it at the log-in screen. If you forget your password and need to call the Help Desk (531) 299-0300, you must do so personally and have your employee number ready to verify your identity.
• Students and staff are expected to use email services responsibly, (i.e. to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws, and with other District policies). Furthermore, as stated in the District's "Behavioral Rules for Students Using School Computers and Networks": "The use of computers, whether stand-alone, as a part of a local area network, or as part of a wide area network such as the Internet, is a privilege, not a right, and must be consistent with and driven by the educational objectives of the Omaha Public Schools. Any use that is not consistent with these objectives is prohibited."
• This expectation extends to the use of email and other electronic services. If there is reason to believe that an email account is being used in a violation of law or District policy, or if an account is used in a way that threatens to disrupt service to other users, Omaha Public Schools staff may restrict or suspend that account's access to email services, until they are reasonably assured that the illegal or disruptive use of the account will cease. 

The following provisions help students use email responsibly and follow District policies.

Elementary and Middle School

• Can only email their teacher and staff.
• Can NOT email other students.
• Can NOT email externally unless the domain is allowed.

High School (8th graders during the second semester)

• Can email internally and externally

If any external group working with your school is currently unable to communicate with your students, please reach out to IMS to ensure they are provided with the necessary permissions.

Specific Prohibitions

As previously stated, email accounts must be used in accordance with state and federal laws, as well as District policies. It is not possible to provide a comprehensive list of all possible violations. However, the following list of activities is specifically prohibited:

• Use of email to threaten or harass individuals on or off campus.
• Use of a false email address (i.e., mail "spoofing").
• Any attempt to disrupt another person's ability to use their computer account.
• Initiating or forwarding of "chain letters".
• Any transmission or receipt of material that is “harmful to minors” as defined by federal law.
• Violations of copyright law.

Monitoring
The District exercises exclusive control over its computers, data storage, and data transfer devices. The user shall not expect privacy regarding their account, as school property is subject to search and inspection at any time by District officials. It is the policy of the school District to monitor the online activities of students and staff. Note also that each transmission of mail is logged. The logs are accessible to authorized Omaha Public Schools staff and can be used in the investigation of possible email abuse. This monitoring, logging, search, and inspection include, but are not limited to, electronic mail, Internet access, network access, file storage, and transfer.