BHE - SCHOOL COMMITTEE USE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL
Book: B
Section: Board Governance and Operations
Title: SCHOOL COMMITTEE USE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL
Code: BHE
Status: Active
Adopted: April 3, 2002
Last Revised: October 29, 2019
PORTLAND BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
USE OF EMAIL
AND OTHER ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
Use of email and other electronic communications (including but not limited to texts, chat programs and social media) by The Portland Board of Public Education (the Board) members should conform to the same standards of judgment, propriety and ethics as other forms of school board-related communications. Board members shall comply with the following guidelines when using email and other electronic communications in the conduct of Board responsibilities:
- The Board shall not use email or other electronic communications as a substitute for deliberations at Board meetings; for other communications or business properly confined to Board meetings; or in any way to defeat the purposes of the Freedom of Access Act.
- Board members should be aware that emails (including attachments) and other electronic communications received or prepared for use in Board business or containing information relating to Board business are likely to be regarded as public records. Public records may be inspected and copied by any person upon request, unless otherwise made confidential by law, and in some cases may be subject to state record retention requirements. For these reasons, Board members are well-advised to use the email addresses issued by the school unit for their official communications.
- Board members shall avoid reference to information about employees, students, or other confidential matters in email or other electronic communications because of the risk of improper disclosure. Board members are expected to comply with the same standards as school employees with regard to confidential information.
Legal
Cross References
JRA - Student Education Records & Information
GBH - Staff Participation in Community Activities
IJND - Portland Public Schools Website
IJND-R - Portland Public Schools Website Guidelines
BHE - School Committee Use of Electronic Mail.pdf (78 KB)
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