School web pages are public documents giving the outside world access to school information and linking students and staff to outside sources of information. Guidelines are required in the construction of district web pages to ensure that information on the pages is appropriate for any Internet user from around the world to access. Web pages should support the educational aims of The Fayetteville Public Schools.
Goals for School Web Pages
1. Introducing outside visitors to the school and its programs.
2. Sharing the school's successes with the world.
3. Sharing pertinent up-to-date school information with district patrons.
4. Linking internal users to good internal and external sources of information.
5. Facilitating the learning process.
All school home pages must have a school webmaster approved by the principal. The school webmaster will assist the principal of the school in ensuring that district web page guidelines are adhered to and that the content of the school web pages meets the principal's approval. The school webmaster is the only person in the school authorized to upload files to the server. Other site staff members may be given rights to upload files to the server by permission of the district webmaster.
The school home page shall be located on the District web server. School home pages must include a “contact” link to the school webmaster. The school home page shall indicate the date of the last update. All pages should be kept current or will be subject to removal at the discretion of the district webmaster.
Content should be kept current and relevant. Out of date websites will be subject to removal at the discretion of the district webmaster.
School web pages may contain small acknowledgments of school partnerships or sponsorships. Web pages may provide links to partners' or sponsors' web home pages.
All links connecting to external sites must be approved by the school webmaster, and are subject to final approval by the principal. Links should be checked periodically to check for appropriateness and to insure they are active links.
All district pages must include a link to the main district page: http://www.fayar.net/
For a student's name and/or picture and/or information about the student to appear on a school web page, the school must obtain parental permission. Schools should proceed with caution and sensitivity in this area.
Filenames for pages and images will be checked to ensure that students' names do not appear there, e.g., jonjones.gif, marysmith.html.
A copy of the proposed web page(s) must be sent home so that the parent can see exactly how the student's name, picture or information will be displayed. The parent must be requested to sign a permission form for his/her child's name and/or picture to appear in the displayed form. No student pictures or information will be published on a school web page without a signed permission form. Permission forms will be kept on file by the school principal or his/her designee.
Similarly, permission must be obtained from any staff member prior to displaying his/her photograph or information.
Personal home pages for students or staff members are not permitted. Students may create "content" pages under their instructor's supervision, but not personal pages about themselves. Similarly staff members may create pages which are education oriented. Linking to a student's or staff member's personal page on an external site is not permitted.
Copyright must be respected. The author of the Web page may not use copyrighted materials without permission.
Copyright may be claimed by the author for original work. Commercial use of the FPS district Website is strictly prohibited.
All web pages should be tested for compatibility with both Netscape and Internet Explorer, the most commonly used web browsers.
11. Accessibility
In compliance with Arkansas Act 1227 of 1999 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 which states that all Federal departments and agencies shall make sure that their electronic and information technology allows individuals with disabilities who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of the information and data by individuals without disabilities, our goal is to assure that people with sensory or motor disabilities can use the information and services on FPS District Web pages, either directly or by means of existing assistive technologies such as digital text readers, screen-enlarging software, and modified input and output devices.
Minimum measures to make your pages ADA accessible:
· Use an <alt> tag with EVERY image.
· Provide a "text only" version of the Web page, if necessary
· Provide alternative presentations of content for scripts and applets that convey information
· Use HTML tags in proper nested order
· Use text for links that makes sense when read out of context (for instance, do not use "click here")
· Provide summaries of graphs and charts
· Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color
· Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values
· Mark up lists and list items properly.
· Label frames with the title or name attribute
· Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, descriptions of video, and/or accessible versions
· Organize content logically and clearly
· Use evaluation tools and text-only browsers to verify accessibility
General Style Guide:
1. Avoid "Under Construction" signs on a home page; construct the page before placing it on the Web. If UNDER CONSTRUCTION graphics are necessary, please do not keep them on any page longer than two (2) weeks.
2. The date of the last update to the page should be clearly identified for page viewers.
3. Images should be displayed with width and height set. Large images should be avoided. No image over 30k should be displayed.
4. Avoid the overuse of blinking, flashing, moving images and text. It is easy to overdo animations. Remember, content is what your pages should be all about.
5. Pages should accommodate a variety of browsers, including text-only browsers. Be sure to specify an <ALT> tag for all graphics. Avoid making pages that require unusual plug-ins. Pages should be tested in a variety of browsers.
6. Pages should be checked for spelling and proofread before they are displayed.
7. Internal documentation should be contained in the source code. It should consist of the author's name (teacher's name may be more appropriate if author is a student), and creation and revision dates. Any unusual content or styles should be noted.
8. Pay close attention to navigation through your web pages. Keep URL's as simple as possible. Use only lower case letters for your url’s.
Sample letter to parents:
Dear Parents/Guardians,
As part of a class/course projects, our students are developing and will be publishing web page(s) on the Internet. Publishing web pages is similar to publishing a newspaper with text and pictures. Just as anyone may pick up and read an article in a newspaper, anyone with access to a computer and to the Internet may find and read our web pages.
We have now developed proposed web page(s) and have attached a copy to this letter. Before displaying any of this material on the Internet, we are requesting your permission to include your child's name and/or picture in the manner indicated.
School web pages are public documents welcoming the outside world to the school. Guidelines for school web pages have been established by The Fayetteville Public Schools District Technology Department -- they must support the educational aims of the District and must be appropriate for anyone in the world to access. In producing web pages the following goals are considered: (1) introducing external visitors to the school and its program, and (2) linking internal users to good outside information resources. We hope that you will find that the proposed web page(s) meet these criteria and will allow your child's name and/or picture to be included.
__________________________________ Teacher's Signature
I grant permission for __________________________'s name/photograph/information to be published on the web page(s) on the Internet as per attachment.
__________________________________ Parent's Signature
I do not grant permission for __________________________'s name/photograph/information to be published on the web page(s) on the Internet.
__________________________________ Parent's Signature
Comments: ____________________________________________________________________
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