Frequently Asked Questions

Any student who receives an inappropriate electronic communication from a staff member or other adult should:

• Immediately notify their parent/guardian and principal or school administrator and, if possible, show or provide a copy of the communication to their parent/guardian and also the principal or school administrator; or
• Call the CPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) at 773-483-7283.

In the event you are being threatened, harassed or bullied online you should:

• Immediately notify your principal or school administrator or a trusted adult and, if possible, show or provide a copy of the communication; and/or
• Call the CPS Student Protections Hotline at 773-535-4400.

Students may friend and/or connect with each other outside of school on personal social media accounts. However, students may not use CPS’ computers or network for non-educational purposes, including access to their personal social media accounts.

Student safety is the district’s top priority. Our goal is to ensure that all communications between CPS staff and students occur through CPS systems, including CPS social media, which can be monitored. Communicating through monitored channels provides a measure of protection against potentially inappropriate behavior and ensures student safety.

Failure to abide by the Student Acceptable Use Policy may subject a student to discipline under the Student Code of Conduct.

Any student who receives an inappropriate electronic communication from a staff member or other adult should:

• Immediately notify the principal or school administrator and, if possible, show or provide a copy of the communication; or
• Call the CPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) at 773-483-7283.

In the event your child is being threatened, harassed or bullied online you should:

• Immediately notify the principal or school administrator and, if possible, show or provide a copy of the communication; or
• Call the CPS Student Protections Hotline at 773-535-4400.

A parent/guardian must provide written permission for their child to receive text alerts. If your school uses a text alert system, you will receive a consent form at the beginning of each school year in which you can authorize your child to receive texts via his/her personal cell phone. On the consent form you may also request receipt of duplicate notices to your personal cell phone.

Yes. There are a few very limited exceptions and in each case the parent/guardian will be asked in advance to consent to the text messaging. The exceptions are:

1. Pre-Approved Safety Meet-Up Communications with Students in Grades 9-12. Designated school staff may communicate with H.S. students participating in an educational or extra-curricular activity via text messaging for purposes of ensuring student safety, If:
   
   • The parent/guardian and principal both provide prior written permission to the text/IM messaging using the CPS consent form, and
   • All texts must be sent as group texts with the parent/guardian on the text message.
2. Approved Bulk/Mass Text Notifications and Alerts to Students. Schools may use a CPS-approved bulk text notification system that delivers group text notifications and alerts to a student’s personal cell phone, provided that:
   
   • The parent/guardian provides prior written permission for their child to receive the text notifications/alerts; and
   • The parent/guardian receives the same text notifications/alerts sent to their child when the parent/guardian elects to receive these notifications/alerts.
3. CPS Programs for Re-Engagement of Out-of-School Youth, Chronic Truants and Students Exiting Juvenile Detention Facilities approved by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO-Approved Re-Engagement Programs). Designated CPS staff members who responsible for student outreach efforts under a CEO-Approved Re-Engagement Program may communicate with students in grades 7-12 via text messaging in accordance with the CEO’s requirements for parent/guardian permission and group texts/messages.

In the event the CEO approves additional programs or circumstances where text messaging between students and staff is approved, you will be notified by the school if your child qualifies to receive these messages and the related requirements.

The school will distribute a parent consent to text form for parent signature. Signed consent forms will be maintained by the school in the student’s cumulative folder. Consent is specific for the particular activity or program noted on the form and is only valid for the school year in which the consent is signed.

Failure to abide by the Student Acceptable Use Policy may subject a student to discipline under the Student Code of Conduct.

Employees who communicate with students electronically must do so using CPS Network systems (e.g. CPS email, CPS Google Classroom, BlackBoard Connect, etc.). There are very few exceptions to this rule that would authorize an employee to text message a student. These limited exceptions are listed below and require prior written parent consent:

1. Pre-Approved Safety Meet-Up Communications with Students in Grades 9-12. Designated school staff may communicate with H.S. students participating in an educational or extra-curricular activity via text messaging for purposes of ensuring student safety, if:
   
   • the parent/guardian and principal both provide prior written permission to the text/IM messaging using the CPS consent form, and
   • all texts must be sent as group texts with the parent/guardian on the text message and also the employee’s CPS email address for proper retention of communications.
2. Approved Bulk/Mass Text Notifications and Alerts to Students. Schools may use a CPS-approved bulk text notification system that delivers group text notifications and alerts to a student’s personal cell phone, provided that:
   
   • the parent/guardian provides prior written permission for their child to receive the text notifications/alerts; and
   • the parent/guardian receives the same text notifications/alerts sent to their child when the parent/guardian elects to receive these notifications/alerts
3. CPS Programs for Re-Engagement of Out-of-School Youth, Chronic Truants and Students Exiting Juvenile Detention Facilities approved by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO-Approved Re-Engagement Programs). CPS staff members who are responsible for student outreach efforts under a CEO-Approved Re-Engagement Program may communicate with students in grades 7-12 via text messaging when in accordance with the CEO’s requirements for parent/guardian permission, and group texts/messages, etc.

The school is responsible for distributing the consent form for parent signature when the principal determines that texting with a student is necessary and authorized under the policy. Signed consent forms must be maintained by the school in the student’s cumulative folder. Consent is specific for the particular activity or program noted on the form and is only valid for the school year in which the consent is signed.

We will be distributing a survey the week of September 24 that will allow us to catalog the messaging tools schools are using. With the data we gather from the survey, we will be able to conduct an audit to determine if these messaging tools adhere to District security standards.

We are aware that schools have chosen tools with the best interests of their student and parent communities in mind. The intent of the audit is not geared to be punitive but rather to ensure that our staff and students use tools that have been definitively validated as secure and reliable.

Platforms that pass the audit will be noted as ‘Approved’ for use on the Acceptable Platform list made available on the Acceptable Use Policy website ITS will use the approved list to identify opportunities to make the platform available to schools districtwide.

Platforms that fail the audit will be flagged, and ITS will work with the vendor to develop a plan or begin working with the school to transition to an approved platform in the event the vendor cannot remediate. Vendors that are unable or unwilling to implement prescribed security enhancements will be flagged for the Procurement Department.

Schools should not purchase new messaging tools of any kind without prior consult with ITS. All solutions must go through an information security vetting process. Contact the IT Service Desk at 773-553-3925 and request an Acceptable Use Policy consult.

Failure to abide by the Acceptable Use Policy may subject an employee or other user to consequences which include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Suspension or cancellation of use or access privileges;
2. Payments for damages or repairs;
3. Discipline under appropriate district discipline rules, policies, and guidelines, up to and including termination of employment;
4. Contract penalties in accordance with the contractor/vendor/consultant’s contract with the Board;
5. Exclusion of an intern, volunteer, or employee of a vendor, consultant, or contractor from serving CPS in any capacity;
6. Exclusion from Board premises; and
7. Civil or criminal penalties.

Whenever a violation of this policy results in physical or psychological harm or injury to a student or minor, or the potential thereof, then the district does not hesitate in seeking the most severe discipline and penalties allowed under the law.

Yes. The AUP requires that you communicate using CPS-authorized systems for authorized purposes. Any device, be it CPS or personally owned, is subject to the Acceptable Use Policy if it is on our network.