1. Why does MCPS need a web regulation?
2. How was the regulation developed and by whom?
3. What is covered by the regulation?
4. Who is responsible for implementing the regulation?
5. When does the regulation go into effect?

B. Requirements for All Sites

1. Who may have a web site?
2. Who is responsible for the web site?
3. Where should web content and sites be published?
4. What do I do if my site or content is not on an MCPS server?
5. What do I do if I want to redesign my web site?
6. How often should my web site be updated?
7. What domain name should I use for my web site?
8. Can I buy a domain name for my school or office web site?
9. What if I already have a .com domain?

C. Requirements for Schools Only

1. What design should I use for my school web site?
2. What are the required elements for my school web site?
3. How often should I update my school web site?

D. Requirements for Offices Only

1. What design should I use for my office web site?
2. What do I do if my site is not in the template?
3. What are the required elements for my office web site?
4. How often should I update my office web site?

E. About Webmasters

1. Who may become a Webmaster?
2. How does a Webmaster receive access to servers?
3. May a parent or student volunteer become a Webmaster?
4. What happens if a webmaster does not follow this regulation or related regulations?
5. What do I do if I'm leaving my position as webmaster?

F. About Content

1. Is there a release form for using student pictures and student work on the school web site?
2. What content is appropriate for my school or office web site?
3. What content is not appropriate for my school or office web site?
4. What else is considered inappropriate?
5. Can I publish my personal web site or personal web pages on the MCPS server?
6. How do I know whether I may publish a photo of a student on my school web site?
7. Can I link to non-MCPS web sites?
8. Is student work permitted on my web site?
9. May I use a bulletin board, forum, or chat room on my site?
10. What about blogs?
11. May I copy an image or text from another source and publish it on my web site?
12. May I publish a company logo on my web site?
13. What if we are using free content, such as Weather Bug, on our site?
14. Is paid advertising or sponsorship permitted?
15. What do I do if someone asks to link to my site or to use content from my site?
16. What do I do if I find problem content on my web site?
17. What happens if someone complains to Web Services about a link or other content on my web site?
18. What other MCPS regulations guide appropriate content and use of the MCPS web?
19. Who owns the content on the MCPS web?
20. May our school's PTA publish its content on our school web site?

G. About Technology and Site Development

1. Can I use frames on my site?
2. Can I use Flash on my site?
3. I found a very cool new technology I'd like to add to my site. Is that a problem?

School and office webmasters and administrators have over the years asked many questions about web content and staff roles and responsibilities. They have asked for a web regulation to provide guidance and clarity on these and other issues. Most school systems have official regulations guiding their public web sites.

The regulation was drafted by a workgroup composed of students, parents, teachers, office staff, principals, administrators, community members, and webmasters. Later drafts were written based on feedback from legal counsel, principals, and administrators.

It applies to all public MCPS web sites created by staff and students in schools and offices in the course of instruction or school system operations.

The Web Services Team implements the regulation under the supervision of the Director of Communications.

The regulation was signed by the superintendent of schools and became effective in September 2006.

Every school and office should have at least one web page with its contact information. Staff may create a web site upon the approval of their administrator. Students may create web sites under the direction of an MCPS staffer.

The school principal or office/department/division/unit administrator is the “site manager” who is ultimately responsible for all content on the school or office web site. The school or office “webmaster” is usually responsible for the actual creation and maintenance of the web site. It is also helpful to enlist a school or office colleague with strong understanding of the content, message, and audience to act as the “content manager,” reviewing content for accuracy and appropriateness for the webmaster.

All content on the MCPS Web should be hosted on MCPS-managed systems. Web content of these types can reside on these systems:

• Text files (HTML), image files (.gif or .jpg): web server
• Audio or video files (.rm or .ram): multimedia server
• Databases and/or applications: Filemaker or Primetime
• Surveys and assessments: TestPilot

Contact Web Services so we can help transition your site to the appropriate server.

If you plan to do the work yourself, please contact Web Services about the project so we can answer your questions and guide you to follow best practices and this regulation before you begin. If a volunteer or contractor will do the work for you, please have them contact us so they understand our server and other requirements. We would be glad to meet with you and the designer to frame the project before you begin. Finally, Web Services would be happy to redesign your site for you, given enough notice. Your new site could also be placed into our new web publishing system, which makes site updating easier and faster.

All MCPS web sites should be reviewed and updated at least annually to ensure that content is accurate and up to date.

All MCPS web addresses referenced in print and elsewhere should use this root domain: www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org.

Example: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/web/

Yes, under these guidelines:

• Contact Web Services for assistance
• Use only a .org or .net domain. Only commercial entities use the .com domain.
• Use a forwarding service to point the domain name to your school or office montgomeryschoolsmd.org domain. Your new domain is for marketing purposes and does not replace the MCPS domain.

Contact Web Services for assistance migrating to a .org or .net.

Schools are free to use their own site design, as long as it conforms to this regulation, follows web standards and best practices, and includes required elements for school web sites.

All school web sites should include the following:

• Header (or banner): school name and reference to Montgomery County Public Schools, address, phone, link back to MCPS home page.
• Global footer: includes text links to the major MCPS pages, contact, privacy policy, plugins and the copyright notice. (See a sample of the global footer at http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/copyright.txt )
• School hours
• Webmaster contact info: name and email address
• Modification date: date site was last updated
• Staff Directory: updated list for your school
• Links: MCPS Emergency Information, QuickNotes, and Translation Mini-sites

All school web sites should be updated at least twice a year, more often if possible. Sites should be updated with back-to-school information (supply list, back-to-school night date, PTA meeting dates and information, updated staff list) before school opens for students. They should also be updated at the beginning of the second semester in January.

All non-school MCPS web sites should be in the MCPS Web Template. The template includes most of the required elements for office web sites.

Contact Web Services so we can help you transition your site to the template.

All  office web sites should include the following:

• Office/department/division name, address, phone number.
• Webmaster contact info: name and email address
• Modification date: date site was last updated
• Staff Directory: updated list for your office or location

Offices should review and update the content and staff directories on their sites at least once a year. If an office reorganization occurs in June/July, the office should update its site and staff list before the beginning of the new school year.

Any MCPS staffer may become a webmaster if approved by her/his principal or administrator.

Your principal or administrator can authorize your access by completing and signing MCPS Form 271-7, Webmaster Account Request Form. This grants you access to the web and multimedia servers. To access the Primetime server for databases and applications, complete and sign the Primetime Account Request form. Both forms are on the Web Services web site. You’ll find a link to Web Services at the bottom of the MCPS home page.

Yes, but only under these conditions:

• The principal or administrator approves.
• They work under the direction of an MCPS staffer who act as the location’s primary webmaster.
• They notify the webmaster of their departure when they complete their service so Web Services can disable their account.

The webmaster could lose publishing privileges and other disciplinary actions could be taken.

• Tell your site manager (principal or supervisor), of course.
• Assist your site manager with recruiting a new webmaster.
• Ask your site manager to submit a Webmaster Account Request form notifying us that your account should be closed, and a new one created for the new webmaster.
• Teach the new webmaster the ropes.

Yes. As part of the new Regulation, the Request to Withhold Directory Information acts as the official consent and release for publishing appropriate student information on the MCPS public web site. This form is sent home to parents in the summer packet. If parents do NOT wish their student’s photo to be published on the web site, they must complete the form. If they do not return the form, they have opted in and given permission for use. Such permission means that your webmaster may publish a photo of a student, but should NOT publish the student’s name, contact information, or any personal details on the web site.

See the Student Privacy Policy for more information related to the use of this form and access to the form in other languages.

All web content should have a clear educational purpose. It should directly promote the educational, instructional, administrative, business, and support services mission of MCPS.

Content is inappropriate if it:

• Violates law or MCPS policies or regulations.
• Poses a potential threat to student health or safety.
• Might be reasonably perceived to advocate student drug, alcohol and tobacco use, violence, sex, illegal discrimination, or other illegal activities.
• Contains language or images that are obscene, libelous, slanderous, profane, or derogatory to individuals.
• Causes or might reasonably be predicted to cause substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities.

Content that is:

• Inaccurate or out of date.
• Misspelled or grammatically incorrect.
• Unfinished or incomplete.
• Not intended for public view, especially material marked private and confidential.

No. You should obtain your own personal, non-MCPS web hosting account for personal web pages. Content for MCPS instruction and operations should not be published on your personal web site.

Consult your school’s Directory Information Withhold List, which is kept in the school’s main office, to see if the student’s name is on the list. The list is the primary resource for consent to use personally identifying student information on the web site. The list names students for whom schools must restrict disclosure of personally identifying information. Parents who do not wish their children’s information released notify the school system at the beginning of the school year via a Request to Withhold Directory Information, and the student’s name is added to the Withhold List.

For families that have given permission to publish information about the student, do not publish the student's name with the photo. Exceptions may be made -- especially at the secondary level -- with principal permission for students who have won major awards or achieved some type of recognition.

Of course. That’s why it’s called “the web.” But you must fulfill these requirements before adding the link:

• Review the site to ensure it is educationally appropriate.
• Add this disclaimer language to any of your web pages with links off the MCPS web:

“This web page may contain links to one or more pages outside the MCPS Web. MCPS does not control the content or relevancy of these pages.”

Yes. But sites or content created and maintained by students should be labeled as student work.

No. The MCPS web should not create a public forum. Therefore, chat rooms, forums, bulletin boards, discussion groups and other forms of interactive discussion are not permitted on any public MCPS web site. You should not use other sites for this purpose if the content relates to MCPS instruction or operations.

Blogs are not permitted at this time. However, a workgroup is developing a rationale, acceptable use guidelines, and technical requirements in preparation for a proposed blogging pilot.

No, unless the material is:

• Clearly stated to be in the public domain or the owner gives permission or license for re-use.
• Obtained after you have received written permission from the webmaster, creator, owner or publisher.

You may publish a trademark, servicemark or logo only after obtaining the owner’s written permission and only if the business is an educational partner. You may not link to the business web site unless the site has content with an educational purpose, e.g. discovery.com.

Your principal or administrator must approve such third-party content for educational appropriateness before it is published to your site. If the content has a technical component (such as scripting or coding), Web Services should be consulted before the content is added to the site. If the content is approved, publish it with the following disclaimer: “This material is provided free of charge and does not indicate MCPS endorsement or sponsorship.”

No. The MCPS web does not accept paid advertising or sponsorship from commercial entities and does not promote commercial entities.

Anyone may link to your site and need not ask for permission. Requests to re-use content from an MCPS site should be forwarded to the principal or administrator who is the site manager.

Contact your site manager (principal or administrator) immediately for guidance. She/he may advise you to remove the material as soon as possible.

Web Services will take several steps if it receives a complaint about content on your site.

• We will review the material for compliance with relevant regulations.
• If the material is not in compliance, we will attempt to contact the site manager and webmaster to advise them of the problem and ask them to remove the content as soon as possible.
• If neither is available, we will remove the content and advise the site manager and webmaster of the actions taken.

Two other regulations are relevant: Regulation IGT-RA: User Responsibilities for Computer Systems and Network Security and Regulation JFA-RA: Students Rights and Responsibilities.

MCPS, except for student work and material by others published with permission.

If your school principal approves, yes. Some schools publish just a page about the PTA. Others provide more information on their sites. Still others provide basic PTA information and a link to the PTA’s site on a non-MCPS server. Your principal has the ultimate authority.

No. Frames are outdated and create obstacles to accessibility for sight impaired and other users.

Sure. But sparingly. Don’t build your entire site in Flash because it will create accessibility problems. Don’t put critical content such as your contact information in Flash. But certainly go ahead and create Flash movies of non-critical content, such as photo slideshows.

Depends. You should not add any new technology to your site without first contacting Web Services. We want to check to ensure that the script or code doesn’t create issues for users of different browsers, delay the download time of your pages, or create other problems that hamper performance or accessibility.

Printable version of Web Regulation FAQ (PDF 98K)

Updated July 13, 2007 | Contact Webmaster