Best Practices: Web Publishing Guidelines
All web content should relate to approved school business, curriculum and instruction, school sponsored activities, or provide the community information about the school or district mission. Content of individual school web pages is the responsibility of that individual school. Decisions as to the quality, content or design are ultimately the judgment of the principal or department head. Content on Saint Paul Public Schools web pages must include a copyright when appropriate or include permission to use copyrighted material. Also web pages must conform to district Acceptable Use Procedures pertaining to information technology. (Document 520.00) Web pages should include the district logo, a link to the Saint Paul Public Schools home page and include the names of the board of education and superintendent.

Suggested Topics

• Welcome
• Philosophy/mission of the school or program
• School handbook or rules
• Office news or Announcements
• Calendars
• Directory or other contact info
• Classroom or Student projects
• School club and activities
• Curriculum
• Principals message
• Lunch menu
• Parents

Content expressly forbidden include personal home pages created by staff, students, or web pages of organizations not directly affiliated with the district. Web pages that promote or encourage illegal or immoral activities, contain language offensive to others, profanity, obscene comments, sexually explicit material or expressions of bigotry, racism or hate or links to web pages that lead users directly to any other page which in anyway promotes these activities are not permitted and will be removed. Additional guidelines for Acceptable material can be found in Saint Paul Public Schools Procedure 520.00; “Information Technology Usage Procedure” 

Quality
Web Pages should be checked for spelling and grammatical error before posting. Always spell out the word "Saint." Do not use the abbreviation "St." The web pages should be maintained on a regular bases in order to ensure all links continue to work and content is not outdated.  Web pages should not contain objectionable material nor material that is defamatory to others.  

Student Protection 
All student information posted on the web must conform to district, state and federal guidelines pertaining to student data privacy. In addition to these regulations we have chosen the following guidelines, No student information such as last name, home address, phone number, and date of birth will be published on Saint Paul Public Schools Web pages.
Decisions on publishing student pictures (video or still) and audio clips are based on the supervising teachers judgment. The teacher must first ensure that the parent or guardian has completed the proper media releases.  Documents, pictures, or movies should include only the first name of the student. Published email addresses shall be restricted to staff only. No student work shall be published without the permission of the student and the parent guardian.

Technical and Design Considerations
Include somewhere on your school website contact information to include at least an email address. (Phone numbers should include area code; addresses should include city state and zip code). Avoid creating web pages with tiled backgrounds, large graphics, or unusual or dark color combinations.  All graphics should include an Alternate text tag for your audience who are unable to view graphics. Conform to accepted, standard HTML code. Include a link on every page that allows users to connect back to your primary page.

Miscellaneous 
Saint Paul Public Schools does not endorse or sanction any web pages that reflect an individual’s thoughts, interests, or personal activities. Concern about the content of any pages created by students or staff should be directed to the building principal of that school.

 web_guideline.pdf