Everett Public Schools
E-mail Guidelines
Main Points:
1. E-mail on district computers. E-mail is provided by the district to support the
teaching, research and pu blic service missions of the district and for the
administrative functions that support this mission.
2. Public access to staff e-mail. Almost all documents ge nerated by school district
staff on district tim e are public information. The confidentiality of electronic mail
cannot be assured. It should be treated the same as a written postcard. The public
can, and has, requested printouts of staff e-ma ils related to a variety of issues.
(RCW 42.17.310) The same laws that pe rtain to verbal public discussion of
personnel and students also pertain to e-mail: such discussions are also not
allowed via e-mail.
3. E-mail etiquette: E-mail should be treated in the same manner as a telephone call
or a letter. It should be dea lt with in a courteous manner that facilitates staff work.
In a few extreme cases, the staff me mber may feel like he or she is deluged with
e-mail from one person or group. This m ay require a different response than that
given to other e-mail.
1. E-mail on district computers
? The district e-ma il system is designed for school-related purposes.
? E-ma il should not be used to sell personal items or advertise non-school
events.
? Employees are encouraged to check e-mail on a regular basis, since it has
become a dominant me thod of communication.
? District e-mail should not be used as an �opinions forum.� As pointed out
above, district e-ma il is a public document. The general rule is: Don�t say
anything on e-mail you wouldn�t want everyone to know.
? E-m ail users should not give the impression they are representing, giving
opinions, or otherwise making statem ents on behalf of the district or any
school unless appropriately authorized to do so.
? Other inappropriate uses of district e-mail are:
1) unauthorized solic itation of funds
2) distribution of chain letters
3) unauthorized sale or purchase of merchandise and services
4) collection of signatures
5) unauthorized membership drives
6) transmission of any materials regarding political campaigns
Q. Is it all right to send an e-mail to large numbers of sta ff members?
A. Because of the large volume of e-mails received by some staff memb ers, they are
beginning to feel besieged by e-mails and may mi ss or not open urgent e-mails. Please
think twice before sending a me ssage to a group address. Ask yourself if 40 or 80 or 100
of your colleagues really need this information.
Q. Is it okay to e-mail family and friends?
A. It is best to limit personal co mm unication to non-work periods.
Q. Is it okay to use district e-mail to promote levies or political candidates?
A. No. E-mail ma y not be used to su pport or oppose political candidates or
ballot measures.
2. Public access to staff e-mail:
As outlined in the introduction, mo st e-mail is regarded as pu blic information. That
m eans any member of the public can request, and receive a copy of, most e-m ails. Use e-
ma il only to say those things you would say to everyone or be willi ng to say if you are
called to testify in a legal case.
3. Answering e-mail:
General guidelines:
? As prom ptly as possible, answer e-mails from parents, especially from parents of
children with whom you work directly.
? E-mails asking for district docum ents or facts about district programs may fall
under the State of Washi ngton public information laws. Direct these e-mails to the
communications office with a brief explanation that you received this e-ma il and
believ e it is a public information request (forward it to Gay Campbell). The
communications office will answer these, treating them, if appropriate, as public
inform ation requests.
? Be aware of �reply sender� and �reply all� features. Does everyone who received
the e-mail need to know your response?
Q. I am getting e-mails from parents and others asking me questions about district
programs and staff that make me uncomfortable. Sometimes these are from parents of
children I don�t teach or directly work with. How do I answer?
A. The message may qua lify as a public inform ation request. See the introductory
paragraph of this section and follow those procedures.
If it is a question/me ssage that is not about your classroom or department or not from
the parent of one of your students, there are several ways you can deal with this.
1) Send a mess age saying you do not feel comfortable responding to this type of
question.
2) Ask the person sending the me ssage to contact your supervisor or the appropriate
central office department for the answ er to his or her question, if the e-mail asks
for information about a program or serv ice. Provide a polite reply about why you
are not directly answering the question. Example: �E-mail is a wonderful way to
communicate with parents about their own students and I do that regularly. Your
question appears to be about ________. Our ________department can provide
that answer for you.�
3) If the e-ma il asks you to comment about another classroom, and you are not
comfortable answering it, an answer mi ght be, �It would be inappropriate for me
to discuss other staff or another staff member�s classroom.�
Q. What do I do when I receive chain le tters or other unsolicited e-mails?
A. Do not print, forward, or originate inappropr iate messages. If there is an attachment to
a message from an unknown sender, DO NOT open it. It could be a means of spreading
computer viruses. Delete the message if it is not from a familiar source.