Electronic Communications Privacy Act The Electronic Communications Privacy Act addresses security and confidentiality issues of electronically disseminated communications. Many schools provide guidance to students, staff, and parents through an Acceptable Use Policy. These AUPs may be part of school handbooks or policy manuals and many include "hold harmless" language for abuses of the school's technology. The Acceptable Use Policy is signed by students and parents and kept on file. Some schools take a further step and notify all parents annually of the school district's policy on using educational technology and the risks this may entail. This way, students who fail to sign an Acceptable Use Policy may have access to these important tools. A full discussion of AUPs follows later in this lesson. E-mail should never be considered private or confidential. Messages can inadvertently—and sometimes intentionally—be intercepted. Schools or districts that provide e-mail services must emphasize this point with everyone who uses the system, including students, parents, and staff members. Some schools only provide e-mail for teachers or activity-based e-mail class accounts for a limited duration, such as a grading period or the length of a school-based project. Schools that use outside service providers should carefully negotiate the extent to which school officials will be able to review and distribute e-mail messages. The Legislation Schools should be familiar with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and its implications for the transmission, storage, and disclosure of electronic communications. For further information, view highlights from this legislation as they relate to the use of educational technology in schools, or visit the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University for greater detail.