EdGate recognizes the importance of protecting your privacy while you visit our site. To let you know how we collect and use your information, we have established the following privacy policy. Since this policy may change from time to time, please refer to it regularly. The EdGate Terms of Service follow this policy.

1. What personal information is requested by EdGate and why?
2. What personal information is requested to register for a SchoolNotes Web page and why?
3. Is any of the information that is provided to EdGate as part of the activities listed in Question 1 and 2 made available to outside organizations or companies?
4. Are there other occasions that EdGate requests personal information and why?
5. How long does EdGate retain personal information collected from SchoolNotes users? 
6. How long does EdGate retain personal information for any other part of EdGate and why?
7. Does EdGate collect other information on its visitors?
8. What personal information, if any, is collected by EdGate partners?
9. How will EdGate use the information its servers automatically collect?
10. Does EdGate use cookies, web beacons or third party advertisers?
11. Does EdGate allow scripting languages in SchoolNotes pages?
12. Will EdGate notify me if it changes this Privacy Policy?
13. What else should I know about my privacy?
14. May I contact EdGate with further privacy concerns?
15. Are EdGate services COPPA compliant?
16. What if a security breach is reported?
    
     

1. What personal information is requested by EdGate and why?
Though most of the content on the EdGate site does not require registration, there are specific activities which do require online forms. You will be asked for personal information in order to use the following functions:

• EdGate Customer Care online ticket submission: You are required to provide your name and email address, in order to submit a Help ticket to EdGate. This information is collected in order to respond to you and, if you are a SchoolNotes user, find your account to solve your problem.
• EdGate Newsletter Center: In order to subscribe to either the Elementary or Secondary Update, you must provide a current email address in order for the content to be sent to you every month.
• Online contests such as the Tip of the Week contest on the World Language Center do require an email in order to contact contest winners.
• Online submissions for feedback to the site do not require, but do request, personal information in case EdGate has questions and needs to contact you. 

2. What personal information is requested to register for a SchoolNotes Web page and why?
For SchoolNotes registration, EdGate requires some contact information in order to better serve you if you encounter any problems with your SchoolNotes account. The personally identifiable information that we request from you, and with which we identify you as a member, may include the following: first name, last name, zip code, email address, user name, password, school district and professional affiliation. There are additional fields which are not required for completion of the forms.  Your name, school affiliation and zip code are listed as part of your school community under the "Find Your School" and "Find Your Class" function of SchoolNotes. Your name, school and title of your SchoolNotes page may also be found by your zip code.

3. Is any of the information that is provided to EdGate as part of the activities listed in Question 1 and 2 made available to outside organizations or companies?
No. EdGate uses some of the information for internal tracking statistics such as site traffic only.

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4. Are there other occasions that EdGate may request personal information and why?
EdGate may ask for additional information during periodic user surveys. In general, we use your personal information for internal purposes only. For example, if you respond to one of our online surveys, we might use that information and your comments to make EdGate as fun, interesting, and useful to you as possible. We might also use your personal information for customization purposes as schools create localized Education Gateway communities of their own.

EdGate will not provide your personal information to other persons or entities without your express consent. However, EdGate may contact you relative to EdGate promotions or products and may call you if you participate in our editorial online surveys, either for confirmation purposes or, when indicated, for an interview by a reporter.

5. How long does EdGate retain personal information collected from SchoolNotes users? 
SchoolNotes retains personal information described in Question 2 on all current SchoolNotes pages for as long as the user is an active SchoolNotes participant. The data on expired users is maintained for a four-year period to ensure that in case of legal action associated with an i.e. inappropriate page, the records are available.  In addition, the information described in Question 2 is retained as long as the member is an active user of SchoolNotes or EdGate.

6. How long does EdGate retain personal information for any other part of EdGate and why?
EdGate retains information gathered in the CustomerCare system for four years after the ticket is closed in order to protect EdGate from any legal action which might result from i.e. an inappropriate page. In all other cases, the personal information is only retained if the user is an active participant in an EdGate activity, i.e. a newsletter subscriber.

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7. Does EdGate collect other information on its visitors?
Our web servers automatically monitor which pages you visit by domain name (e.g., aol.com), but do not collect any information which will personally identify you. The only personal information we collect about you is that information you provide.

8. What personal information, if any, is collected by EdGate partners?
The information collected as part of SchoolNotes registration or any EdGate form submission is NOT shared with any third party site. If an EdGate user selects a link to a company that then requests personal information in order to allow purchase of a product (i.e. Smart-estore.com), this information is then subject to the Privacy Policy of that Website. There may be occurrences of reference (also known as "third-party reference leaks" through the URL of a SchoolNotes page (i.e. the zipcode of the user). EdGate has attempted to keep any such incidence at a minimum.

9. How will EdGate use the information its servers automatically collect?
EdGate uses the information collected by its Web servers in order to conduct internal reviews and traffic audits. This information helps us to provide our visitors with the most valuable and up-to-date content and hyperlinks. It also helps us attract education underwriters, upon whose support we rely in order to furnish free access to some of our products.

10. Does EdGate use cookies, web beacons or third party advertisers?

Cookies
We do NOT use cookies. Furthermore, we do NOT allow other companies (third parties) to set cookies via the Web site. EdGate limits its use of cookies to identifying unique browsers that visit us. However, some of our business partners use cookies to discern when our visitors have contacted their web sites. Please note that we do not control, nor do we have any responsibility or liability toward the privacy policies of our business partners, underwriters, or non-EdGate sites to which we provide hyperlinks.

Web Beacons
The EdGate Web site does NOT use electronic images known as "Web beacons," or clear GIFs to monitor the activity of our Web site. Used in combination with cookies, a Web beacon is an often-transparent graphic image, usually no larger than 1 pixel x 1 pixel, that is placed on a Web site or in an email that is used to monitor the behavior of the user visiting the Web site or opening the email.

Third Party Advertisers
EdGate does NOT use third party advertising companies to provide advertisements or allow third party advertisers to track your browsing activities on any EdGate Web site.

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11. Does EdGate allow scripting languages in SchoolNotes pages?
EdGate does not allow the use of JavaScript or any other client-side scripting languages due to security concerns and potential abuse. 

12. Will EdGate notify me if it changes this Privacy Policy?
EdGate will post any notice of any changes made to the Privacy Policy at the top of the Privacy Policy page.

13. What else should I know about my privacy?
Whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information online, others may be able to collect and use that information. EdGate cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you provide us; thus, you do so at your own risk. You are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your passwords and/or any account information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you are online.

14. May I contact EdGate with further privacy concerns?
Yes, EdGate welcomes your questions and feedback. Please contact CustomerCare@edgate.com if you want to talk to us. 

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15. Are EdGate services COPPA compliant?

At EdGate, we provide a Web-based application service that engages schools and individuals to build and participate in customized and personalized online communities. Although EdGate is primarily targeted at adults, we welcome the participation of students in learning activities.

In compliance with COPPA (the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), we have adopted the following policies to keep kids safe:

• We will NOT knowingly collect, use, or distribute personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13 without prior verifiable consent from a parent or guardian.
• Personally identifiable information we collect from children under the age of 13 will be used solely by EdGate or its agents for internal purposes only and will NOT be sold or otherwise distributed to third parties.
• We will NOT knowingly allow children under the age of 13 access to services within EdGate that would allow them to publicly post or otherwise distribute personally identifiable information without prior verifiable consent from a parent or guardian. 
• We will NOT knowingly ask a child to divulge more information than is needed to participate in any activity, game, or service.
• We will NOT knowingly keep any personally identifiable information that is inadvertently included in a child's email submission, help inquiry, or other one-time request. Information will be automatically purged or purged immediately after the issue has been resolved.
• We will NOT knowingly post any personally identifiable information that is inadvertently included in a child's submission to a general audience contribution area. These submissions will be deleted and handled anonymously thereafter.
• We will NOT knowingly provide any direct link to websites that are unsuitable for children or teens.
• We will contact the parent of any child under the age of 13 and obtain parent permission before sharing ANY personal information.
• Upon request, EdGate will provide a parent or guardian with a list of all information that may have been provided about their child during a registration process for a program or service of this site. The parent may request that this information be deleted from EdGate files and databases. EdGate only asks for a child's or teen's personal information if it is necessary to participate in the program or service. 

16. What if a security breach is reported?

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As part of our service, EdGate agrees to provide you with information and other computer services subject to these TERMS OF SERVICE. You agree to use our service in accordance with these TERMS. Upon notice published on this site, or such other notice as may be given, EdGate may amend or modify these TERMS OF SERVICE, or impose new conditions on use, at any time. Your use of this service after such notice shall be deemed to constitute acceptance of the new TERMS.

EdGate does not discriminate based on sex, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender orientation, ethnicity, culture, religion or socio-economic status.

License to EdGate
By posting messages, uploading files, inputting data, or engaging in any other form of communication through this service, you are granting EdGate a royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive, unrestricted, worldwide license to:

1. Use, copy, sublicense, adapt, transmit, publicly perform, or display any such communication.
2. Sublicense to third parties the unrestricted right to exercise any of the foregoing rights granted with respect to the communication.
3. The foregoing grants shall include the right to exploit any proprietary rights in such communication, including but not limited to rights under copyright, trademark, service mark, or patent laws under any relevant jurisdiction.
4. Any submission to the EdGate site should abide by any appropriate copyright rules and regulations. If the material is not original, the source should be indicated as part of the submission.
5. Any original submission of lesson plans, assessments, and resources to the Curriculum Matrix may be used by EdGate for distribution to any Community Education Gateway (CEG).

Disclaimer
EdGate has provided links and pointers to Internet sites maintained by third parties. Neither EdGate, its parent or subsidiary companies, nor their affiliates operate or control in any respect any information, products, or services on these third-party sites. The materials in this site and the third-party sites are provided "as is" and without warranties of any kind either express or implied. To the fullest extent permissible pursuant to applicable law, EdGate disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. EdGate does not warrant that the functions contained in the materials will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that this site, including bulletin boards, or their server that makes it available, are free of viruses or other harmful components.

EdGate does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the materials in this site or in third-party sites in terms of their correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability, or otherwise. You (and not EdGate) assume the entire cost of all necessary maintenance, repair, or correction.

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Discussion Boards
This service may include bulletin boards and chat rooms ("bulletin boards") that allow feedback to EdGate and its partners, and real-time interaction between users. EdGate does not control the messages, information, or files delivered to bulletin boards. It is a condition of your use of the bulletin boards and this Web site that you do not:

• Restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the bulletin boards.
• Post or transmit any unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, or indecent information of any kind, including without limitation any transmissions constituting or encouraging conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law.
• Post or transmit any information, software or other material which violates or infringes upon the rights of others, including material which is an invasion of privacy or publicity rights or which is protected by copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right, or derivative works with respect thereto, without first obtaining permission from the owner or right holder.
• Post or transmit any information, software, or other material that contains a virus or other harmful component.
• Post or transmit or in any way exploit any information, software, or other material for commercial purposes, or which contains advertising.

You understand that EdGate has no obligation to monitor the bulletin boards. However, EdGate reserves the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation, or governmental request, or to refuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in EdGate's sole discretion are objectionable or in violation of these terms and conditions.

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Limitation of Liability
Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall EdGate its subsidiary and parent companies, or affiliates be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, EdGate materials. You specifically acknowledge and agree that EdGate is not liable for any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any user. If you are dissatisfied with any EdGate material, or with any of EdGate's terms and conditions, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using EdGate.

Termination
This agreement is effective until terminated by EdGate at any time without notice. In the event of termination, you are no longer authorized to access the bulletin boards and the restrictions imposed on you with respect to material downloaded from the bulletin boards. The disclaimers and limitations of liabilities set forth in this agreement shall survive.

Other
This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between EdGate and you with respect to the subject matter contained in this agreement and supersedes all previous and contemporaneous agreements, proposals, and communications, written or oral. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington without giving effect to any principles or conflicts of law. If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.