In Summary AES:
- Collects the minimum Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”) information needed to provide users access and support;
- Basic information, including school and student names are provide by students who are over age 13 at sign-up. Students under age 13 are not permitted to self-register and any required information must be submitted by the supervising teacher based upon proper approvals.
- Does not condition student participation or access to any activity on a child providing any personally identifiable information, or any more information than is reasonably necessary for the activity;
- Does not market or advertise to students;
- Deidentifies all student accounts and content after 24 months of inactivity for active contracts. All student account information is deidentified within 90 days of contract termination;
- Does not sell or distribute any user information; and
- Meets or exceeds the industry standard for securing user information.
AES policies and procedures conform to guidelines established by the Federal Trade Commission’s Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). We also support schools that are subject to compliance with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The programs and activities of our customers that receive funds under any program funded by the U.S. Department of Education may obligate those entities to satisfy certain Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) obligations. AES does not administer to students any surveys or analysis concerning any of the PPRA protected areas nor does AES intentionally collect any student information related to such administration.
We encourage school districts using AES to notify parents that the product is used in their school. If you are a parent or guardian of a student using AES with his or her school, you can request the login information from your child or their teacher. Parents have a right to request the student's Personally Identifiable Information (PII) be deleted or request changes in his or her records if the information is inaccurate or misleading by contacting the school or teacher or AES at support@aeseducation.com. Parents may also refuse to allow AES to collect further information from their children by contacting us at support@aeseducation.com.
Information AES Collects
AES collects basic personal information for users who have registered for our site. At sign-up for teachers, we collect name, login credentials, email address and school name. During enrollment, at the direction of a teacher or administrator, students register in one of their teachers’ courses and we collect student names and login credentials to allow teachers to monitor student progress and collect grades.
The actual student content collected is at the discretion of the teacher or administrator managing the account. Parents, legal guardians, and eligible students can contact the teacher or administrator managing the account to make any corrections. We do not collect any student information beyond what is needed for the teacher to identify the student’s account. Students under age 13 are never asked for Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and should be instructed to never include such information in an open-ended question.
PII refers to identifiable information that is maintained and includes direct identifiers, such as the student’s name or identification number, indirect identifies, such as a student’s date of birth, or other information which can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity either directly or indirectly through linkages with other information.
“Anonymous Information" is information that does not enable identification of an individual user.
"De-Identified Information" is information from which all personally identifiable components have been removed. Unlike Anonymous Information, De-Identified Information is initially collected as PII, after which we remove any identifying component to make the information anonymous.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
COPPA requires that website operators never knowingly collect PII from anyone under the age of 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. Other than in the places and for the purposes explicitly disclosed in this Policy or with the consent of a parent or legal guardian as authorized by law, or otherwise as directed by an applicable district or school or required by contract or by law, we do not knowingly collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) directly from users under the age of 13.
AES offers access to children under 13 based upon the presumption that teachers, or any other party facilitating access to this website by students, have obtained authorization for the storage and use by AES of all student information you provide to AES, including, without limitation, parental consent to the collection of such information by AES. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected any PII from a user under 13, we will take steps to promptly obtain appropriate consent or delete information as necessary. Please contact us at support@aeseducation.com if you believe we have inadvertently collected PII from a user under 13.
AES does not use, share, rent or sell any PII for advertising or marketing purposes.
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
We understand the obligation of educational agencies and their personnel to comply with the FERPA and we support schools in their compliance efforts and facilitate their alignment with FERPA.
Ownership of Student Information
All student information associated with use of AES products/services remains the property of the school district. Authorized school district administrators can request copies of all student data, or deletion of data upon contract termination. "Administrators" are only those individuals explicitly designated by the school district. School districts are required to appoint an administrator that will be responsible for student information and keep us informed of any changes of such appointment. Districts are urged to safeguard the administrator's access information and keep it in strict confidence and notify us of any unauthorized use of password or account registered with AES.
Parents and legal guardians can request review of student information and provide corrections for erroneous data. Access to student information by a parent or legal guardians must be appropriately verified by the school district.
All data requests should be mailed to Applied Educational Systems, at the address indicated below. Requests may take up to 45 days to process.
How Long AES Retains Student Information
School districts (or a parent or guardian through a school district) may request deletion of information at any time by contacting support@aeseducation.com. However, there are circumstances when AES may deny a request for modification or deletion of information, including (but not limited to) when AES believes that applicable law or a court order requires it to retain information, when AES believes that retention of the information is necessary to protect its rights, or when the request extends to backed-up, electronically stored records, the destruction of which would be unreasonably burdensome. Once information is deleted, AES does not generally retain any copies. Teachers may also choose to archive data. School districts may request copies of any raw data from AES, which shall be provided within four (4) weeks of the request.
Analytics / Log Files
As is true of most web sites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data. We may combine this automatically collected log information with other information we collect about you. We do this to improve services we offer you, or to improve marketing, analytics, or website functionality.
Browser Tracking Technology (Cookies)
Like many other websites, we may use a standard feature found in browser software called cookies. This information can be used to track your session on our website. Cookies may also be used to customize our website content for you as an individual. We do not use cookies to collect PII, nor do we combine such general information with other PII to identify a user. If you are using one of the common internet web browsers, you can set up your browser to either let you know when you receive a cookie or to deny cookie access to your computer. Disabling our cookies may limit some of the features and functionalities of the website. To learn more about browser cookies, including how to manage or delete them, look in the Tools, Help or similar section of your Web browser.
How AES Uses Collected Information
We use teacher information to provide information and services to users. For example, we may use this data to contact you about changes to our website, new products and services special offers, resolve disputes, troubleshoot issues, and enforce our website’s terms and conditions. Users can opt out of further email communication.
We do not use student information in any way to contact students, share information with third parties or build student profiles. We use the student information provided for the specific, legitimate educational purpose authorized by the school district. Any other use is prohibited.
Student information access is limited to only those AES employees who have a legitimate educational need to access the information. AES personnel are required to keep PII confidential. AES provides annual training for all employees to ensure security, privacy, and confidentiality of all PII and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
We may share anonymous information or de-identified information about our users for tracking analytical information when using third party web analytical tools. We may use or share anonymous information or de-identified information for educational research purposes, to evaluate the educational benefit of using our services or to improve our services.
How is Information Stored and Protected?
We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect information submitted, both during transmission and once received. While we strive to maintain best industry-standard privacy and security practices, it should be noted that no industry system is fail proof. In the event we learn of an actual data breach, loss or disaster, we have established a Disaster Recovery Plan, which includes notifying the affected parties, and as appropriate, coordinating with school districts to support notification of affected individuals, students and families when there is a substantial risk of harm from the breach or a legal duty to provide notification. We don’t collect information from students that would be required to notify parents. We expect schools to notify parents upon notification of a breach of personal information. In the event of a breach of personal information we will alert the educational institution and teachers users within 24 hours of confirmation of breach.
Legal Disclosures
AES may, in its sole discretion and in accordance with applicable law, provide information about you to law enforcement or other government officials for purposes of fraud investigations, alleged intellectual property infringement, or any other suspected illegal activity or matters that may expose us to legal liability.
Policy Changes
We constantly strive to provide the best services. Changes to this policy may be required to keep pace with changing technology and threats, and as new or changed services are released. The terms of this policy may change from time to time. If material changes are made, we will notify customers by a notice posted on our website of the changes that have been made. If you disagree with the changes that have been made, please contact us at support@aeseducation.com.
We expect most such changes to be minor, but there may be cases where changes may be more significant. In such cases we will first provide prominent notice to users who are affected. Posting the modified Privacy Policy on this website and providing notice as stated above will give effect to the revised terms. Your continued use of this website or AES services indicates your acceptance of any revised terms. If you do not agree to the revised policy, please refrain from using AES services and/or leave this website.
Questions or Concerns
Questions or concerns about this Policy should be brought to the attention of AES by sending an email to support@aeseducation.com and providing us with information outlining the question or concern. You may also mail concerns to AES at the address listed below.
California Privacy Rights
If you are a California resident and our customer, Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.83 permits you to request certain information about our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To request this information, please send an email to support@aeseducation.com or write us at the address listed below.
Applied Educational Systems - Mailing Address
Applied Educational Systems, Inc.
312 East Walnut St Suite 200
Lancaster, PA 17602 USA
