Privacy Policy

1. Scope

This Policy applies to:

• Website visitors
• Parents and guardians
• School representatives
• Prospective customers
• People who contact us
• Users of ChoosingCharter accounts, matching tools, dashboards, events, and inquiry features

It does not govern the independent privacy practices of schools or third-party websites.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide. We may collect:

• Name
• Email address
• Telephone number
• ZIP code, city, or general location
• Account credentials
• Communication preferences
• Saved schools and events
• School inquiries and tour requests
• Messages sent through the Services
• Subscription and transaction information
• Information provided to customer support
• Parent-provided student information

Parents or guardians may provide information such as:

• Current or anticipated grade
• General age or school-entry year
• Geographic preferences
• Desired academic programs
• Extracurricular interests
• Learning-environment preferences
• Transportation needs
• Before-school or after-school needs
• Language-program preferences
• Student-support priorities
• Other school-selection criteria

Please provide only the information reasonably necessary to identify and compare schools. Do not upload educational records, medical records, Social Security numbers, government identification numbers, or detailed disability documentation.

School representative information. We may collect:

• Name and professional title
• School email address and telephone number
• Employer or school affiliation
• Authorization and verification information
• School-profile content
• Event and enrollment information
• Communications with prospective families
• Subscription and billing information

Information collected automatically. We may collect:

• IP address
• Browser and device information
• Operating system
• Pages viewed
• Links and buttons selected
• Referring page
• Approximate location derived from IP address
• Session information
• Cookie and similar-technology identifiers
• Usage and interaction data
• Diagnostic, security, and error information

Information from public and third-party sources. We may collect school-related information from:

• California education agencies
• School districts and charter authorizers
• School and charter-network websites
• Public databases
• Publicly available documents
• Data providers
• Social-media pages
• Authorized school representatives

3. How We Use Information

We may use information to:

• Operate and maintain ChoosingCharter.
• Create and manage accounts.
• Generate and explain school matches.
• Display relevant school profiles and events.
• Remember saved schools and preferences.
• Facilitate parent-authorized school inquiries.
• Provide reminders and event updates.
• Verify school representatives.
• Maintain and improve school information.
• Process subscriptions and payments.
• Provide support.
• Analyze platform use and performance.
• Develop new features.
• Prevent fraud and security incidents.
• Send service and administrative communications.
• Send marketing communications where permitted.
• Measure campaigns and advertising.
• Comply with law and enforce agreements.

4. How Matching Works

ChoosingCharter may compare parent-selected criteria with school attributes to produce match results.

Criteria may include grade, location, programs, activities, learning environment, transportation, student-support preferences, and other priorities.

A match result is designed to assist school research. It is not an admissions decision, eligibility determination, educational diagnosis, or guarantee of suitability.

5. When Information Is Shared With Schools

We do not provide a parent’s contact information to a school merely because the school appeared in search or match results.

We may provide information to a school when the parent knowingly takes an action such as:

• Requesting information
• Requesting a tour
• Registering for an event
• Asking the school to make contact
• Starting an application through a clearly identified school process

The school becomes independently responsible for its subsequent collection and use of the information it receives.

6. Other Disclosures

We may disclose information to:

• Service providers — companies that help provide hosting, data storage, security, communications, customer support, analytics, payment processing, and related services.
• Analytics and advertising providers — providers that help us understand platform usage, measure campaigns, reach potential users, or show relevant advertising. Depending on the technology and applicable law, some advertising-related disclosures may be considered “sharing” for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• Professional advisers — attorneys, accountants, auditors, insurers, and consultants when reasonably necessary.
• Legal and safety recipients — government authorities or other parties when reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect rights, investigate fraud, address security, or protect users.
• Business transactions — a buyer, investor, successor, or adviser in connection with a proposed or completed merger, financing, reorganization, acquisition, or sale of business assets.
• With your direction or consent — other recipients when you request or authorize the disclosure.

7. Sale and Sharing of Personal Information

ChoosingCharter does not sell personal information for money.

We may use analytics or advertising technologies that disclose identifiers and internet activity to advertising partners. Under certain privacy laws, these activities may be considered “selling” or “sharing,” even when no money is exchanged.

Where required, you may opt out by selecting “Your Privacy Choices / Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.”

You may also use a browser or extension that sends a legally recognized Global Privacy Control signal. Where required by law, we will treat that signal as an opt-out request for the browser or device sending it.

We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and related technologies for:

• Essential website operation
• Authentication and security
• Preferences
• Analytics
• Performance
• Advertising and campaign measurement

For additional information, review our Cookie Policy.

9. Children’s Privacy

ChoosingCharter is designed for adults researching educational options for children. It is not directed to children under 13, and children may not create accounts.

Parents and guardians may provide limited information about a child for school-matching purposes.

If we learn that personal information was submitted directly by a child under 13 without appropriate parental involvement, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.

Parents may contact privacy@choosingcharter.com concerning information associated with their child.

The Federal Trade Commission explains that covered online services generally must obtain parental consent before collecting personal information directly from children under 13. FTC COPPA guidance is available at ftc.gov.

10. FERPA and Student Records

ChoosingCharter is generally not a school or school district and does not ordinarily receive education records from schools as a “school official” under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Users should not upload report cards, individualized education programs, disciplinary records, medical records, or other protected student records unless ChoosingCharter has expressly authorized a secure process for that purpose.

11. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for:

• Providing the Services
• Maintaining accounts
• Fulfilling parent requests
• Supporting school relationships
• Completing transactions
• Security and fraud prevention
• Legal and regulatory obligations
• Resolving disputes
• Enforcing agreements

Retention periods vary based on the type of information and why it was collected.

When information is no longer reasonably necessary, we may delete, deidentify, or aggregate it.

12. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information.

No online system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee that information will never be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed without authorization.

Users are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their passwords and account credentials.

13. Your Choices

You may:

• Update certain account information through your dashboard.
• Unsubscribe from marketing email.
• Adjust cookie preferences through our cookie controls.
• Disable optional reminders.
• Cancel school-event notifications.
• Request account deletion.
• Use applicable privacy-rights request procedures.

Some service and security communications cannot be disabled while an account remains active.

14. California Privacy Rights

If the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, applies to ChoosingCharter, California residents may have the right to:

• Know the categories and specific pieces of personal information collected.
• Know the sources, purposes, and categories of recipients.
• Request deletion, subject to exceptions.
• Request correction.
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information.
• Limit certain uses of sensitive personal information.
• Receive equal service and pricing without unlawful discrimination.
• Use an authorized agent.

To submit a request:

Email: privacy@choosingcharter.com

We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests. Information submitted for verification will be used for that purpose.

Authorized agents may be required to provide evidence of their authority.

15. Categories of California Personal Information

Depending on how you use the Services, we may collect:

• Identifiers — name, email, phone, IP address, account ID (accounts, inquiries, security and communications)
• Customer-record information — contact and transaction information (services, subscriptions and support)
• Protected classifications — information voluntarily reflected in language or support preferences (school matching and user-requested services)
• Commercial information — subscription history and service interactions (billing, support and reporting)
• Internet activity — pages viewed, clicks and device activity (security, analytics and improvement)
• Geolocation — ZIP code, city and approximate IP location (nearby-school results)
• Professional information — school representative’s title and affiliation (profile management and verification)
• Education-related preferences — grade and requested school characteristics (matching and recommendations)
• Inferences — likely school interests based on submitted criteria (personalized results)

We do not require Social Security numbers, government identification numbers, biometric identifiers, genetic data, or complete financial-account credentials.

16. Other State Privacy Rights

Residents of other states may have similar rights depending on applicable law.

Requests may be submitted to privacy@choosingcharter.com. We will process requests according to the law that applies to the requester and ChoosingCharter.

17. Third-Party Links

The Services contain links to schools and other third parties. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies.

We encourage users to review a school’s privacy practices before submitting an application or sensitive information.

18. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy as our Services or legal obligations change.

The revised Policy will display a new “Last Updated” date. If an update materially changes how we use personal information, we may provide additional notice.

19. Contact Us

ChoosingCharter

Hyve Holdings LLC

2082 Michelson Dr. Suite 100

Irvine, CA 92612

Privacy questions and requests: privacy@choosingcharter.com

General inquiries: hello@choosingcharter.com