Terms of Service

2.1 "Authorized Users" means Teachers, Students, and any other individuals authorized by the Educational Institution or Teacher to access the Service.

2.2 "Educational Institution" means a preschool, K-12 school, school district, or post-secondary institution.

2.3 "Student" means a student enrolled in a class on the Service, who has been granted access by a Teacher or Educational Institution.

2.4 "Student Data" means any information directly related to an identifiable current or former student that is maintained by or on behalf of an Educational Institution in connection with the Service, including "education records" as defined by FERPA.

2.5 "Teacher" means a teacher, school administrator, or other school personnel who creates or manages classes on the Service.

2.6 "User Content" means any content submitted, posted, uploaded, or otherwise made available through the Service by any user, including but not limited to assignments, documents, images, audio recordings, annotations, messages, comments, and student work.

3.1 You may use the Service only if you can form a legally binding contract with us and only in compliance with these Terms and all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, rules, and regulations ("Applicable Law").

3.2 The Service is designed for use by Teachers and Students within Educational Institutions. Only Teachers may create classes on the Service. Students may access the Service only when granted access by a Teacher or Educational Institution.

3.3 Teachers represent and warrant that they have received all necessary permissions from their Educational Institution to use the Service as part of their educational activities.

3.4 The Service is not available to any users we have previously removed from the Service.

4.1 Teacher Accounts. Teachers must register for an account to use the Service. When creating an account, you must provide accurate and complete information and keep this information up to date. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

4.2 Student Accounts. Student accounts are created and managed by Teachers. Teachers are responsible for creating student access credentials and distributing them only to the appropriate Students. Student accounts use a simplified authentication system and do not require an email address.

4.3 Account Security. You will not share your account credentials with unauthorized individuals. You will not use another user's account without permission. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your account credentials.

4.4 Teacher Responsibilities for Student Accounts. Teachers are solely responsible for:

• Creating student accounts only for students currently enrolled in their classes;
• Distributing student access credentials securely and only to authorized Students;
• Supervising student use of the Service within their classes;
• Ensuring that Student access is removed when a Student is no longer enrolled in the class; and
• Treating the Service as an extension of the classroom and taking reasonable steps to ensure Students are using the Service appropriately.

5.1 License. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service solely for educational purposes within your Educational Institution.

5.2 Service Availability. We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service, or any part thereof, at any time with or without notice. We will make reasonable efforts to provide advance notice of any significant changes. We are not liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service.

5.3 Free Service. The Service is currently provided free of charge. We reserve the right to introduce paid features or subscriptions in the future. If we do, existing free features will continue to be available unless we provide reasonable advance notice of any changes.

6.1 Ownership. As between you and ClassThought, you (or your Educational Institution, as applicable) retain all ownership rights in your User Content. ClassThought does not claim ownership of any User Content.

6.2 License to ClassThought. By submitting User Content through the Service, you grant ClassThought a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, and display such User Content solely as necessary to provide, maintain, and improve the Service. This license continues until you or your Educational Institution delete the User Content or your account, except as required for backup and legal compliance purposes.

6.3 Responsibility for User Content. You are solely responsible for all User Content you submit through the Service. You represent and warrant that:

• You own or have all necessary rights and permissions to submit the User Content;
• The User Content does not violate any Applicable Law or infringe any third-party rights; and
• The User Content does not contain material that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.

6.4 Teacher Responsibility for Student Content. Teachers are responsible for reviewing Student User Content and ensuring it complies with these Terms and any applicable school or district policies.

6.5 Content Removal. We reserve the right, but have no obligation, to review, monitor, edit, or remove any User Content at our sole discretion, including User Content that we believe violates these Terms or is otherwise objectionable. We are not responsible for any failure to remove, or delay in removing, such content.

6.6 Data Retention and Deletion. We reserve the right to delete User Content and account data after termination of an account or after a prolonged period of inactivity that reasonably suggests the account has been abandoned. Teachers and Educational Institutions should maintain their own backups of any User Content they wish to preserve.

7.1 The Service, including all software, design, text, graphics, interfaces, and other content provided by ClassThought (excluding User Content), and all intellectual property rights therein, are and remain the property of ClassThought or its licensors. These Terms do not grant you any right, title, or interest in the Service except for the limited license set forth in Section 5.1.

7.2 You will not copy, modify, distribute, sell, lease, reverse engineer, decompile, or create derivative works based on the Service or any ClassThought technology, except as expressly permitted under these Terms or as required by Applicable Law.

7.3 "ClassThought" and any associated logos, trademarks, and service marks are the property of ClassThought. You may not use any ClassThought marks without our prior written consent.

8.1 Privacy. We care about your privacy. Our collection, use, and disclosure of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

8.2 FERPA Compliance. When the Service is used by an Educational Institution, ClassThought processes Student Data as a "school official" with a legitimate educational interest, as defined under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA"). We will not use Student Data for any purpose other than providing and improving the Service for the Educational Institution and its Authorized Users. As between ClassThought and the Educational Institution, the Educational Institution owns all Student Data.

8.3 COPPA Compliance. ClassThought complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without appropriate consent. When the Service is used in an Educational Institution, ClassThought relies on the Educational Institution to provide consent for the collection of personal information from students under 13, as permitted by COPPA. Teachers and Educational Institutions represent and warrant that they have obtained all necessary parental consents or have the authority to provide consent as agents of the parents for the use of the Service by students under 13.

8.4 Student Data Restrictions. ClassThought will not:

• Use Student Data for advertising or marketing purposes;
• Sell Student Data to any third party;
• Use Student Data to create advertising profiles of Students;
• Disclose Student Data except as directed by the Educational Institution, as required by law, or as otherwise permitted under these Terms and our Privacy Policy; or
• Retain Student Data beyond the period necessary to provide the Service, unless otherwise directed by the Educational Institution.

8.5 Data Security. We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of personal information and Student Data. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You acknowledge that you provide your data at your own risk.

8.6 State Student Privacy Laws. In addition to FERPA and COPPA, ClassThought will comply with applicable state student data privacy laws. Educational Institutions are responsible for notifying ClassThought of any specific state requirements that may apply to their use of the Service.

9.1 You agree that you will not, and will not permit any Authorized User to:

• Use the Service for any purpose other than legitimate educational purposes;
• Upload, post, or transmit any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable;
• Upload, post, or transmit any content that exploits or endangers children;
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
• Interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service;
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service, other accounts, or computer systems or networks connected to the Service;
• Use any automated means, including robots, spiders, or scrapers, to access the Service for any purpose;
• Transmit any viruses, worms, malware, or other harmful or destructive code;
• Collect or harvest any personal information from the Service;
• Use the Service to send unsolicited communications, promotions, or spam;
• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of the Service;
• Use the Service in any manner that violates any Applicable Law; or
• Encourage or enable any other individual to do any of the foregoing.

9.2 Educational Institutions and Teachers are responsible for ensuring that their Students and other Authorized Users comply with these acceptable use requirements.

10.1 We respect the intellectual property rights of others and expect our users to do the same. It is our policy to respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA").

10.2 If you believe that content available on or through the Service infringes your copyright, you may submit a notification to us at admin@classthought.com with the following information:

• A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and its location on the Service;
• Your contact information, including address, telephone number, and email address;
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner; and
• A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

10.3 Repeat infringers may have their accounts terminated.

14.1 Term. These Terms remain in effect for as long as you have an account on or use the Service.

14.2 Termination by You. You may deactivate your account and stop using the Service at any time. Teachers should export or download any User Content they wish to preserve before deactivating their account.

14.3 Termination by Us. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice. Reasons for termination may include, but are not limited to, violation of these Terms, extended periods of inactivity, or discontinuation of the Service.

14.4 Effect of Termination. Upon termination, your right to use the Service will immediately cease. We may delete your account data and User Content in accordance with our data retention practices. Sections 6.1, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 16 shall survive any termination of these Terms.

15.1 Governing Law. These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

15.2 Dispute Resolution. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall first be addressed through good-faith informal negotiation. If a dispute cannot be resolved informally within thirty (30) days, either party may pursue resolution through the courts of competent jurisdiction in the State of Texas.

15.3 State or Local Government Customers. If you are a state or local government entity, the governing law and dispute resolution provisions shall not apply to the extent your jurisdiction's laws prohibit you from accepting them.

16.1 Changes to Terms. We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice through the Service or by other reasonable means. Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

16.2 Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any other policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and ClassThought regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

16.3 Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

16.4 No Waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

16.5 Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms, or any rights or obligations hereunder, without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms without restriction.

16.6 Force Majeure. Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in performance due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, pandemic, government actions, power failures, internet disruptions, or denial-of-service attacks.

16.7 Contact Information. If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at: