Insideschools.org - Privacy policy

Acceptance of Terms. This website is provided by Advocates for Children, Inc. ("AFC," "we," "us") subject to your compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in this agreement (the "Agreement"). Please note that we reserve the right to update or modify this Agreement without advance notice by posting a revised Agreement to this website. You can determine whether this Agreement has been modified since your last visit to this website by checking the "Last revised" legend at the top of the Agreement.

This Agreement applies to our Internet website, located at www.insideschools.org, as well as all site-related Content and Services (as each is defined below) (collectively, the "Site"). When using particular Content or Services, you will be subject to any additional guidelines or other terms posted by AFC applicable to such Content or Services. All such guidelines and terms are hereby incorporated by reference into this Agreement. To the extent any such guidelines or terms may conflict with this Agreement, this Agreement shall govern your use of the Site.

It is important that you read carefully and understand the terms and conditions of this Agreement. By using the Site, you agree to be bound by the version of this Agreement then in effect. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not use the Site.

Please be aware that the Site may not be available at all times or in all areas. In addition, AFC may deny service to you at any time and in its sole discretion, including, without limitation, in the event you do not adhere to the Rules of Conduct set forth below. We reserve the right at any time to:

Change the terms and conditions of this Agreement;
Change the Site, including modifying, suspending, eliminating or discontinuing, temporarily or permanently, any Content or Service of the Site; or
Impose or change any fees or charges for use of the Site.

You agree that AFC shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension, elimination or discontinuance of the Site. Your continued use of the Site following such changes will indicate your acceptance of such changes.

Description of Content and Services. AFC provides users of the Site with access to certain content, information and other resources regarding New York City's public schools and school system, including without limitation reviews, brochures, guide books, policy reports, contact information, and links (collectively, the "Content"). The Site also allows users to benefit from a variety of services, including without limitation receiving personal email updates on selected topics, subscribing to AFC's email newsletter, and using AFC's "Speak Out " service to send requests, compliments, and complaints to the appropriate recipients (collectively, the "Services").

Submissions. All submissions of information through or in connection with the Site are governed by our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated into this Agreement by this reference. Please note that because we, in providing the Services, may redistribute materials that you give to us, we require certain rights in those materials. Accordingly, by sending or transmitting to us comments, letters to the editor, opinion pieces, quotes, creative suggestions, ideas, notes, concepts, and other information (collectively, "Submissions"), you grant to us and our designees a worldwide, non-exclusive, sublicenseable (through multiple tiers), assignable, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right to use, reproduce, distribute (through multiple tiers), create derivative works based on, perform and display such Submissions in any media now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose whatsoever, without compensation to you or any other provider of the Submissions. AFC reserves the right to establish general practices and limits concerning the Submissions, including without limitation the maximum number of days that Submissions will be retained and the maximum number of times they may be viewed. AFC shall have no responsibility or liability in connection with the posting of, deletion of or failure to store any Submissions, messages or other communications maintained or transmitted through the Site. We will not be subject to any obligation of confidentiality, attribution or otherwise with respect to any Submissions, and we will not be liable for any use or disclosure of any Submissions. AFC shall have no responsibility for ensuring or verifying the receipt of any Submission by designated official(s) or other recipient(s) through "Speak Out ", nor for monitoring or guaranteeing that such recipients take appropriate action to respond to or resolve the issues you may raise in such Submissions. This section will survive any termination or expiration of this Agreement.

We have no obligation to monitor the Submissions. However, you acknowledge and agree that we may do one or all of the following: (a) monitor the Submissions; (b) alter, edit, or remove any Submission; or (c) disclose any Submissions, and the circumstances surrounding their transmission, when we believe in good faith that the law permits it; to our legal advisors; to enforce this Agreement; to protect the rights, property, safety or security of AFC, our users, or the public; to respond to an emergency; or for any other reason or purpose.

When and if you choose to provide feedback about specific schools or compose a letter through the "Speak Out" service, you will be asked to enter certain basic information. You agree to (a) provide truthful, accurate, current and complete information about yourself [or your organization, as applicable,] as prompted (including your email address, an accurate account of events that transpired, the name of the school involved, and so forth); and (b) maintain and update your information as applicable to keep it truthful, accurate, current and complete. You acknowledge and agree that, if any information provided by you is or is suspected to be untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, we may terminate this Agreement and your use of the Site. You further agree not to deliberately use someone else's name as your own in your Submissions.

AFC's Proprietary Rights. You acknowledge and agree that the information and materials presented to you on or through the Site, including without limitation the Content and the Services, are and shall remain the property of AFC and its licensors and suppliers, and are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, and/or other proprietary rights and related laws, rules and regulations. You may download or distribute any material available on the Site for non-commercial use only, provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices, and subject to all other terms and conditions of this Agreement. Except as expressly authorized in advance by AFC, you agree not to copy, modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based (whether in whole or in part) on, any materials, including without limitation any Content or Services.

The trademarks, service marks, logos and trade names displayed on the Site (collectively the "Trademarks") are the registered and unregistered trademarks of AFC, AFC's licensors and suppliers, and others. All Trademarks on the Site not owned by AFC are the property of their respective owners. The Trademarks owned by AFC, whether registered or unregistered, may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not AFC's, in any manner that is likely to cause confusion with customers, or in any manner that disparages AFC. Nothing contained on the Site should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any license or right to use any Trademark.

Rules of Conduct. We have adopted the "Rules of Conduct" set forth below in an effort to foster a forum where information and views can be shared in an enjoyable and productive way. While using the Site, you agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations. In addition, you agree not to:

Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the Site, or the servers or networks that host the Site or make the Site available; or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies, or regulations of such servers or networks;
Restrict or inhibit any other user from using the Site, including, without limitation, by means of "hacking" or defacing any portion of the Site;
Interfere with or violate any other Site user's or Registrant's right to privacy or other rights, or harvest, collect or disclose information about Site users or Registrants without their express consent.
Use the Site, Content or Services for any unlawful purpose, or transmit or otherwise make available in connection with the Site any material that would give rise to criminal or civil liability, that encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offense, or that encourages or provides instructional information about illegal or potentially illegal activities;
Transmit (a) any content or information that is unlawful, fraudulent, tortious, threatening, abusive, harassing, degrading, hateful, intimidating, disruptive, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate, or infringes our or any third party's intellectual property or other rights; (b) any material, non-public information about companies without the authorization to do so; (c) any trade secret of any third party; or (d) any advertisements, solicitations, chain letters, pyramid schemes, investment opportunities or other unsolicited commercial communication;
Engage in spamming or flooding;
Post statements that intentionally discriminate against or harass particular individuals or groups;
Impersonate any person or entity, including any AFC employees or Registrants; falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; or express or imply that we endorse any statement you make, without our prior written consent;
Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, or otherwise violate the legal rights of any person or entity;
Transmit any software or other materials that contain any viruses, worms, trojan horses, web bugs, bots, defects, date bombs, time bombs or other items of a harmful, disruptive, or invasive nature, or any other actually or potentially harmful, disruptive, or invasive code or component; modify, adapt, sublicense, translate, sell, license, exploit for commercial purposes, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any portion of the Site;
Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in the Site, Content or Services;
Frame or mirror any part of the Site without our prior written authorization;
Link to any page of or content on the Site other than the URL located at http://www.insideschools.org/;
Use any robot, spider, site search or retrieval application or other manual or automatic device or process to retrieve, index, data-mine or in any way determine, reproduce, archive or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Site or its contents; or
Create a database by systematically downloading and storing all or any of the Content from the Site.

You acknowledge that AFC has the right, but not the obligation, to modify or remove, or not to post, any Submissions that violate the Rules of Conduct or that otherwise violate this Agreement. If you see postings that violate these terms of use, please contact us.

Information Available on or Through the Site. Information made available on or through the Site is provided by AFC staff or agents (such information, "AFC Content"), as well as third parties (such information, "Third-Party Content")(collectively, the "Content"). Third-Party Content includes, but is not limited to, descriptions of schools, statistics, data, legal information, informational updates regarding issues and changes occurring in New York's school system, as well as information about school related events.

The inclusion of Third-Party Content on the Site does not indicate any approval or endorsement by AFC of such Third-Party Content, or of any opinion, advice, or other information made or displayed on the Site by any user or other third party.

Although AFC hopes that the Content will be helpful and informative, we cannot guarantee that the Content will be up-to-date, accurate or complete. Please check directly with schools [and other resources identified] for the most up-to-date, accurate and complete information. AFC is not responsible for, and hereby disclaims any and all liability with respect to the Content, including errors or omissions in information or postings, for hyperlinks embedded in messages, or for any results obtained by using such information. Under no circumstances will we or our suppliers or agents be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on such information obtained through the Site.

The "Basic Information " available on the Site are designed to inform you about the law related to education. As stated at Disclaimer, in providing such legal information we are not providing you with any legal advice -- that is, the application of law to your specific circumstances. Although we go to great lengths to make sure our information is accurate and useful, this information is written for a general audience. As a result, we recommend you consult a lawyer if you want to ensure that our information, and your interpretation of it, is appropriate to your particular situation. An attorney-client relationship brings with it certain protections. For example, your lawyer can't tell others what you said without your permission and your lawyer can't represent other people whose interests conflict with your own. None of these protections apply when you are merely given general information about the law.

Links. The Site provides links to other Internet websites and resources. Because AFC has no control over such sites and resources, you acknowledge and agree that AFC does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, or other materials on or available from such sites or resources, or for the availability of such external sites or resources. AFC is providing these links to you only as a convenience. In addition, AFC has no control over sites that provide links to the Site, and you acknowledge and agree that AFC does not endorse such sites and is not responsible for any links from those sites to the Site or for any content, advertising, products, or other materials available on such other sites. You acknowledge and agree that AFC shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to have been caused by or in connection with the use of or inability to use: (a) any sites or resources to which AFC provides links, or that provide links to the Site; or (b) any content, goods, or services available on or through any such sites or resources. AFC shall have the right, but not the obligation, at any time and in its sole discretion, to block links to the Site through technological or other means, without prior notice.

Claims of Copyright Infringement. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the "DMCA") provides recourse for copyright owners who believe that material appearing on the Internet infringes their rights under U.S. copyright law. If you believe in good faith that materials hosted by AFC infringe your copyright, you (or your agent) may send us a notice requesting that the material be removed, or access to it blocked. Notices and counter-notices must meet the then-current statutory requirements imposed by the DMCA; see http://www.loc.gov/copyright/ for details. Notices and counter-notices with respect to the Site should be sent to:

By Mail:
Kim Sweet
Executive Director
Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.
151 West 30th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY
10001
By email: online form

Access By Minors. Pursuant to 47 U.S.C. Section 230 (d), as amended, we hereby notify you that parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software or filtering services) are commercially available that may assist you in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors. Information identifying current providers of such protections is available at the web site of GetNetWise: http://kids.getnetwise.org/tools/.

Jurisdictional Issues. The Site is controlled and operated by AFC from its principal office in the State of New York, U.S.A., and is not intended to subject AFC to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country or territory other than the State of New York and the United States of America. AFC does not represent or warrant that the Site, Content, or Services, or any aspect thereof, is appropriate or available for use in any particular jurisdiction. Those who choose to access the Site do so on their own initiative and at their own risk, and are solely responsible for complying with all local laws, rules, and regulations. We reserve the right to limit the availability of the Site, or the availability of any Content or Service in connection therewith, to any person, geographic area or jurisdiction, at any time and in our sole discretion, and to limit the quantities of any such Content, Service, or other products or materials that we provide.

Termination. You agree that AFC, in its sole discretion, may terminate your use of the Site or any part thereof, at any time and for any reason, including, without limitation, if AFC believes that you have violated or acted inconsistently with the letter or spirit of this Agreement. You agree that any termination of your access to the Site, Content or Services under any provision of this Agreement may be effected without prior notice. Further, you agree that AFC shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to the Site.

Disclaimers. THE SITE, THE CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THE SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. YOU AGREE THAT YOU MUST EVALUATE AND BEAR ALL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF THE SITE, CONTENT AND SERVICES, AND ANY RELIANCE ON THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS THEREOF. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, AFC DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE, CONTENT AND SERVICES, AND ANY OTHER CONTENT OR SERVICES YOU MAY ACCESS THROUGH THE SITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

AFC AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, SPONSORS AND AGENTS DO NOT WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR SECURE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE SITE, THE SERVER(S) ON WHICH THE SITE IS HOSTED OR SOFTWARE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING AND MAINTAINING ALL TELEPHONE, COMPUTER HARDWARE AND OTHER EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO ACCESS AND USE THE SITE, AND ALL CHARGES RELATED THERETO. YOU ASSUME ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND YOUR RELIANCE THEREON. NO OPINION, ADVICE OR STATEMENT OF COMPANY OR ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, SPONSORS, AGENTS, OR USERS, WHETHER MADE ON THE SITE, IN THE SOFTWARE OR OTHERWISE, SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY.

A possibility exists that the Site, Content or Services could include inaccuracies or errors, or information or materials that violate this Agreement (including the Rules of Conduct above). Additionally, a possibility exists that unauthorized alterations could be made by third parties to the Site, Content or Services. Although we attempt to ensure the integrity of the Site, we make no guarantees as to the Site's completeness or correctness. In the event that a situation arises in which the Site's completeness or correctness is in question, please contact us with, if possible, a description of the material to be checked and the location (URL) where such material can be found on the Site, as well as information sufficient to enable us to contact you.

Limitation of Liability. NEITHER AFC NOR ANY OF OUR AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS OR SPONSORS, NOR OUR OR THEIR DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, AGENTS OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVES, ARE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF DATA OR LOST PROFITS), UNDER ANY CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER THEORY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO THE SITE AND/OR MATERIALS CONTAINED ON THE SITE, ANY LINKED SITE OR ANY CONTENT OR SERVICE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE. YOUR SOLE REMEDY FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE, CONTENT, SERVICES OR ANY LINKED SITE IS TO STOP USING THE SITE, CONTENT, SERVICES OR LINKED SITE, AS APPLICABLE. THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE MAXIMUM LIABILITY TO AFC FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES AND CAUSES OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, SHALL BE THE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY YOU, IF ANY, TO ACCESS THE SITE.

Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless AFC and our directors, officers, employees, consultants, agents and other representatives, from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees) and other expenses that arise directly or indirectly out of or from (a) your activities in connection with the Site; (b) any violation of this Agreement by you; or (c) any allegation that any Submissions or other materials you submit to us or transmit to the Site infringe or otherwise violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property or other rights of any third party.

Miscellaneous. This Agreement is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, United States of America, without regards to its principles of conflicts of law. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of any State or Federal court located in the County of New York, New York, United States of America, and waive any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such courts, in any matter arising out of or related to the Site or this Agreement. If any provision of this Agreement is found to 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. This, together with all policies referred to herein, is the entire Agreement between us relating to the subject matter herein and supersedes any and all prior or contemporaneous written or oral Agreements between us with respect to such subject matter.

Questions. The Site is provided by Advocates for Children of New York, Inc. If you have any questions, comments or complaints regarding this Agreement or the Site, feel free to contact us or write to:

Advocates for Children of New York, Inc.
151 West 30th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001