Terms and Conditions

Stride Thank My Teacher – Terms of Use

Stride Thank My Teacher – Terms of Use

Welcome to Stride Thank My Teacher! To use our website and services, you will use our intellectual property and technology for your benefit. Because of that, we have rights on what you may do with our property and may limit your use of the website and services. We will have responsibilities to you, and you will have responsibilities to us. Together, these rights and responsibilities are called “Terms of Use” (or “Terms”). By using our Site and Services (defined below), you agree to these Terms. That is why it is important that you carefully read this whole page before you use our Site and Services.

You may not use the Services if you are younger than 13 years old unless either your parent or legal guardian creates an account and enters information about you .

The Site and Services are operated in the United States. If you are not located in the United States, you are not authorized to use the Site and Services and are directed not to do so. If you are located outside of the United States, please be aware that information we collect will be transferred to and processed in the United States in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

Certain features of the Services may be subject to more terms, including but not limited to, the Privacy Policy. Those added terms are part of these Terms of Use and are legally binding just as if they were written on this page.

These Terms require the use of arbitration on an individual basis to resolve disputes, AND DO NOT PERMIT jury trials or class actions. THESE TERMS ALSO LIMIT YOUR REMEDIES in the event of a dispute.

1. What Definitions apply to the Stride Thank My Teacher Terms of Use?

“Confidential Information” means, but is not limited to, all formulas, processes, designs, plans, programs, software, customer and price lists, supplier lists, marketing strategies, reports, financial information and the like, in whatever form or medium, and whether or not designated or marked “confidential,” which relate to or are derived from the products, services or business of the Stride and not disclosed by Stride to the general public.

“Personal Information” means information that can reasonably be used alone or in combination with other reasonably available information, to identify or contact a specific individual.

“Services” means the Stride Thank My Teacher products and services made available on the Site.

“Site” means Stride Thank My Teacher website www.thankmyteacher.org.

“Stride, Inc.” (and “we,” “us,” and “our”) means Stride, Inc. and our subsidiaries and Affiliates. An “Affiliate” of Stride, Inc. is an entity that controls Stride, Inc., is controlled by Stride, Inc., or is under common control with Stride, Inc. “Control” means the direct or indirect possession of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management policies of an entity.

“User Content” means all information and content (including text, photos, images, sound, video and any other materials) that a user submits to the Site or Services.

“You”, “your(s)” and “ user(s)” means users using/accessing our Site and Services.

2. What Requirements and Responsibilities Apply to Creating an Account?

Signing Up. To use some of the Services, you must register for an account (“Account”) and provide information about yourself and/or your child. You must always provide true, complete and updated information for the Account. You also must be of legal age (usually 18 years old or older) to create the account or have consent from your parent or legal guardian to do so. If you create an account for your minor child, you are certifying that you are the parent or legal guardian of the child listed on the Account. You may turn off your Account at any time by following the instructions on the Site. As the parent or legal guardian, it is your responsibility to decide whether our Services are appropriate for your child.

Account Responsibilities . Keep your password and Personal Information private. You are responsible for the activity that happens on or through your Account. Do not use your Account password on other sites or applications. You must immediately tell Stride of any unauthorized use, or suspected unauthorized use of your Account or any other failure of security. We are not responsible for any unauthorized access to your Account or Personal Information you have provided to us resulting from your failure to protect your Account or Personal Information.

3. What Requirements and Restrictions Apply to Your Use of the Site and Services?

How You Use the Site and Services . We give you a non-transferable, limited license to use and access the Site and Services only for your own personal use. We can take back that license at any time. You do not have the rights to:

Change or use our content for other purposes;
communicate or publish it to a third party, including the public, people you know, or other businesses and entities;
record, photograph or stream it;
post it on a website or social media platform;
sell it; or
otherwise violate our intellectual property rights, including using it to develop another product or service.

Ownership . Except for User Content, all content in the Site and Services, text, graphics, data, photographic images, moving images, sound, drawings, and software is either owned by Stride or licensed by Stride from third-parties. All content in the Site and Services is protected by copyright, trademark, patent and other laws relating to the protection of intellectual property. You do not own any User Content except that which you have submitted.

Access. You are responsible for getting access to the Site and Service. You must provide and are responsible for all equipment necessary to access the Site and Service.

4. What Requirements Apply to Users Under the Age of 13?

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) protects the privacy of children under the age of 13. It requires web site operators and online services to post privacy policies and obtain true parental permission before collecting information from those children. Stride does not knowingly collect or ask for any Personal Information from children under 13 except directly from a child’s parent or guardian. If we learn that we have collected Personal Information from a person under 13 that does not comply with COPPA, we will delete that information. If you believe that a child under the age of 13 has given Personal Information to us without complying with COPPA, please contact us at [email protected].

5. What Are Stride’s Rights Regarding Service Modifications and Support?

Modification . At any time, we may change, suspend, add to or discontinue some or all of the Site or Services with or without telling you. Stride is not liable for any changes, suspension, added or discontinuation of any of the Site or Services.

No Support or Maintenance . Stride has no duty to provide any support or maintenance about the Site or Services.

6. What Requirements Apply to User Content?

User Content . You are responsible for your User Content. You need to make sure that it has not been copied or changed from somebody else without their permission. If you post something that concerns us, we may contact the authorities – such as the police or social services.

Code of Conduct . You may not represent or suggest that your User Content is given, sponsored or endorsed by Stride. We do not have a duty to backup any User Content unless we must do so by law. Therefore, your User Content may be deleted at any time without prior notice.

We May Use Your Feedback . We welcome your feedback, comments, opinions ideas or suggestions, including but not limited to, any feedback, comments, opinions, or suggestions that you post on our Site (“Feedback”) about our Services! We may use your Feedback without any restriction or duty to you, even after you stop using the Site or Services.

How We Use User Content . Your User Content stays yours. These Terms do not give us any rights to your User Content, except as explicitly stated in these Terms. When you provide your User Content to us through our Site and Services, you give us (and those we work with) a worldwide perpetual license to use, host, store, reproduce, change, publish, perform, display and distribute that content. The rights you grant to us are for the limited purpose of commerce, operating, promoting, protecting and improving our Site and Services, and to develop new ones. To the extent we need to do so for those purposes, we may provide User Content to other entities; however, to the extent we are able to do so, we will require those entities to use the User Content obeying the same restrictions that we have to do so. This license continues even if you stop using our Site and Services.

Enforcement. We may, but do not have to, review User Content, and investigate and/or act against you in our sole determination if you violate the Acceptable Use Policy below or any other provision of these Terms or otherwise create liability for us or any person. Such action may include removing or changing your User Content, ending your Account and/or reporting you to police or other authorities.

7. What Is Stride’s Acceptable Use Policy?

We expect you to behave responsibly. Here are some examples of prohibited behavior:

1. Abusing and Disrupting the Site or Services

Don’t probe, scan or test the weaknesses of any system or network.
Don’t breach or otherwise bypass any security or authentication measures.
Don’t access, tamper with or use nonpublic areas of the Services, or areas of the Site or Services to which you have not been invited.
Don’t interfere with or disrupt any user, host or network, for example by distributing harmful programs or apps or overloading, flooding or mail‑bombing any part of the Services.
Don’t take apart, decompile or reverse engineer any part of the Services.
Don’t access, search or create accounts for the Services by any means other than our publicly supported interfaces (for example, do not scrape, spider or crawl).
Don’t take any action that creates an unreasonable (as determined by us) load on systems or the systems of our providers.
Don’t provide your password to any other person, use any other person’s username and password, or otherwise manage the Services through shared credentials.
Don’t upload, transmit, or distribute to or through the Services any computer viruses, worms, or any software meant to damage or change a computer system or data.

2. Spamming and Phishing

Don’t send spam or other unsolicited communications, promotions or advertisements.
Don’t send altered, deceptive or false source-identifying information, including phishing or spoofing.

3. Lying to and Pretending to be Others

Don’t do or post anything that’s fake or misleading.
Don’t pretend to be another person, company or entity.

4. Stealing

Don’t sell the Services unless specifically approved in writing by Stride to do so or publish or use the Services on any network or system other than those we provide to you.

5. Infringing, Misappropriating and Violating Rights

Don’t infringe or misappropriate anyone’s copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent or other intellectual property rights.
Don’t violate anyone’s privacy or publicity rights.
Don’t harvest, collect, gather or put together information or data related to other users, including e-mail addresses, without their permission.

6. Harming Others

Don’t do or post anything threatening, harassing, abusive, excessively violent, offensive, harmful, defamatory, sexually explicit, pornographic, or obscene.
Don’t promote bigotry, violence, property damage or hatred against any person or group based on their race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual preference, age, disability or any other category that is protected by law.
Don’t bully anyone.

7. Breaking the Law

Don’t use the Services in violation of any US export controls, rules or sanctions.
Don’t do anything that otherwise violates the law, including all local laws about online conduct and acceptable content.
Don’t provide material support or resources to any organization named by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization.
Do not use the Services if you are 1) located in, under the control of, or a national or resident of any country to which the U.S. has embargoed goods or (2) a person on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Commerce Department’s Table of Deny Orders.

8. What Privacy Rights Apply to the Site and Services?

Please review our Privacy Policy for a description of Stride’s privacy practices and obligations.

9. What Should I Do If I Have a Disability and Am Concerned About the Accessibility of the Services?

Stride is committed to making sure that the Services remain accessible to all people, regardless of disability. Further information about accessibility of the Services can be found in the Web Accessibility Resolution Procedure .

10. What Are My Indemnification Obligations to Stride?

You agree that you will be responsible for all costs for which Stride and its employees, officers and directors are responsible because of any action, liability, loss and damage (including legal fees) related to: (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of the rights of any third party; or (d) your use of the Site and Services.

11. How Is Stride’s Potential Liability to Me Limited?

DISCLAIMERS . The Site and Services are provided to you “as is,” without warranties, either express, implied or by law. Stride disclaims any warranties to you of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement. Stride does not promise to you that the Site and Services will: (a) be timely, uninterrupted, secure, or error-free; (b) meet your requirements or expectations; or (c) be free from viruses or other harmful components. If applicable law requires any warranties with respect to the Site and Services, those warranties are limited in duration to sixty days from the date of first use. Some jurisdictions don’t allow the disclaimers in this paragraph, so they may not apply to you.

Stride’s Site enables parents to thank their child’s teacher for the contributions they’ve made to their child’s education, such as their hard work, dedication, and commitment to teaching, for special events or for specific accomplishments. The user opinions posted on the Site are solely the opinions of such users and are not the opinions of Stride. Stride has no control over the opinions made by any users or acts or omissions of any user on or off the Site.

LIMITATION ON LIABILITY . If something bad happens as a result of your using the Site or Services, our liability is limited as described in this paragraph. Stride and its providers are not liable for anything related to the Site, Services or these Terms for: (a) any direct, indirect, special, incidental, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages; (b) any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill or other intangible losses; (c) any damages related to your access to, use of or inability to access or use the Site or Services or any part of the Service; (d) any damages related to loss or corruption of any content or data, including User Content; (e) any User Content or other conduct or content of any user or third party using the Site or Services; or (f) any third-party sites accessed via the Site or Services. In no event shall Stride’s total liability to you for all damages, losses, or causes of action, whether in contract or in tort exceed the lesser of (1) the amount paid by you to Stride during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the date of the claim, if any, or (2) $100.These limitations apply whether or not Stride has been informed of the possibility of such damage. You agree that the above warranty disclaimers and limitation on liability in these Terms are material, bargained for bases of these Terms, and that they have been taken into account in determining the consideration to be given by each party under these Terms and in the decision by each party to enter into these Terms. Some jurisdictions don’t allow the types of limits in this paragraph, so they may not apply to you.

12. What Happens When My Account Is Terminated?

We may suspend or end your rights to use the Services (including your Account) at any time for any reason at our sole discretion. If that happens, your Account and right to access and use the Services will end immediately. Stride is not responsible to you for any ending of your rights under these Terms.

13. What Should I Do If I Have Concerns About Copyrights or Intellectual Property?

Stride respects the intellectual property of others and asks that users of our Site and Services do the same. If you believe that one of our users is using the Site or Services to illegally violate the copyright(s) in a work, please review Stride’s Intellectual Property Policy .

14. What Rights and Obligations Apply Related to Linking to Third-Party Sites?

Sometimes the Site or Services link to other third-party services, applications and websites (collectively, “Third-Party Services”). The Third-Party Services may have their own terms and policies, and your use of them will be ruled by those terms and policies. We don’t control Third-Party Services, and we’re not liable for Third-Party Services. Stride provides access to Third-Party Services only as a convenience to you and does not review or make any representations with respect to Third-Party Services.

15. What Rights and Obligations Apply to Interactions with Other Users?

Each person using the Site or Services is responsible for all his or her own User Content. We are not responsible for any User Content, whether given by you or by others. We make no promises about the accuracy, suitability, or quality of any User Content. Your interactions with other users of the Services are only between you and such users. Stride is not responsible for any loss or damage caused as the result of any such interactions. If there is a dispute between you and any user of the Services, we are under no duty to become involved.

Users assume all risks when using the Site or Services, including any and all of the risks associated with any online or offline interactions with other users. Users shall take all necessary precautions when interacting with other users on the Site and in the use of the Services.

16. What Laws Apply and How Are Disputes Resolved?

Governing Law and Location for Solving Disputes. Subject to the arbitration clause below, all dispute related to these Terms or to the use of the Site or Services are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, except for its conflicts of law terms. To the extent a dispute is not resolved through arbitration, the exclusive location for any claim or action related to these Terms or the use of the Site or Services is the federal or state courts having jurisdiction in Fairfax County, Virginia. You agree to personal jurisdiction in those courts. You agree that that location is not inconvenient.

Informal Resolution. Before filing a claim against Stride, you agree to try to resolve the dispute by first emailing [email protected] with a description of your claim. We’ll try to resolve the dispute informally by following up via email, phone or other methods. If we can’t resolve the dispute within thirty (30) days of our receipt of your first email, you or Stride may then bring a formal proceeding as described below.

Binding Arbitration. Please read this Arbitration Agreement carefully. It is part of your contract with Stride and affects your rights. Any dispute or claim relating in any way to these Terms (including to the validity and enforceability of these Terms) or the Site or Services will be solved by binding and confidential arbitration, rather than in court. The Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law apply to these Terms. There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is limited. However, an arbitrator can award on an individual basis the same damages and relief as a court (including injunctive and declaratory relief or statutory damages) and must follow the Terms as a court would . The arbitration will be conducted in English by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its rules, including the AAA’s Supplementary Procedures for Consumer-Related Disputes. The AAA’s rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA’s rules. You may choose to have the arbitration conducted by telephone, based on written submissions, or in person. The arbitration will be held before one arbitrator and that person will issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. We each agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated or representative action. If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, we both give up any right to a jury trial. We also both agree that you or we may bring a suit in court to enjoin infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights.

17. What Other Provisions Apply?

California Disclosure . Stride is located at 11720 Plaza America Dr., 9th Floor, Reston, VA 20190. If you are a California resident, you may report complaints to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Product of the California Department of Consumer Affairs by contacting them in writing at 400 R Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.

Electronic Communications . The communications between you and Stride are through electronic means, whether you use the Site or Services, send us emails, or contact us via standard message service (SMS) through your mobile or electronic device, or whether Stride posts statements on the Site or communicates with you via emails or SMS through your mobile or electronic device. For contractual purposes, you (a) agree to receive communications from us in an electronic form; and (b) agree that all terms and conditions, agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications would satisfy if it were written in a hardcopy. To opt-out of communications from us please see our Privacy Policy.

Entire Terms/Waivers/Third Parties . These Terms are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the use of the Site and Services. Any exception to any of these Terms is only valid if it is in writing and signed by an executive of Stride. These Terms are between you and Stride. No other person or entity has any right to enforce any of the Terms.

Severability . If any provision of these Terms is unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect and an enforceable term will be substituted reflecting our intent as closely as possible.

Assignment . You may not transfer any of your rights and obligations under these Terms, and any attempt to do so is void. We may transfer our rights under these Terms to any of our Affiliates or subsidiaries, or to any successor in interest of any business connected with the Site and Services.

Copyright/Trademark Information . Copyright © 2020 Stride, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks, logos and service marks (“Marks”) displayed on the Site or Services are our property or the property of other third parties under a license with us. You are not permitted to use these Marks without our prior written permission or the prior written permission of the third party that owns the Marks.

Modifications . We may change these Terms and will always post the most current version on our Site. Please check back on a regular basis. By continuing to use or access the Site or Services after any changes come into effect, you agree to be bound by the changed terms. If you disagree with our changes, do not continue to use the Site or Services.