Privacy Policy & Terms of Usage

Privacy Statement

Welcome to PA Virtual’s website. We appreciate your interest in us. PA Virtual’s education program combines online technology with traditional content and exceptional teaching methods.

PA Virtual Charter School (“PA Virtual”) has established this privacy policy to let you know how we collect, use, share and protect information that we may gather from pavirtualk12.org & any additional subdomains owned by PA Virtual, the K¹²® Online School (“OLS”), and the websites of our affiliated schools (collectively, “Sites”).” This policy does not apply to information that we may collect from you outside of our Sites, such as over the phone, by fax, or through conventional mail. In addition, please note that all of your children’s educational records are protected by the PA Virtual Charter School as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and similar Pennsylvania state laws.

Non-Personal Information We Track

Non-Personal and Aggregated Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website we log certain information that does not identify you personally, but provides us with “usage data,” such as the number of visitors we receive or what pages are visited most often. Such information may include your IP address, domain name, the name of the Web page from which you entered our website, which pages you visit on our website, and how much time you spend on each page. We use this information to monitor and improve our website and for internal analysis. In particular, we use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the website, and gather information for aggregate use. However, IP addresses are not linked to personal information.

Use of Cookies

Our website uses “cookies” to help personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you. We use cookies to keep track of how you are using the Sites to tailor Web content to your interests. If you have registered your children at the PA Virtual Charter School, cookies will ease your access to the “OLS”, as defined below, and navigation around the OLS. PA Virtual cookies do not contain personal information about the parent(s) or children enrolled at PA Virtual. We will not share or sell aggregated and non-aggregated information contained within cookies to any third party.

You also have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If, however, you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of our Sites or have some of our services on the Sites function properly.

Personal Information We Collect

You can use portions of our Sites without divulging any personal information, including your e-mail address. Our Sites do not collect personal information about individuals except when such individuals specifically provide such information on a voluntary basis (for example, registering information about the PA Virtual Charter School, requesting a catalog; requesting additional information by contacting us; signing up for a PA Virtual in-person orientation; posting a message to a message board; requesting help; or accessing, adding to, or changing the information on your account information page on the OLS). This personal information may be collected on our Sites, or via telephone or conventional mail. The types of information that you may be asked to provide, depending on what services you would like to receive, include: first and last name; billing address; the names and ages of your children; the services you request; registration and enrollment information about your children; and an e-mail address where we can contact you.

Once you have registered your children at the PA Virtual Charter School (whether you registered on our Sites, or through offline communications), there is an online service for all such programs (collectively, the “OLS”). There will be a personal information page on the OLS that contains some or all of your personal information. You may also be assigned a Member ID and password and may create, at your discretion, a Member ID for your children any time you are logged on to the OLS. The Member ID will be used to recognize you and your children on the OLS portion of the Site. The Member ID will allow PA Virtual to recognize: your first and last name; registration ID; type of account, such as teacher, administrator, parent or student (if you created a separate Member ID and password for your children); school affiliation or PA Virtual program in which your children are enrolled; integration number; and the e-mail address you provided. The Member ID, the OLS, Sapphire and BlackBoard will also allow you to track your children’s attendance, school work, and testing, and to submit relevant portions of same to PA Virtual, its affiliates, and/or your local school to track your children’s progress and abide by State and/or Federal standards and regulations, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

How We Use Your Information

PA Virtual may use personal information provided by you on your account information page on OLS to contact you about your children’s progress, testing, attendance, customer service, and quality control procedures. To the extent that third party vendors assist PA Virtual and/or its affiliates in the provision of online products or services, those vendors are provided the minimum amount of data required to perform the tasks for which they have been engaged. They have no independent rights to such data and have agreed to adhere to the PA Virtual Privacy Policy.

PA Virtual may use the personal information on your account information page on OLS to provide you with information about new products and services available through K¹². You can request to opt out of receiving such information by making a request in writing to openrecordsofficer@pavcsk12.org.

You can review and edit the personal information that you have provided to PA Virtual by making a request in writing to openrecordsofficer@pavcsk12.org.

Special Considerations for Minors Accessing Our Website

PA Virtual Charter School utilizes several third party technology services as part of its OLS. In order for students to use these services, certain personal identifying information is provided to the third party. Pursuant to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), these third party service providers must provide parental notification and obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under the age of 13. The law permits charter schools, such as PA Virtual, to consent to the collection of personal information on behalf of all of its students, thereby eliminating the need for individual parental consent given directly to the web site operator. Parents of PA Virtual students under the age of 13 may opt out of such third party services.

As a cyber charter school, PA Virtual strives to provide your child a relevant education utilizing integrated technology. Requesting removal from third party services such as those contracted to support the OLS will prove extremely challenging given the very nature of the cyber learning environment. Parents/Guardians who wish to opt-out should send an email to privacy@pavcsk12.org with a copy to your child’s Principal.

For more information on COPPA, please visit https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-coppa-frequently-asked-questions-0.

Linking to Other Third-Party Sites

Our website provides link(s) to other websites and resources not owned or controlled by PA Virtual. We provide these links because they may be useful or of interest to those who visit our website. PA Virtual Charter School is not responsible for the privacy practices used by other website owners, or the accuracy or content of other websites. Links to other websites do not constitute or imply endorsement by PA Virtual of these non-affiliated websites, any products or services describe on these sites, or of any other material contained in them. We encourage you to review the privacy statements of websites that you visit, so that you can understand how those sites collect, use and share your information.

Message Boards And Chats

Please be aware that anyone may read your postings on a message board or in a chat room. Furthermore, any information which you submit to be posted to a message board or in a chat room, including your information from your account information page and Member ID, will be disclosed and available to all users of that message board or chat room, and is therefore no longer private. We cannot guarantee the security of such information that you disclose or communicate online in public areas such as message boards and chat rooms, and you do so at your own risk. We reserve the right to monitor the content of the message boards only and to republish your postings from message boards or chat rooms elsewhere on the Web or otherwise in any format.

Our Commitment to Data Security

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place commercially reasonable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the personal information we collect. We also use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) & TSL protocol on your account information and registration pages to protect sensitive personal information. These procedures form a protective firewall around the information stored at this site.

Changes in Corporate Structure

If all or part of PA Virtual or any of its affiliates are sold, merged or otherwise transferred to another entity, the personal information you have provided at these Sites may be transferred as part of that transaction or process. However, PA Virtual will take steps to assure that the personal information is used in a manner consistent with the PA Virtual privacy policy under which it was collected. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects your children’s educational records, in the event of such a transaction or transfer.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We will occasionally amend this Privacy Policy to reflect company and customer feedback. We reserve the right to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this policy at any time. If PA Virtual materially changes its use of your personal information, we will announce such a changes to the school community, and will also note it in this Privacy Policy. The effective date of this Privacy Policy is documented at the beginning of the Privacy Policy. If you have any questions about PA Virtual’s privacy policy, please contact us in writing at openrecordsofficer@pavcsk12.org