Privacy Policy

Effective Date: August 25, 2016

Lake Washington School District (“LWSD,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) understands the importance of your privacy. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how we collect, use, store, process, and share your information in relation to http://www.lwsd.org (the “Site”). Please review this Policy carefully before using our Site. By accessing, browsing, or using the Site, you consent to the terms described in this Policy.

This Policy applies only to the online activities of LWSD through the Site. It does not apply to information collected, used, or disclosed in any other way, including, for example, information collected offline or by third parties that may be accessible from or link to the Site.

Public records requests, access to education records, and collection and maintenance of student information by other means are governed by state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (“PPRA”), and applicable state laws. Read more information regarding FERPA. Read more information regarding PPRA.

Changes to this Policy
We reserve the right to revise this Policy from time to time by updating it and posting it at http://www.lwsd.org/privacy-policy with the new terms taking effect on the date of posting. You should periodically review this Policy to ensure you are familiar with the most current version. Your use of the Site after the Effective Date posted above constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy.

Information Collection
General. The information we collect on our Site generally falls into two categories: personally identifiable information and non-personally identifiable information. Personally identifiable information is information that can identify you, including, for example, your name or email address. When you visit the Site, you can browse without submitting any personally identifiable information about yourself. We will, however, receive and store some non-personally identifiable information about you, as described below. It will always be your choice, or the choice of anyone acting for you, to provide personally identifiable information.

In order to participate in certain functionalities, you may be asked to provide personally identifiable information, including, but not limited to:

Automatically Collected Information and Cookies. Similar to other websites, we may collect some information automatically. This information does not identify you. We collect this non-personally identifiable information in order to help diagnose problems and improve the functionality of our Site. This collection may include, but is not limited to: your IP address (that is, the unique string of numbers that identifies the device you are using to communicate over the Internet), the name of the webpage from which you accessed our Site, the page or pages you visit on our Site, and how much time you spend on each page. We may also place a small text file, called a “cookie”, in the browser files of your computer. A cookie is used to track your session on the Site as you traverse different webpages. It is used by the server to differentiate users, and it does not contain personally identifiable information about you. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can set your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you choose not to accept cookies, certain features of the Site may not be available and/or the Site may not perform as expected.

Third Party Analytics Providers. We use third parties to help us operate and improve the Site. In doing so, we may share with these third parties and they may collect from you non-personally identifiable information about your use of the Site. These third party providers may also use cookies. For example, we use third party analytics providers, such as Google Analytics, to provide us with general demographic and interest-level information about our users and to help create a better user experience. For more information regarding Google’s use of cookies and collection and use of information see the Google Privacy Policy. To opt out of Google Analytics, please visit the Google Analytics Opt-Out Page to learn about opting out and installing the appropriate browser add-on. We do not control information collected by third parties and are not responsible for their use of that information.

“Do Not Track” Settings. Because we track website usage information as described above, your selection of the “Do Not Track” option provided by your browser may not have any effect on our collection of certain information. The only way to completely “opt out” of the collection of information through cookies or other tracking technologies is to actively manage the settings on your browser to delete and disable cookies and other tracking/recording tools. However, getting a “Do Not Track” signal to work as you might want is difficult. Using browsers as an example, not all tracking technologies can be controlled by browsers; unique aspects of your browser might be recognizable even if you disable a tracking technology; not all settings will necessarily last or be effective; even if a setting is effective for one purpose, data still may be collected for another; and even if one website observes a “Do Not Track” signal, that website may not be able to control other websites.

Information Use
Use of Personally Identifiable Information. We may use your personally identifiable information that you provide us, such as your email address, to communicate with you or to send you promotional or informational emails, such as our LWSD Newsletter. We may also use personally identifiable information to assist law enforcement; to enforce this Policy; to resolve disputes; to detect and protect against errors, fraud, and criminal activity; or for any other purpose described in this Policy or that we describe to you at the time of collection.

Use of Non-Personally Identifiable Information. We may use non-personally identifiable information for any lawful purpose, including, but not limited to, administering the Site, tracking users’ movements on the Site, analyzing trends, and for management and improvement of the Site.

Information Retention. We will retain your information indefinitely, or as long as legally required or allowed. We may dispose of any information in our discretion without notice, subject to applicable law. We do not undertake any retention obligations through this statement.

Information Disclosure
Service Providers or Affiliated Entities. We may disclose your information to any affiliated entity or organization and to agents and service providers. These third parties may include various business service providers or providers that supply support for the Site or otherwise are working directly with us. For example, we may provide your email address to third parties to allow non-profit and other organizations to distribute information to you.

Legal Requirements. In some cases, we may disclose your information (a) as required by any applicable law or legal regulation; (b) if we believe disclosure is needed to protect our rights, property, or safety; (c) to government regulators or law enforcement authorities in connection with any judicial proceeding, court order, subpoena, or legal process served on us or the Site; and (d) to respond to a physical threat to you or another person.

Disclaimer. Due to the complexity and open nature of the Internet, no transmission of data over the Internet can be 100% secure. There is always a risk that information collected by and/or displayed on the Site may be compromised or accessed notwithstanding the steps we take to secure your information. For example, a third party may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, or other users of the Site may abuse or misuse your personal information.

Security Measures
Keeping your information secure is of great concern to us. We exercise care in facilitating the transmission of information between your device or computer and our servers (or the third party servers that operate and store information for the Site).Personally identifiable information collected by the Site is stored in operating environments that are not available to the public. While we have mechanisms in place to safeguard your personal information after we receive it, no transmission of data over the internet can be 100% secure.

Linked Sites
The Site contains links to other websites (“Linked Sites”). We have no control over, and are not liable or responsible for the privacy practices, terms of use, or content of Linked Sites. The Linked Sites may collect personally identifiable information from you that is not subject to our control. The data collection practices of Linked Sites will be governed by that website’s privacy policy. Please review the terms of use and privacy policy of any Linked Sites you may access. Any references to Linked Sites that contain, for example, commercial products or services does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by us.

Use of the Site
Use of the Site, including content and materials appearing on the Site, for commercial purposes is prohibited.

Accessing, Updating, or Deleting your Personal Information
If personal information that you have submitted to us changes or if you would like to remove your personal information, please contact us as specified below. We will make good faith efforts to resolve requests to remove information or correct inaccurate information except where the request is unreasonable, requires disproportionate technical effort or expense, jeopardizes the privacy of others, or would be impractical.

Contact Information and Privacy Questions
If you have questions about this Policy or other matters that relate to it, you may contact us at: communications@lwsd.org.