Dolphin STEM Academy

Non-discrimination and Anti-harrassment Policy

Dolphin STEM Academy offers a safe environment for students, parents, and staff. In compliance with federal, state, and local regulations and in accordance with our school ethos, Dolphin STEM Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, marital status, gender, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy, nor genetic information in its programs nor activities.

Use of any device, software or routine intended to interfere with the working of this website, intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information from the website or online is prohibited.  Any action which imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on infrastructure, including but not limited to “spam” or any other unsolicited overload technique is also prohibited.  

It is possible that content and graphics available on this website may contain defects such as incomplete, inaccurate, or corrupt data, transcription errors, copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. Use of this website is at your own risk. We reserve the right to take any action with respect to information posted on this web site which we believe is inappropriate in our sole discretion with respect to information posted on this web site, including but not limited to termination of your rights of use.

All comments, suggestions, ideas, graphics, or other information that you submit to us through this website become and will remain the property of Dolphin STEM and may be used anywhere, anytime and for any reason whatsoever. Any materials or information submitted will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary, and we will not have any obligation to use or evaluate any information we receive from you. In addition, we will not be under any obligation to respond in any way or reveal to you any information. We will not have to pay you or anyone else for using any ideas or other materials that you may transmit to us in connection with the use of this web site. You should rely solely on your rights under the patent, trademark, and copyright laws. The receipt or consideration of your information by us shall in no way impair our right to contest the validity of your patent, trademark, or copyright. Of course, you are not to submit to this web site any material which is unlawful, threatening, violent, abusive, harassing, degrading, defamatory, libelous, deceptive; fraudulent, or which may give rise to civil or criminal liability, infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, or otherwise violate any law or regulation. Even though we may monitor and review correspondences, we assume no responsibility or liability which may arise from the content thereof, including – but not limited to – claims for defamation, libel, slander, obscenity, pornography, profanity or misrepresentation.

We provide videos, e-texts, graphics, and other information on this website, subject to their respective Terms and Conditions. We make no warranties or representations, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or any other aspect of the information on this website and assume no liability in connection with any use of this information. This website, graphics, and all other information contained herein and our services are provided “as is,” “where is,” and without any warranty or condition of any kind, express, implied or statutory. We specifically disclaim the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. We also do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted or secure access to this web site or our services, and operation of this web site may be interfered with by numerous factors outside of our control. 

Privacy Notice

This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for www.dolphinstemacademy.com  This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following:

• What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used and with whom it may be shared.
• What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data.
• The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
• How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Information Collection, Use, and Sharing

Manatee Education Services, LLC d/b/a Dolphin STEM Academy is the sole owner of the information collected on this site and only has access to/collect information that you voluntarily give  via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary to fulfill your request or provide services, e.g. to ship an order.

Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

We will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:

• We will notify you via email within 3 business days
• We will notify the users via in-site notification within 3 business days

Your Access to and Control Over Information

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary to fulfill your request or provide services, e.g. to ship an order.

• See what data we have about you, if any.
• Change/correct any data we have about you.
• Have us delete any data we have about you.
• Express any concern you have about our use of your data.

Messaging Terms & Conditions

You agree to receive informational messages (appointment reminders, account notifications, etc.) from Dolphin STEM Academy. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. For help, reply HELP or contact us using this contact form.  You can opt out at any time by replying STOP.

No mobile information will be shared with any third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All other categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with or obtained by any third parties. If you wish to be removed from receiving future communications, you can opt out at any time by texting STOP or contacting us using this contact form.

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)

When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, United States’ consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online.

We do not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.

Nor do we allow third-parties, including ad networks or plug-ins to collect personally identifiable information from children under 13.

For more information on COPPA, please visit http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/coppafaqs.shtm. Each website operator is bound by COPPA to maintain the confidentiality of the information collected.  They are also required to post a privacy policy describing their practices.  A full list of the operators in use by Dolphin STEM Academy includes:

• Edmentum
• Accelerate 
• MAP
• YouScience
• Gmail
• Google Drive
• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Google Slides
• Google Forms
• Google Meet 
• Kahoot
• CK12
• PhET 
• GeoGebra 
• Typing Club
• MobyMax
• XtraMath
• Epic Books!
• Canva

Security

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for “https” at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via telephone at 888-407-3818 
or info@dolphinstemacademy.com

For Students using services provided by NWEA – please see their privacy and security policy HERE

Application/Registration for Services

In order to apply for enrollment, registration, or participation in any service we offer, a user must first complete an application or registration form. During application, a user is required to give certain information (such as name and email address). This information is used to contact you about the products/services on our site in which you have expressed interest. At your option, you may also provide demographic information (such as gender or age) about yourself, but it is not required.

We request information from you on our application and registration forms. To buy from us, you must provide contact information (like name and shipping address) and financial information (like credit card number, expiration date). This information is used for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we’ll use this information to contact you.

Cookies

We use “cookies” on this site. A cookie is a piece of data stored on a site visitor’s hard drive to help us improve your access to our site and identify repeat visitors to our site. For instance, when we use a cookie to identify you, you would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information on our site.

Some of our business partners may use cookies on our site (for example, advertisers). However, we have no access to or control over these cookies.

Sharing

We may partner with another party to provide specific services. When the user signs up for these services, we will share names, or other contact information that is necessary for the third party to provide these services. These parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services.

Links

This website may contain links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable information.

Surveys & Contests

From time-to-time our site may request information via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and you may choose whether or not to participate and therefore disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code, age level). Contact information will be used to notify the winners and award prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.

Personal information provided by parents about children

Students under the age of 13 years old are protected by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). We are in compliance with the safeguards and privacy protection mandates of COPPA.  We do not collect personal information from students covered by COPPA online at any point. To view the personal information that Dolphin STEM Academy has regarding the student under your guardianship by completing this contact form. Please take note that some personal information relating to student’s educational records may be non-disclosable by us due to state and/or federal law.

To request that a student’s personal information is not used by us or any third party partners, please make formal request in writing using this contact form. To enroll, register, or participate in a service offered by us, some personally identifiable information will be collected and possibly shared.  You may opt-out however you will be unable to continue to receive the services that we provide due to the necessity of the information.

How we use student personally identifiable information

We may use student personally identifiable information to support users through assessments, attendance, academic progress, academic counseling, and more. To enhance the student experience, personally identifiable information may be shared with trusted third party partners or integrated tools with minimal amount of information transfer, and with a strict confidentiality and security agreement.   We will be in firm compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

Affiliate Disclosure

Please note that some of the links on the website are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, generates a commission for us if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link.

Disputes

Any disputes that are not settled with Dolphin STEM Academy will be settled by arbitration.  The arbitrator will be selected by Dolphin STEM Academy, and the cost of arbitration will be shared equally by both parties of the dispute.  The resulting decision is binding upon both parties.

Tuition Payments and Refunds 

We want you to have the best experience possible at Dolphin STEM Academy. To ensure that our online school is right for you, use the online demo to get a feel for the general education program. Remember, this is the main core curriculum, but there are many supplements available including foreign languages and specialized STEM programs that are not in the demo.

Homeschool curriculum access fees including registration, deposits, and payments are nonrefundable.  Private school application, enrollment, and registration fees are nonrefundable. Private school tuition fees may be refundable on a pro-rata basis, however a written request for a refund must be submitted through this contact form within 10 calendar days of issuance of the student login/username details. Refund requests will not be accepted via phone, chat, mail, nor any other means except the required route. After the refund period ends, please note that full payment is required for transcripts and grade reports. Thank you for your understanding and adherence of our refund policy.

Payment is required prior to beginning any courses/assessments. Refunds for the full tuition will be made for withdrawals/cancellations made within the first five days of the applicable school year. All refunds are subject to a $250 cancellation fee and pro-rata usage fee. Cancellation requests must be emailed and must include the student’s full name, date of birth, enrollment courses, and parent/guardian applicant’s name and phone number. Refunds will only be issued to the same payee and using the same payment method as the original payment was made. For cancellations/withdrawals that occur beyond the first five days of the applicable school year, parents/guardians will remain responsible for all tuition and fees for that school year.

Parents/Guardians will continue to be responsible for full tuition and other fees if student is suspended or expelled by Dolphin STEM.

Changes to our policies

Staff and faculty will be informed of any changes to our policies.  Please sign-up for email updates or check this policy for updates. The effective date of our Affiliate Disclosure, Privacy Policy, and Non-discrimination/Anti-harassment Policy is April 2, 2018.