Terms of Service

1. Agreement to these Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legal agreement between Scholastic Gateway ("Gateway," "we," "us," or "our") and the person or organization using our websites, applications, curriculum tools, school portals, competitions, events, and related services (the "Services"). By creating an account, accepting an order form, or using the Services, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

If you use the Services for a school, district, college, university, club, company, or other organization (an "Institution"), you represent that you have authority to bind it. A signed master services agreement, order form, Student Data Privacy Addendum, competition rulebook, or event-specific terms may add to or replace portions of these Terms.

2. Eligibility and authority

• Adults may create accounts for themselves or an Institution if they have legal capacity and authority.
• Users ages 13 through 17 may use only an Institution-managed account or an account authorized by a parent or legal guardian as required by the enrollment process and law.
• An Institution-managed account in this age group may be a named account or an anonymous, alias-based account, at the Institution's choice. Alias accounts are not reserved for children under 13.
• Children under 13 may not independently create a general account. They may use only an Institution-managed educational alias account or a parent-approved account after the required notice and authorization process.
• If FERPA rights have transferred to an eligible student because the student is 18 or attends a postsecondary institution, references to parent control apply instead to the eligible student where required by law.

3. Accounts

Account information must be accurate, current, and limited to what the Services request. You must protect credentials and promptly report suspected unauthorized access. Accounts may not be sold, transferred, shared between unrelated people, or used to impersonate another person. Institutions are responsible for assigning roles, removing users who no longer need access, and keeping roster and administrator information current.

A public or competition display name is not a promise of anonymity. Users must not include a real name, contact information, school schedule, birth date, or other identifying information in a display name. Children under 13 receive a system-generated or school-approved alias and may not replace it with identifying information. An Institution may also issue an alias to an older student; the alias is a separate account setting that is mandatory only for children under 13.

4. Institution responsibilities

An Institution that provides the Services to students is responsible for:

• Selecting the Services for a legitimate educational, extracurricular, or administrative purpose and using them in compliance with law and Institution policy.
• Providing required notices and obtaining any parent, guardian, or eligible-student consent, including any consent required by COPPA, FERPA, PPRA, state law, or the Institution's policies.
• Providing only data it has authority to disclose, limiting data to what is reasonably necessary, and not entering health, disability, disciplinary, government-identifier, or other sensitive information unless expressly authorized by a signed agreement and required safeguards.
• Maintaining direct control over FERPA-protected education records when relying on the school official exception, defining legitimate educational interests, and directing access, correction, export, return, and deletion.
• Supervising students, designating authorized educators and coaches, enforcing age and eligibility rules, and responding to parent and eligible-student requests.

5. Limited right to use the Services

Subject to these Terms and payment of applicable fees, Gateway grants you a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable, revocable right to access and use the Services for their intended educational, administrative, or competition purpose during the applicable subscription or event period. Gateway retains all rights not expressly granted.

6. Acceptable use

You may not, and may not help another person to:

• Harass, threaten, bully, groom, exploit, discriminate against, or endanger another person; share sexual, violent, hateful, or unlawful content; or attempt unauthorized contact with a minor.
• Cheat, manipulate results, use unauthorized software or accounts, evade eligibility rules, interfere with an event, or misrepresent identity, age, school, team, or authority.
• Expose another person's personal information, request unnecessary information from a child, scrape profiles or rosters, or use information from the Services for advertising, recruiting unrelated to the authorized program, surveillance, or commercial profiling.
• Access an account or system without authorization; probe, scan, bypass, reverse engineer, disrupt, overload, introduce malware, or defeat security or access controls, except to the limited extent a restriction is prohibited by law.
• Copy, resell, sublicense, publicly distribute, or create derivative works from the Services, curriculum, rulebooks, branding, or content except as expressly permitted in writing.
• Use the Services or Student Data to develop, train, evaluate, or improve a general-purpose artificial intelligence model, facial recognition system, biometric system, or unrelated commercial product.
• Violate law, a third party's rights, an Institution policy, a publisher's game terms, a competition rulebook, or a safety instruction.

Gateway may investigate suspected violations and take proportionate action, including content removal, feature restriction, match forfeiture, disqualification, suspension, termination, preservation of evidence, or notification to an Institution, parent, platform provider, or authority when appropriate and lawful.

7. Competitions and events

• Rules and eligibility. Each competition may have a rulebook covering age, enrollment, residency, roster locks, game accounts, equipment, conduct, anti-cheat measures, scoring, protests, and prizes. The rulebook is part of these Terms for participants.
• Institution supervision. Institutions are responsible for verifying student eligibility, obtaining permissions, supervising participants, and ensuring that game titles and third-party accounts are age-appropriate and approved.
• Technical issues. Internet, power, equipment, publisher servers, patches, and third-party platforms may fail. Officials may reschedule, replay, score, or cancel a match under the rulebook. Gateway does not guarantee uninterrupted play.
• Officials' decisions. Designated officials may make good-faith decisions to protect safety and competitive integrity. Any appeal must follow the rulebook and deadline.
• Results and recognition. Standings, team names, Institution names, approved display names, awards, and match results may be published. Users ages 13 through 17 use an Institution- or parent-approved display name. Children under 13 use an alias and are not publicly identified by real name.
• Prizes. Prizes may require eligibility verification, tax forms from an adult or Institution, and compliance with sponsor rules. A child is not required to provide payment or tax information directly through a student account.

8. Third-party services, games, and equipment

The Services may link to or integrate with game publishers, console networks, streaming tools, single sign-on providers, learning systems, payment processors, sponsors, and equipment suppliers. Third-party services are governed by their own terms, privacy policies, age ratings, parental controls, fees, and availability. An Institution or authorized adult is responsible for approving student use. Gateway is not responsible for a third party's products, content, data practices, fulfillment, warranties, or service interruptions.

A link or partner listing does not change the checkout, return, warranty, safety, or privacy terms of the third-party seller. Equipment purchases are between the purchaser and the seller unless an order form expressly says otherwise.

9. User and Institution content

Users and Institutions may submit rosters, assignments, files, feedback, match evidence, communications, and other content ("User Content"). As between you and Gateway, you retain ownership of User Content. You grant Gateway a limited, worldwide, nonexclusive license to host, copy, transmit, display, modify for technical formatting, and otherwise process User Content only as needed to provide, secure, support, and comply with law for the Services. The license ends when the content is deleted from active systems, subject to backup cycles and legal retention.

You represent that you have the rights and authority needed to provide User Content and that it does not violate law, privacy, confidentiality, or intellectual property rights. Institutions must not direct students under 13 to upload public content, photos, video, voice, or open-ended messages. Gateway may remove content that violates these Terms or creates a safety, privacy, security, or legal risk.

10. Privacy and Student Data

Our Privacy Policy is incorporated into these Terms. Gateway will process Student Data only to provide the Services, follow lawful Institution instructions, secure and support the platform, and comply with law. Gateway does not own Student Data; sell or rent it; use it for targeted advertising; build unrelated commercial profiles; or use it to train general-purpose artificial intelligence models.

If an Institution and Gateway sign a Student Data Privacy Addendum or other data agreement, that agreement controls for Student Data. Gateway will assist with access, correction, export, return, and deletion as stated in the agreement and law.

11. Fees, renewals, and taxes

Fees, subscription periods, renewal terms, participant counts, payment dates, refunds, and taxes are stated in the applicable order form, checkout page, or event rules. Unless that document says otherwise, fees are nonrefundable after the paid service or event period begins, except where law requires a refund. Institutions are responsible for approved purchases made by their administrators. Students and children are not responsible for Institution fees.

12. Gateway intellectual property and feedback

The Services, curriculum, software, designs, text, graphics, logos, rulebooks, documentation, and other Gateway materials are owned by Gateway or its licensors and protected by law. Permitted classroom copies must retain ownership notices and may not be publicly posted or sold. If you provide suggestions or feedback, Gateway may use them without restriction or compensation, but will not publicly identify a student as the source without authorization.

13. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Services at any time. Gateway may suspend or terminate access for a material breach, nonpayment, safety threat, suspected fraud, legal requirement, publisher restriction, or risk to the Services or another person. When reasonably possible, Gateway will notify the Institution and allow an opportunity to cure. Immediate action may be taken for safety, privacy, security, cheating, or unlawful conduct.

After termination, license rights end. Gateway will return or delete Student Data under the controlling agreement, Privacy Policy, and law. Provisions that by nature should survive will survive, including payment obligations already due, ownership, confidentiality, disclaimers, liability limits, dispute terms, and lawful retention duties.

14. Service changes and availability

We may improve, replace, or discontinue features and may perform maintenance. For a paid material feature, we will provide reasonable notice when practical and honor any remedy stated in the applicable agreement. We do not guarantee that every game title, publisher integration, device, browser, or third-party service will remain available.

15. Disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." GATEWAY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTY ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE. GATEWAY DOES NOT GUARANTEE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION, A PARTICULAR EDUCATIONAL OUTCOME, COMPETITION RESULT, SCHOLARSHIP, EMPLOYMENT RESULT, OR THE AVAILABILITY OR CONDUCT OF A THIRD PARTY.

Nothing in these Terms limits rights or warranties that cannot lawfully be waived. A signed Institution agreement may provide different service levels, warranties, or remedies.

16. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, OR DATA, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY. GATEWAY'S TOTAL LIABILITY ARISING FROM THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF $100 OR THE FEES PAID TO GATEWAY FOR THE AFFECTED SERVICES DURING THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

These limits do not apply to liability that cannot be limited by law, or to a party's fraud, willful misconduct, infringement or misappropriation of the other party's intellectual property, breach of confidentiality, or indemnification obligations under a signed Institution agreement. They do not make a child personally liable.

17. Indemnification by adults and Institutions

To the extent permitted by law, an adult user or Institution will defend and indemnify Gateway and its personnel from third-party claims arising from that party's unlawful User Content, misuse of the Services, breach of these Terms, or violation of another person's rights. This section does not apply to a minor user and may be modified or excluded by a signed Institution agreement or public-entity law. Gateway will provide prompt notice and reasonable cooperation, and the indemnifying party may not settle a claim in a way that admits fault or imposes obligations on Gateway without written consent.

18. Disputes and governing law

Before filing a claim, the parties will try in good faith for 30 days to resolve it through written notice, unless immediate relief is needed for safety, privacy, security, confidentiality, or intellectual property. These Terms are governed by Missouri law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Subject to any signed Institution agreement and laws that apply to public Institutions, exclusive venue lies in the state or federal courts serving Kansas City, Missouri.

19. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms for legal, security, operational, or service changes. We will post the revised Terms with a new last-updated date. If a change materially reduces an Institution's rights during a paid term, the signed agreement controls or we will provide the notice and remedy required by law. Continued use after the effective date means acceptance, except where additional consent is required.

20. General terms

These Terms and incorporated documents are the entire agreement for the public Services unless a signed agreement says otherwise. If a provision is unenforceable, it will be narrowed to the minimum extent necessary and the remainder will continue. A waiver must be in writing and applies only to that instance. You may not assign these Terms without Gateway's consent; Gateway may assign them in a business transition subject to the Privacy Policy, school contracts, and law. Gateway is not liable for delay caused by events beyond reasonable control. Headings are for convenience. Electronic notices and signatures are valid to the extent permitted by law.

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