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Terms of Use

CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE

Revised: May 19, 2023

These Terms and Conditions of Use (“Terms and Conditions”) govern your use of the websites hosted at ccsa.org and portal.ccsa.org, as well as certain affiliated websites where these Terms and Conditions are posted, including but not limited to www.charterconference.org, www.ccsasnapshots.org, www.sdcharterschools.org, and discovercharters.org (collectively, the "Website"), as well as the information and features provided on and through this Website (the “Services”).  California Charter Schools Association ("CCSA," "us," or "we") provides the Website and Services.  “You” refers to you as a user of the Website or Services.

BY USING THIS WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES,  YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.  IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE, PLEASE EXIT THIS WEBSITE AND DO NOT USE THE SERVICES.

YOU AGREE THAT, BY ACCESSING THIS WEBSITE OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OLD AND THAT YOU ARE LEGALLY ABLE TO AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

1. General Disclaimer. We maintain the Website and Services to provide many different types of users with information about California charter schools. The Website and Services are designed to provide the public with information about what a charter school is, how to start a charter school, and how to support public charter schools. The Website and Services also provide parents with information to help them choose charters schools for their children, and provides charter school authorizers with data about the academic performance of charter schools. Further, the Website and Services provide charter schools with information related to the authorization, renewal and operation of charter schools, and provides charter school vendors with opportunities to market their products and services to charter schools. Much of the information included on the Website and through the Services is provided free of charge as a user convenience and is to be used for informational purposes only. However, information in the Member Portal, hosted at portal.ccsa.org (the “Member Portal”), is accessible only to members of CCSA. Some information contained on the Website and in the Services may represent opinion or judgment or contain inadvertent technical oversights, factual inaccuracies, or typographical errors. Nothing on this Website or in the Services should be interpreted as an indictment or endorsement of a particular charter school or vendor. Before making decisions based on the information contained here, we strongly recommend that you visit or contact the organization and ask that organization’s officials to review and comment on the information provided.

2. Modification. We may modify this Website, the Services and the rules and regulations governing their use at any time and without notice, simply by posting a change, update or modification on this Website. Any such change, update or modification will be effective immediately upon posting on this Website. Your continued use of this Website or the Services after any such change, update or modification is made deems your acceptance of such change, update or modification.

3. Notice Concerning Children. This Website and the Services are directed to a general audience, and we do not direct any of our content specifically at children who are under thirteen (13) years of age. We understand and are committed to respecting the sensitive nature of children's privacy online. If we learn or have reason to suspect that a user of our Website or Services is under age thirteen (13), we will promptly delete any personal information in that user's profile.

4. No Legal Advice. The information contained in this Website or the Services is made available for general informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to be a substitute for advice from qualified counsel. Without limiting the foregoing, the information contained in this Website or the Services may not reflect the most current legal developments. Accordingly, the information found on this Website or the Services is not promised or guaranteed to be correct or complete, and it may not be accurate. Because the information is general in nature, it may not pertain to your specific circumstances, and you should not act or refrain from acting based on any of the information provided in this Website or the Services without first obtaining advice from professional counsel qualified in the applicable subject matter and jurisdictions. You agree that your (a) access to this Website and the Services, (b) receipt of the information contained on this Website and in the Services, or (c) your transmission of electronic mail to addresses found on this Website or through the Services, does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and CCSA. CCSA expressly disclaims all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this Website or the Services.

5. Additional Terms for Member Portal.  If you elect to become a member, your access to and use of the Member Portal is subject to these Terms and Conditions and any additional terms agreed to by the parties in connection with your membership, including but not limited to any applicable fee and payment terms.

6. Privacy Policy. CCSA respects your privacy and, to the extent practicable, permits you to control the treatment of your personal information. A complete statement of CCSA's current Privacy Policy can be found by clicking here. CCSA's Privacy Policy is expressly incorporated into these Terms and Conditions by this reference.

When you elect to open an account to use or access certain features of this Website or the Services, including the Member Portal, you must complete the account registration process by providing the complete and accurate information requested on the registration form. You may be asked to provide or be provided a user name and password. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password. You may not use the account, username or password of someone else at any time. You agree to notify CCSA immediately upon any unauthorized use of your account, user name or password. CCSA shall not be liable for any loss that you incur as a result of someone else using your password, either with or without your knowledge.

When you use an account to access the Member Portal, your usage history may be accessible to other authorized account users from your organization. Your name and organizational affiliation may also be shared with other members of CCSA, including other charter schools and vendors.

7. CCSA's Proprietary Rights. You acknowledge and agree that this Website, the Services, and the materials accessed through this Website and the Services are and shall remain the property of CCSA and/or its licensors, and are protected by copyright, trademark and/or other proprietary rights and laws. Except as expressly authorized in advance by CCSA, you agree not to copy, modify, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, perform or create derivative works of this Website or the Services, any of the materials accessed through this Website or the Services, the design or layout of this Website, or individual sections of the design or layout of this Website, provided that, subject to your compliance with these Terms and Conditions, CCSA grants to you a limited, personal, revocable, non-transferable and non-sublicensable license to (a) access this Website, the Services and the materials available therein via the Internet solely for purposes of viewing such materials and (b) download or print out pages of this Website for your personal, non-commercial use.

Trade names, trademarks and service marks of CCSA or its affiliates include, without limitation, "California Charter Schools Association," "CCSA," "ccsa.org" and any associated logos. All trade names, trademarks and service marks on this Website and in the Services that are not owned by CCSA or its affiliates are the property of their respective owners. The trade names, trademarks and service marks owned by CCSA or its affiliates, whether registered or unregistered, may not be used in connection with any product or service that is not a product or service of CCSA or one of its affiliates, or in any other manner that is likely to cause confusion or dilution. Nothing on this Website or in the Services should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any right or license to use any trade names, trademarks or service marks of CCSA or its affiliates without prior express written permission of CCSA or its relevant affiliates.

8. User Content. You grant to CCSA a license to use the materials that you post to this Website or the Services. By posting, downloading, displaying, performing, transmitting or otherwise distributing information or other content ("User Content") to this Website or the Services, you are granting to CCSA, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents and representatives the irrevocable right to use, copy, modify, publish, perform, transmit, display, reproduce, edit, translate and reformat such User Content via any media in accordance with CCSA's Privacy Policy, and you waive any moral rights that you may have in such User Content. Subject to CCSA's Privacy Policy, CCSA shall be free to use User Content, including any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques contained in such User Content, for any reason whatsoever. You will not be compensated for any User Content. You agree that CCSA may publish or otherwise disclose your name in connection with your User Content. By posting such User Content on this Website or the Services, you warrant and represent that you own the rights to such User Content, or are otherwise authorized to post, distribute, display, perform or transmit User Content.

9. Compliance with Intellectual Property Laws. When accessing this Website or using the Services, you agree to obey the law and to respect the intellectual property rights of others. Your use of this Website and the Services is at all times governed by and subject to laws regarding copyright ownership and use of intellectual property. You agree not to upload, download, display, perform, transmit or otherwise distribute any information or content (collectively, "Content") in violation of any third-party's copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property or proprietary rights. You agree to abide by laws regarding copyright ownership and use of intellectual property, and you shall be solely responsible for any violations of any relevant laws and for any infringements of third-party rights caused by any Content that you provide or transmit, or that is provided or transmitted using your User ID. The burden of proving that any Content does not violate any laws or third-party rights rests solely with you.

We respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement and terminate accounts of repeat infringers according to the process set out in the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please forward the following information to the Copyright Agent named below:

  • Your address, telephone number, and email address;
  • A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
  • A description of where the alleged infringing material is located;
  • A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by you, the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  • An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest and
  • A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Copyright Agent:

William Lee

wlee@ccsa.org

For clarity, only copyright infringement notices should go to our Copyright Agent.  You acknowledge that if you fail to comply with all of the requirements of this section your notice may not be valid.

If you believe the content that was removed (or to which access was disabled) is not infringing, or that you have the authorization from the copyright owner, the copyright owner's agent, or pursuant to the law, to post and use such content, you may submit a counter-notice to the address listed above containing the following information:

  • Your physical or electronic signature;
  • Identification of the content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
  • A statement that you have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the content; and
  • Your name, physical address, telephone number, and e-mail address, a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the federal court in Los Angeles, California, and a statement that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement.

After we receive your counter-notification, we will forward it to the party who submitted the original claim of copyright infringement.  Please note that when we forward the counter-notification, it includes your personal information.  By submitting a counter-notification, you consent to having your information revealed in this way.  We will not forward the counter-notification to any party other than the original claimant.

After we send out the counter-notification, the claimant must then notify us within 10 days that he or she has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain you from engaging in infringing activity relating to the content that was removed or disabled.  If we receive such notification we will be unable to restore the material.  If we do not receive such notification, we may reinstate the material.

10. Inappropriate Content. You agree not to upload, download, display, perform, transmit or otherwise distribute or make available any Content that: (a) is libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, abusive or threatening; (b) advocates or encourages conduct that could constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any applicable local, state, national or foreign law or regulation; or (c) advertises or otherwise solicits funds or that is a solicitation for goods or services. CCSA reserves the right to terminate your receipt, transmission or other distribution of any such Content using the Services, and, if applicable, to delete any such Content from its servers. CCSA intends to cooperate fully with any law enforcement officials or agencies in the investigation of any violation of these Terms and Conditions or of any applicable laws.

11. Alleged Violations. CCSA reserves the right to terminate your use of this Website or the Services at any time in its sole discretion. To ensure that CCSA provides a high quality experience for you and for other users of this Website and the Services, you agree that CCSA or its representatives may access your account and records on a case-by-case basis to investigate complaints or allegations of abuse, infringement of third-party rights or other unauthorized uses of this Website or the Services. CCSA does not intend to disclose the existence or occurrence of such an investigation unless required by law, but CCSA reserves the right to terminate your account or your access to this Website or the Services immediately, with or without notice to you, and without liability to you, if CCSA believes that you: (a) have violated any of the Terms and Conditions; (b) furnished CCSA with false or misleading information; or (c) interfered with the use of this Website or the Services by others.

12. NO WARRANTIES. CCSA HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES. THIS WEBSITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS." YOUR ACCESS AND USE OF THIS WEBSITE AND THE SERVICES IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE LAWS IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION, CCSA DISCLAIMS ALL CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY OF INFORMATIONAL CONTENT, SYSTEM INTEGRATION, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS, QUIET ENJOYMENT AND UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION.

13. LIMITED LIABILITY. CCSA'S LIABILITY TO YOU IS LIMITED. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE LAWS IN THE APPLICABLE JURISDICTION, CCSA DISCLAIMS LIABILITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR INCOME, LOST BUSINESS, LOST DATA OR FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THIS WEBSITE OR THE SERVICES. THIS LIMITATION SHALL APPLY REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE DAMAGES ARISE OUT OF BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY OR FORM OF ACTION.

14. Third Party Websites and Links. CCSA has no control over, and no liability for any third-party websites or materials. From time to time, CCSA may work with a number of partners whose Internet websites may be linked with this Website or the Services. Because neither CCSA nor this Website has control over the content and performance of these third-party websites, CCSA makes no guarantees about the accuracy, currency, content or quality of the information provided by such websites, and CCSA assumes no responsibility for unintended, objectionable, inaccurate, misleading or unlawful content that may reside on those websites. Similarly, from time to time, in connection with your use of this Website and the Services, you may have access to content items (including, but not limited to, other websites) that are owned by third parties. You acknowledge and agree that CCSA makes no guarantees about, and assumes no responsibility for, the accuracy, currency, content or quality of this third-party content, and that, unless expressly provided otherwise, these Terms and Conditions shall govern your use of any and all third-party content.

15. Prohibited Uses. CCSA imposes certain restrictions on your permissible use of this Website and the Services. You are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate any security features of this Website or the Services, including, without limitation: (a) accessing content or data not intended for you, or logging onto a server or account that you are not authorized to access; (b) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of this Website or any associated system or network, or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization; (c) interfering or attempting to interfere with service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, by means of submitting a virus to this Website or Services, overloading, "flooding," "spamming," "mail bombing" or "crashing;" (d) using this Website or the Services to send unsolicited e-mail, including, without limitation, promotions or advertisements for products or services; (e) forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail or in any posting; or (f) attempting to modify, reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise reduce or attempt to reduce to a human-perceivable form any of the source code used by CCSA in providing this Website or the Services. Any violation of system or network security may subject you to civil and criminal liability.

16. Indemnity. You agree to indemnify CCSA for certain of your acts and omissions. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold CCSA, its affiliates and its suppliers, and each of their respective partners, officers, directors, employees, consultants, agents and representatives, from and against all claims, losses, costs, damages, liabilities and expenses (including but not limited to attorneys' fees) arising out of: (a) your activities in connection with this Website or the Services; (b) any violation of these Terms and Conditions by you; (c) any improper or unauthorized use of the Website materials or the Services by you; or (d) any allegation that anything you transmit through or in connection with this Website or the Services infringes or otherwise violates the copyright, trademark, trade secret, privacy or other rights of any third-party.

17. Governing Law. These Terms and Conditions shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the United States and the State of California, without reference to their rules regarding conflicts of law.

18.  Arbitration Agreement & Waiver of Certain Rights.

Except as set forth below, you and we agree that we will resolve any disputes between us (including any disputes between you and a third-party agent of ours) through binding and final arbitration instead of through court proceedings.  You and we hereby waive any right to a jury trial of any Claim (defined below).  All controversies, claims, counterclaims, or other disputes arising between you and us or you and a third-party agent of ours (each a “Claim”) shall be submitted for binding arbitration in accordance with the Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA Rules”).  The arbitration will be heard and determined by a single arbitrator.  The arbitrator's decision in any such arbitration will be final and binding upon the parties and may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction.  You and we agree that the arbitration proceedings will be kept confidential and that the existence of the proceeding and any element of it (including, without limitation, any pleadings, briefs or other documents submitted or exchanged and any testimony or other oral submissions and awards) will not be disclosed beyond the arbitration proceedings, except as may lawfully be required in judicial proceedings relating to the arbitration, by applicable disclosure rules and regulations of securities regulatory authorities or other governmental agencies, or as specifically permitted by state law.  The Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law apply to this agreement.  However, the Arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have the exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this Agreement including, but not limited to, a claim that all or any part of this Agreement is void or voidable.

If you demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to the costs of litigation, we will pay as much of the administrative costs and arbitrator's fees required for the arbitration as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the cost of the arbitration from being prohibitive.  In the final award, the arbitrator may apportion the costs of arbitration and the compensation of the arbitrator among the parties in such amounts as the arbitrator deems appropriate.

This arbitration agreement does not preclude either party from seeking action by federal, state, or local government agencies.  You and we also have the right to bring qualifying claims in small claims court.  In addition, you and we retain the right to apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for provisional relief, including pre-arbitral attachments or preliminary injunctions, and any such request shall not be deemed incompatible with these Terms and Conditions, nor a waiver of the right to have disputes submitted to arbitration as provided in these Terms and Conditions.

Neither you nor we may act as a class representative or private attorney general, nor participate as a member of a class of claimants, with respect to any Claim.  Claims may not be arbitrated on a class or representative basis.  The arbitrator can decide only your and/or our individual Claims.  The arbitrator may not consolidate or join the claims of other persons or parties who may be similarly situated.  The arbitrator may award in the arbitration the same damages or other relief available under applicable law, including injunctive and declaratory relief, as if the action were brought in court on an individual basis.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing or herein, the arbitrator may not issue a “public injunction” and any such “public injunction” may be awarded only by a federal or state court.  If either party seeks a “public injunction,” all other claims and prayers for relief must be adjudicated in arbitration first and any prayer or claim for a “public injunction” in federal or state court stayed until the arbitration is completed, after which the federal or state court can adjudicate the party’s claim or prayer for “public injunctive relief.”  In doing so, the federal or state court is bound under principles of claim or issue preclusion by the decision of the arbitrator.

If any provision of this Section is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then that specific provision shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed, but the remainder of this Section shall continue in full force and effect.  No waiver of any provision of this Section of the Terms and Conditions will be effective or enforceable unless recorded in a writing signed by the party waiving such a right or requirement.  Such a waiver shall not waive or affect any other portion of these Terms and Conditions.  This Section of the Terms and Conditions will survive the termination of your relationship with us.

THIS SECTION LIMITS CERTAIN RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO MAINTAIN A COURT ACTION, THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL, THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY FORM OF CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE CLAIM, THE RIGHT TO ENGAGE IN DISCOVERY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN AAA RULES, AND THE RIGHT TO CERTAIN REMEDIES AND FORMS OF RELIEF.  OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU OR WE WOULD HAVE IN COURT ALSO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ARBITRATION.]

19. Severability; Waiver. If, for whatever reason, a court of competent jurisdiction finds any term or condition in these Terms and Conditions to be unenforceable, then all other terms and conditions will remain unaffected and in full force and effect. No waiver of any breach of any provision of these Terms and Conditions shall constitute a waiver of any prior, concurrent or subsequent breach of the same or any other provisions hereof, and no waiver shall be effective unless made in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the waiving party.

20. ACKNOWLEDGMENT. BY ACCESSING THIS WEBSITE OR USING THE SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM.