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Terms of Service

IMPORTANT – THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU ("You") AND ENGINEERING FOR US ALL, INC. (e4usa), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization ("US," "WE," or "e4usa"). PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT ("Agreement") BEFORE ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES. THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT GOVERN YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SERVICES. BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU SIGNIFY THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT AND ACCEPT AND AGREE TO ABIDE BY ITS TERMS OF SERVICE. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU MUST NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES.

This Agreement is made between You on behalf of yourself and any Authorized Users. The term "Party" herein shall refer to e4usa and to You and your Authorized Users. Acceptance of this Agreement by the parties shall entitle You to use the Services, subject to the terms and conditions stated herein. If you are acting on behalf of an entity, then you represent that you have the authority to enter into this Agreement on behalf of that entity.

Terms of Service

Effective Date: July 7, 2026

1. DEFINITIONS

  1. "Services" shall mean the websites, web applications, platforms, curriculum materials, professional development programs, and related online and offline offerings made available by e4usa, including without limitation the e4usa website (e4usa.org), the e4usa HUB, and MyDesign: A Learning Management System for Design, whether operated as standalone platforms or integrated with Your systems (such as an existing district LMS) using standard protocols such as LTI, JWT, and OIDC.
  2. "Non-commercial Academic Use" shall mean use of the Services for academic, research, instructional, teaching, and training or educational purposes only, and expressly excluding any commercial purposes.
  3. "Educational Seat License" shall mean access to one or more of the Services provided free of charge or for a program fee to an educational institution for Non-commercial Academic Uses.
  4. "Authorized Users" shall mean Your employees, students, teachers, faculty, or other users authorized by You to access the Services.
  5. "District" shall mean the school district, school, or educational institution that has entered into an agreement with e4usa for use of one or more of the Services.
  6. "Student Data" shall mean any personally identifiable information relating to a student that is collected, created, or maintained through the Services, including Education Records.
  7. "Education Records" shall have the meaning given to that term under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, and its implementing regulations.
  8. "Privacy Notice" shall mean e4usa's Privacy Notice, available at https://e4usa.org/privacy-notice, as it may be updated from time to time, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

2. GRANT OF ACCESS AND LICENSE

  1. e4usa hereby grants You a royalty-free (except where a program fee applies), revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable right and license to access and use the Services for Non-commercial Academic Use. Access to certain Services may be subject to seat limits or additional program terms; please contact support@e4usa.org for details.
  2. You hereby grant to e4usa a royalty-free, revocable, limited right and license to collect, store, and use Your data solely for the purposes and periods described in Sections 6 and 7 of this Agreement and in the Privacy Notice.
  3. All fees collected as part of e4usa programming directly support the charitable mission of Engineering for US All, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

3. RESTRICTIONS

The rights granted under Section 2 are subject to the following restrictions and conditions.

  1. You will not: modify, hide, delete, or interfere with any proprietary and restrictive legends and notices that are included on the Services or e4usa materials at the time they are received (in the event e4usa adopts and provides you with modified legends or notices, You will promptly incorporate them upon receipt); sell, license, sublicense, or otherwise distribute the Services or e4usa materials, in whole or in part, to third parties; publicly post or display the Services or e4usa materials, in whole or in part, except as expressly permitted; use or cause the Services to be used to provide services to third parties or for the production or manufacture of products for sale to third parties; decompile, clone, reverse assemble, or reverse compile any software component of the Services, in whole or in part; or attempt to download, copy, or mirror the Services.
  2. The rights granted herein do not include the rights to sublicense or to make copies of the Services or e4usa materials except as expressly permitted.
  3. All rights not expressly granted to You in this Agreement shall remain with e4usa.

4. SUPPORT AND OPERATION OF THE SERVICES

  1. e4usa will maintain and host its web-based Services. e4usa's web application platforms are hosted on cloud infrastructure, primarily Amazon Web Services (AWS), which processes data on e4usa's behalf under a data processing agreement; where a Service is hosted on other infrastructure, e4usa applies the same security controls described in Section 7 and requires comparable data protection commitments from its infrastructure providers.
  2. e4usa will make reasonable efforts to ensure the availability of the Services but does not guarantee uninterrupted access.
  3. e4usa may provide updates and modifications to the Services at its discretion.
  4. e4usa does not guarantee any specific level of technical support.
  5. You and Your Authorized Users are responsible for maintaining and protecting any files or other information saved using the Services. Subject to Section 7 (Data Security), e4usa will not be liable for any loss or corruption of any files or other information, or for any costs or expenses associated with backing up or restoring any files.
  6. You are responsible for safeguarding the usernames and passwords that You and your Authorized Users use to access the Services, and You agree not to disclose this information to any third party.

5. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  1. e4usa shall own all rights, title, and interest in and to the Services, including all software, curriculum, and materials made available through them. Except for the rights expressly provided herein, this Agreement does not grant you any right, title, or interest in the Services.
  2. You shall own data files, analyses, student work, coursework, ePortfolio content, and similar works that result from your use of the Services. Education Records within the Services remain under the control of the District.
  3. Neither party shall use the name or trademarks of the other party or names of employees of the other party for commercial purposes without the prior written approval of the other party. Notwithstanding the preceding statement, e4usa may identify You as a participant in or user of the Services.

6. DATA PRIVACY AND E4USA's USE OF YOUR DATA

e4usa recognizes and values the privacy of its community members and guests, and strives to collect, store, and use the minimum amount of personal information necessary for its legitimate business purposes and to comply with legal obligations. e4usa's collection and use of personal information is governed by this Section and by the Privacy Notice. In the event of a conflict between this Section and the Privacy Notice with respect to Student Data, the provision more protective of Student Data shall control.

  1. Data collected. Depending on the Services You use, e4usa may collect the following categories of information:
    • Account information: Names, email addresses, school affiliation, and role (student or educator), including identifiers such as School ID, Class ID, Teacher ID, Individual ID, and Team ID.
    • Student work and coursework: Design projects, project descriptions and associated resources, assignments, submissions (including submission dates and due dates), ePortfolio content, teacher scores, and teacher markups of student-submitted documents.
    • Usage data: Information about how users interact with the Services, including pages visited, features used, and time spent on activities, used to improve the Services and support teaching and learning.
    • Website analytics data: Anonymous usage statistics about e4usa's public websites, collected through privacy-respecting analytics tools as described in Section 6.10 and the Privacy Notice.
  2. Purposes of use. e4usa collects and uses Your data solely for the following purposes:
    • Providing and operating the Services for You and participating Districts;
    • Supporting instruction, coursework, and assessment within e4usa programs;
    • Improving the Services' functionality, performance, and educational effectiveness;
    • Communicating with You, educators, and District administrators about accounts, programs, and the Services;
    • Evaluating student and teacher outcomes, the outcomes and efficacy of e4usa Professional Development, and the implementation of the e4usa course across geographically and demographically diverse sites, using de-identified data as described below; and
    • Complying with applicable legal obligations.
  3. Commitments. e4usa does not use Student Data for advertising or marketing purposes. e4usa does not sell personal information. e4usa does not build profiles of students for purposes unrelated to their education. e4usa does not share personal information without affirmative consent, except as necessary to operate the Services, as required by law, or with the explicit consent of the District. No mobile phone number information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes, and text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties.
  4. FERPA compliance. Where a Service involves Education Records, that Service operates in compliance with FERPA. When a District partners with e4usa, e4usa functions as a "school official" with a "legitimate educational interest" under FERPA, as defined in the District's annual FERPA notification or as specified in e4usa's agreement with the District. Under this relationship: (a) Education Records within the Services remain under the control of the District; (b) e4usa accesses and uses Education Records only for the purposes authorized by the District; and (c) parents and eligible students retain all rights under FERPA, including the right to inspect, review, and request amendment of Education Records. Such requests should be directed to the student's District, which will coordinate with e4usa as needed.
  5. COPPA compliance. The Services are designed primarily for high school students and educators. To the extent any student under the age of 13 uses the Services as part of a school program, e4usa complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): personal information from students under 13 is collected only in the context of school-authorized educational activities; e4usa relies on the school or District to provide consent on behalf of parents, consistent with FTC guidance, and the District represents that it has the authority to provide such consent; such information is used solely for the educational purposes authorized by the District and never for advertising, marketing, profiling, or other commercial purposes; and parents may review, request deletion of, or refuse further collection of their child's information by contacting their District or e4usa directly. e4usa does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 outside of a school-authorized context and will promptly delete any such information it learns it has collected.
  6. State student privacy laws. e4usa is committed to complying with applicable state student privacy laws in the jurisdictions where participating Districts are located, and will work with Districts to meet their obligations under state-specific requirements, including entering into data privacy agreements where required by state law.
  7. De-identification for research and evaluation. For evaluation and research purposes described above, identifying information will be replaced with a generic non-identifying number before data is input and/or aggregated into analysis files. Data files will be stored on secure servers and password-protected computers in secure locations, and access will be limited to e4usa staff and authorized personnel.
  8. Third parties and hosting. e4usa's web application platforms are hosted on cloud infrastructure, primarily AWS, under a data processing agreement; where a Service is hosted on other infrastructure, e4usa applies the same security controls described in Section 7 and requires comparable data protection commitments from its infrastructure providers. Student Data is not transmitted outside the e4usa environment except over encrypted HTTPS connections. e4usa does not share Student Data with any other third parties except as necessary to operate the Services, as required by law, or with the explicit consent of the District.
  9. Data retention and deletion. e4usa retains personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by e4usa's agreement with the District. Data retained for research or evaluation will be retained for no longer than seven (7) years after the completion of the applicable study and then destroyed. When a District's participation ends, or upon a District's request at any time, e4usa will delete or de-identify Student Data in accordance with its data retention policies and applicable law. Deletion requests may be submitted using the contact information in Section 13.
  10. District and parent rights. Districts may: request access to Education Records maintained within the Services; request correction of inaccurate student information; request deletion of Student Data; and receive information about e4usa's data collection and privacy practices. Parents and eligible students who wish to exercise their rights under FERPA or applicable state law should contact their District, which will work with e4usa to fulfill those requests.
  11. Website analytics, cookies, and tracking. e4usa's public websites use privacy-respecting analytics tools (such as Google Tag Manager, Plausible Analytics, and PostHog, as described in the Privacy Notice) to collect anonymous usage statistics. e4usa does not use this data to personally identify You and does not combine it with other personal information. e4usa's websites use only essential cookies necessary for the websites to function properly, respect "Do Not Track" browser settings, and request permission through a consent management system before loading any non-essential scripts or cookies. You can change your preferences at any time via the "Privacy Preferences" link in the website footer.

7. DATA SECURITY

  1. e4usa implements administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information, tailored to the sensitivity of the data it holds, including:
    • Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit and at rest;
    • Access controls: Role-based access following the principle of least privilege, with quarterly access reviews;
    • Monitoring and threat detection: Continuous monitoring of infrastructure and application security;
    • Vulnerability management: Regular vulnerability scanning with defined remediation timelines based on severity;
    • Incident response: A documented incident response plan with defined escalation procedures;
    • Personnel security: Background checks for employees with access to Student Data, along with annual security awareness training; and
    • Risk assessments: Annual formal risk assessments to identify and address potential threats to data security.
  2. e4usa has completed a SOC 2 Type 2 audit, conducted by an independent auditor, covering the security of e4usa's business processes and systems, including the environments supporting the Services. The safeguards described in this Section apply across e4usa's operations. Districts may request a copy of e4usa's SOC 2 report by contacting e4usa; a non-disclosure agreement is required prior to release.

8. PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL E4USA INFORMATION

  1. You acknowledge that the Services, including their underlying software, curriculum, and materials, are Proprietary Information and property of e4usa.
  2. You shall take reasonable steps to protect against unauthorized access to, disclosure, and use of e4usa's Proprietary Information, using at least the same degree of care that you use to protect your own proprietary information. Specifically, You shall: not disclose e4usa's Proprietary Information to any third party; and limit disclosure to those of Your officers, employees, and students who have a need to access it, and You shall obtain their agreement to comply with the obligations under this Section.
  3. The obligations set forth in this Section 8 shall last until such time as the relevant Proprietary Information is released to the public domain.
  4. You acknowledge that any breach, threatened or actual, of this Section 8 may cause irreparable injury to e4usa that cannot be adequately compensated by monetary damages. As a result, You agree e4usa is entitled, in addition to any other available remedies, to seek and be awarded injunctive relief, without posting a bond.

9. DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION ON LIABILITY

  1. THE SERVICES ARE MADE AVAILABLE ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. E4USA DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL PROMISES, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES – WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ORAL OR IN WRITING, IN FACT OR ARISING BY OPERATION OF LAW – WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OF ANY THIRD PARTY, OR THOSE ARISING BY LAW, STATUTE, USAGE OF TRADE, OR COURSE OF DEALING. E4USA ALSO MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICES WILL OPERATE ERROR FREE OR IN AN UNINTERRUPTED FASHION OR THAT ANY DOWNLOADABLE FILES OR INFORMATION WILL BE FREE OF VIRUSES OR CONTAMINATION OR DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES.
  2. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL E4USA BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY BUSINESS EXPENSE OR INTERRUPTION; LOSS OF PROFITS, AND/OR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH CLAIMS OR DEMANDS, HOWEVER CAUSED, ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH OR OUT OF THE FURNISHING, USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED HEREUNDER. THIS LIMITATION UPON DAMAGES AND CLAIMS IS INTENDED TO APPLY WITHOUT REGARD TO WHETHER OTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT HAVE BEEN BREACHED OR HAVE PROVEN INEFFECTIVE.
  3. IN NO EVENT WILL E4USA'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR THE BREACH OR NONPERFORMANCE OF THIS AGREEMENT EXCEED THE FEES PAID TO E4USA UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.
  4. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION LIMITS E4USA'S OBLIGATIONS UNDER APPLICABLE STUDENT PRIVACY LAWS, INCLUDING FERPA AND APPLICABLE STATE STUDENT PRIVACY LAWS.

10. INDEMNITY

  1. To the extent permitted by law, You hereby agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless e4usa and its employees, agents, directors, and officers from and against any and all claims, proceedings, damages, injuries, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees and litigation expenses) relating to or arising in connection with any negligent act or omission by You, or your Authorized Users, pertaining to Your activities and obligations under this Agreement.

11. TERM AND TERMINATION

  1. This Agreement and Your right to use the Services take effect when you first access or use any of the Services.
  2. e4usa reserves the right at any time to terminate this Agreement when it has any reasonable belief of fraudulent or unlawful activity by You or Your Authorized Users, or of a violation of any term or condition of this Agreement. Termination will become effective upon your receipt of written notice of such a default.
  3. You may terminate this Agreement at any time by ceasing to use the Services and providing written notice of the same to e4usa.
  4. e4usa may terminate this Agreement at any time upon fifteen (15) days written notice to You.
  5. Upon termination of this Agreement or the end of a District's participation, e4usa will delete or de-identify Student Data in accordance with Section 6.9, its data retention policies, and applicable law.
  6. Sections 1, 4–10, 11.5, and 12 will survive the termination of this Agreement.

12. MISCELLANEOUS

  1. No term or provision in this Agreement will be waived and no breach excused unless such waiver or consent is in writing and signed by the Party claimed to have waived or consented. Failure by either Party to insist on strict performance of any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement will not operate as a waiver by either Party of that or any subsequent default or failure of performance.
  2. If any provision of this Agreement is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be void, invalid, or otherwise unenforceable, such determination shall not affect the remaining provisions of this Agreement, and the illegal, invalid, or unenforceable clause shall be modified in compliance with applicable law in a manner that most closely matches the intent of the original language.
  3. This Agreement does not create a joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship between the Parties.
  4. No provision herein, express or implied, confers upon any person other than the Parties to this Agreement any rights, remedies, obligations, or liabilities hereunder.
  5. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties hereto. You may not assign this Agreement without e4usa's prior written approval.
  6. This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with United States copyright law and the laws of the State of Maryland, without reference to its conflicts of laws rules.
  7. Except where noted herein, this Agreement, together with the Privacy Notice and any data privacy agreement or program agreement between e4usa and the District, represents the entire agreement between You and e4usa with respect to the Services and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written, between You and e4usa regarding the Services. If You require use of a purchase order to process a program transaction or fee, any terms on such a document are hereby rejected and null and void.

13. CONTACT US

If you have any inquiries or requests regarding this Agreement or e4usa's data practices, including requests for access, correction, or deletion of Student Data, please contact us at support@e4usa.org or via https://e4usa.org/contact-us. Security concerns may be reported at https://e4usa.org/contact/report-a-security-concern. In order to reply to requests for the exercise of rights, if we are not certain of your identity, we may need to ask you for further identification data, to be used only for the purposes of replying to your request.

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