Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Bright After School (the "Service"), operated by BrightGrades Inc. ("we," "us," or "Company"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization (such as a school or after-school program), you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

If you do not agree with these Terms, do not use the Service. These Terms apply to all users of the Service, including program operators, administrators, parents, guardians, and authorized pickup persons.

2. Description of Service

Bright After School is a software-as-a-service platform that provides after-school care management tools, including:

• Government ID-based identity verification for authorized pickup persons
• QR code and PIN-based child check-out
• Real-time attendance tracking and check-in/check-out logs
• Parent push notifications for pickup events
• Billing and payment management for programs
• Multi-site and district-level program management

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time with reasonable notice.

3. Account Registration

To use Bright After School, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration
• Keep your account credentials secure and not share your password
• Notify us immediately at support@brightgrades.com if you suspect unauthorized access to your account
• Take responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account

We reserve the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, or remove content at our sole discretion.

4. Program Operator Responsibilities

If you are creating or managing a program account (as a school administrator, program director, or district administrator), you agree to:

• Use the Service only for lawful program management purposes
• Obtain all necessary consents from parents and guardians before enrolling children into your program
• Ensure that staff members you add to the Service understand and comply with these Terms
• Maintain accurate student enrollment and authorized pickup information
• Not add any person as an authorized pickup person without the knowledge and consent of the child's legal parent or guardian
• Comply with all applicable laws, including FERPA, COPPA, and applicable state student privacy laws

Program operators are responsible for how their staff use the Service. BrightGrades Inc. is a service provider, not a co-controller, of student data.

5. Parent & Guardian Responsibilities

As a parent or guardian using Bright After School, you agree to:

• Complete identity verification truthfully and with your own government-issued ID
• Only add authorized pickup persons who you have personally authorized to pick up your child
• Keep your PIN and QR codes private and not share them with unauthorized persons
• Notify your program immediately if you believe your account or pickup codes have been compromised
• Update your authorized pickup list promptly when authorizations change

6. Payment Terms

Bright After School offers a free Starter tier and paid subscription plans. By selecting a paid plan, you agree to pay the applicable fees.

• Billing cycle: Paid plans are billed monthly or annually in advance, depending on your selected plan.
• Automatic renewal: Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period unless cancelled before the renewal date.
• Failed payments: If payment fails, we will notify you and may suspend access to paid features. We will attempt to retry the payment before suspending service.
• Refunds: We do not offer prorated refunds for partial billing periods, except as required by applicable law. Annual plans cancelled within 14 days of the start of a new annual period may receive a prorated refund.
• Price changes: We will provide at least 30 days' notice before any price increases.

Payments are processed by Stripe. By providing payment information, you also agree to Stripe's terms of service.

7. Prohibited Uses

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Submit false identity documents or impersonate another person
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or data
• Circumvent, disable, or interfere with any security features
• Upload viruses, malware, or any harmful code
• Scrape, harvest, or collect user data without authorization
• Use the Service in violation of any child safety law or regulation
• Engage in any activity that could harm, endanger, or exploit children
• Use the Service for any commercial purpose not expressly authorized by us

Violation of these prohibitions may result in immediate termination of your account and may be reported to appropriate authorities.

8. Intellectual Property

The Service and all its original content, features, and functionality are owned by BrightGrades Inc. and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service without our express written permission.

You retain ownership of any data you input into the Service (such as your student roster and attendance records). By using the Service, you grant us a limited license to process that data solely to provide the Service to you.

9. Third-Party Services

Bright After School integrates with third-party services including Stripe (payments), Clerk (authentication), and cloud infrastructure providers. Your use of these third-party services is subject to their respective terms of service and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the practices of third-party services.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

Bright After School is a tool to support your program's safety processes. It does not replace proper staff training, supervision, and judgment. The ultimate responsibility for child safety rests with program operators and their staff.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, BRIGHTGRADES INC. AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES — INCLUDING LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF REVENUE, OR PERSONAL INJURY — ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE.

OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR (B) $100 USD.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitations of liability. In such jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless BrightGrades Inc. and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third-party right.

13. Termination

By you: You may cancel your account at any time from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period for paid plans. Your data will be deleted within 90 days of account closure as described in our Privacy Policy.

By us: We may suspend or terminate your account immediately if you violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or if we determine that your use poses a safety risk to children. We may also terminate the Service with 30 days' notice for any other reason.

14. Governing Law & Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising from these Terms or the Service will be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, except that either party may seek injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction.

You agree to resolve disputes with us individually and waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email and post a notice in your dashboard at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service and cancel your account before the effective date.

16. Contact Us

Questions about these Terms? We're happy to explain anything: