Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting the Heartland Area Education Agency (AEA) website. At Heartland AEA we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it. This Policy describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide (“Personal Information”) on the heartlandaea.org website (“Website” or “Service”) and any of its related products and services (collectively, “Services”) and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting and disclosing that Personal Information.

This Policy is a legally binding agreement between you (“User,” “you” or “your”) and Heartland AEA (“Heartland AEA,” “we,” “us” or “our”). If you are entering into this agreement on behalf of a business or other legal entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind such an entity to this agreement, in which case the terms “User,” “you” or “your” shall refer to such entity. By accessing and using the Website and Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms of this Policy. The terms of this Policy shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Iowa. This Policy does not apply to the practices of companies that we do not own or control or to individuals who we do not employ or manage.

Automatic Collection of User Information

When you connect to a Heartland AEA-hosted Website or Service, our web servers automatically record information that your browser sends. This data may include but is not limited to information such as:

• Your device’s IP address
• Browser type
• Version
• Operating system (Type and version)
• Language preferences
• Pages of Heartland AEA’s Website and Services that you visit
• Access times, dates and other statistics

Information collected automatically is used only to identify potential cases of abuse and establish statistical information regarding the usage and traffic of the Website and Services. This statistical information is not otherwise aggregated in such a way that would identify any particular User of the system.

Use of Cookies

Heartland AEA uses “cookies,” which are small files that allow us to store and sometimes track what you are looking at when you use our Services. If you are concerned about the potential use of information gathered from your computer by “cookies,” you can set your browser to prompt you before it accepts a cookie. Most Internet browsers have settings that let you identify or reject cookies.

Information Use

We use your Personal Information to deliver and improve our Services, communicate with you and personalize your experience. This includes but is not limited to the following:

• To process your orders and provide customer support
• To send you marketing communications, including newsletters, promotions, and updates
• To improve our Website and Services
• To comply with legal obligations
• Provide agency and statewide services

Data Retention

We will retain and use your Personal Information for the period necessary within Heartland AEA to enforce our agreements, resolve disputes, and unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

We may use any aggregated data derived from or incorporating your Personal Information after you or the agency updates or deletes it. Once Heartland AEA determines the data is no longer needed, Personal Information shall be deleted. Therefore, the right to access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after deletion of data.

User Rights

We recognize your right to access your Personal Information. In accordance with applicable data protection laws, such as the Freedom of Information Rights Act (FOIA), you may request access to the personal data we hold about you or request that it be corrected or updated. To exercise these rights, contact the Heartland AEA Communications Department. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

Please note that we may ask you to verify your identity before responding to such requests. Your request must provide sufficient information that allows us to verify that you are the person you are claiming to be or that you are the authorized representative of such person. You must include sufficient details to allow us to properly understand the request and respond to it. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with Personal Information unless we first verify your identity or authority to make such a request and confirm that the Personal Information relates to you.

Children’s Privacy

Our Website primarily serves adult educators, but we also have sections specifically designed for students. We understand the importance of protecting the privacy of our younger visitors. To ensure their safety and comply with federal regulations, we have implemented measures that adhere to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) which regulates online collection of information from persons under the age of 13. These measures help safeguard the Personal Information of children who visit our site or participate in online activities.

As required by COPPA, we do not:

• Collect student electronic mail addresses or parent contact information except for the purposes of seeking parental consent and notifying parents of their children’s involvement in one of our projects.
• Publish online postings, student work or photographs of children under 13 without parental consent.
• Publish online postings, student work or photographs of children under 18 without notifying parents of their children’s involvement in one of our projects.
• Collect or share with third parties personally identifiable offline contact information for children without parental notification.
• Heartland AEA follows the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) statute found at 20 U.S.C. § 1232g and FERPA regulations found at 34 CFR Part 99 in regard to student data storage, management and sharing.

Links to Other Sites

The Heartland AEA Privacy Policy discloses the policies and practices for the Heartland AEA Website. These policies and practices only apply to Services or any future Services provided by Heartland AEA. The Heartland AEA website may provide links to other websites. The policies and practices contained in this Privacy Policy do not apply to ANY external links that are linked to our Services for which we are not responsible (“linked-sites”).

When you leave the Heartland AEA Website, you will be going to sites we are not responsible for. These other websites may send their own cookies to users, collect data or solicit personal information. We therefore encourage you to familiarize yourself with the policies and practices of the linked-sites, especially if you provide personal information to them.

Site Security

While Heartland AEA makes reasonable efforts to maintain the security of information provided to Heartland AEA, it is possible that our servers’ security could be circumvented, resulting in the loss, alteration or disclosure of that information.

Contact Information

Direct all inquiries to the Heartland AEA Communications Department.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

This policy was last reviewed on Sept. 25, 2024.