Terms of service

LAST UPDATED: April 15, 2024

Welcome to brightwheel! Please read on to learn the rules and restrictions that govern your use of our website(s), applications (“Apps”), products, early learning materials (“Materials”), services and applications (collectively, the “Services”). If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding these Terms or the Services, please contact us at info@mybrightwheel.com.

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) are a binding contract between you and DSSV, Inc. (“brightwheel,” “we” and “us”). You must agree to and accept all of the Terms, or you don’t have the right to use the Services. Your use of the Services in any manner means that you agree to all of these Terms, and these Terms will remain in effect while you use the Services. These Terms include the provisions in this document, as well as those in the Privacy Policy and Copyright Policy. 

Important Notice Regarding Arbitration for US Customers: In agreeing to these terms, you are agreeing (with limited exception) to resolve any dispute between you and brightwheel through binding, individual arbitration rather than in court. Please carefully review the “Dispute Resolution for Individuals” and “Dispute Resolution for Entities” Sections below. 

Overview

Brightwheel offers software and services to registered users, which includes owners, staff members, and teachers (“Providers”), as well as Parents and Guardians (“Guardians”) who are often associated with Providers. Brightwheel may also provide additional Services.

Will these Terms ever change?

We are always working to improve our Services, so these Terms may need to change from time to time. We reserve the right to change the Terms at any time. If we do, we will always post the latest terms at this web address: www. mybrightwheel.com/terms. You are responsible for knowing what the current Terms are.

If you don’t agree with the new Terms, then you will no longer be able to use the Services. If you use the Services in any way after a change to the Terms is effective, that means you agree to all of the changes.

Except for changes by us as described here, no other amendment or modification of these Terms will be effective unless in writing and signed by both you and us.

What about my privacy? Brightwheel takes the privacy of its users very seriously. For the current brightwheel Privacy Policy, please click here. 

Brightwheel’s processing of any personal data uploaded by Providers onto brightwheel is governed by the Data Protection Terms we have entered into with the applicable Provider, not the Privacy Policy. Unless we have entered into a separate agreement with the Provider, the Data Protection Terms we have entered into with the Provider are set forth below. If you are a Guardian and have questions about how the Provider processes your personal data, please contact the Provider directly. 

What are the basics of using brightwheel?

You may be required to sign up for an account, and select a password and username (“brightwheel User ID”). You promise to provide us with accurate and complete information about yourself. You may not select as your brightwheel User ID a name that you don’t have the right to use, or another person’s name with the intent to impersonate that person. You may not transfer your account to anyone else without our prior written permission.

You represent and warrant that you are an individual of legal age to form a binding contract. If you’re agreeing to these Terms on behalf of an organization or entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to agree to these Terms on that organization or entity’s behalf and bind them to these Terms (in which case, the references to “you” and “your” in these Terms, except for in this sentence, refer to that organization or entity).

You will only use the Services for your own internal, non-commercial use, and not on behalf of or for the benefit of any third party, and only in a manner that complies with all laws that apply to you. If your use of the Services is prohibited by applicable laws, then you aren’t authorized to use the Services. We can’t and won’t be responsible for your using the Services in a way that breaks the law. The Services are intended only to be used for daycare and preschools settings (“Intended Settings”), and you agree that you will only use the Services for the Intended Settings.

If you are a Provider, the Services may only be accessed and used by your employees or contractors who have been designated and authorized by you to be granted such access (each an “Authorized User”) for the sole purpose of performing their job functions for you. Each account for the Services may only be accessed and used by the specific Authorized User for whom such account is created. The account credentials are confidential and cannot be shared or used by more than one person. 

You must protect the security of your account and your password. You’re responsible for any activity associated with your account.

Your use of the Services is subject to the following additional restrictions:

You represent, warrant, and agree that you will not contribute any Content or User Submission (each of those terms is defined below) or otherwise use the Services or interact with the Services in a manner that:

(a) Infringes or violates the intellectual property rights or any other rights of anyone else (including brightwheel);

(b) Violates any law or regulation, including any applicable export control laws;

(c) Is harmful, fraudulent, deceptive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable;

(d) Jeopardizes the security of your brightwheel account or anyone else’s;

(e) Attempts, in any manner, to obtain the password, account, or other security information from any other user;

(f) Violates the security of any computer network, or cracks any passwords or security encryption codes;

(g) Runs Maillist, Listserv, any form of auto-responder or “spam” on the Services, or any processes that run or are activated while you are not logged into the Services, or that otherwise interfere with the proper working of the Services (including by placing an unreasonable load on the Services’ infrastructure);

(h) “Crawls,” “scrapes,” or “spiders” any page, data, or portion of or relating to the Services or Content (through use of manual or automated means);

(i) Copies or stores the Content or any portion thereof;

(j) Decompiles, reverse engineers, deciphers, disassembles or otherwise attempts to obtain the source code or underlying ideas or information of or relating to the Services;

(k) Avoids, bypasses, removes, deactivates, impairs, descrambles or otherwise circumvents any technological measure implemented by brightwheel or any of brightwheel’s providers or any other third party (including another user) to protect the Services;

(l) Collects or stores any personal data from the Services from other users of the Services without their express permission; 

(m) Posts, uploads, publishes, submits or transmits any Content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate, any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (iii) is fraudulent, false, misleading or deceptive; (iv) is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar or offensive; (v) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (vi) is violent or threatening or promotes violence or actions that are threatening to any person or entity; or (vii) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances;

(n) Uses, displays, mirrors or frames the Services or any individual element within the Services, brightwheel’s name, any brightwheel trademark, logo or other proprietary information, or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page, without brightwheel’s express written consent; 

(o) Accesses, tampers with, or use non-public areas of the Services, brightwheel’s computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of brightwheel’s providers;

(p) Uses any meta tags or other hidden text or metadata utilizing a brightwheel trademark, logo URL or product name without brightwheel’s express written consent; or

(q) Encourages or enables any other individual to do any of the foregoing.

A violation of any of the foregoing is grounds for termination of your right to use or access the Services.

What are my rights in brightwheel?

The materials displayed or performed or available on or through the Services, including, but not limited to, text, graphics, data, articles, photos, images, illustrations, User Submissions, and so forth (all of the foregoing, the “Content”) are protected by copyright and/or other intellectual property laws. You promise to abide by all copyright notices, trademark rules, information, and restrictions contained in any Content you access through the Services, and you won’t use, copy, reproduce, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, upload, display, license, sell or otherwise exploit for any purpose any Content not owned by you, (i) without the prior consent of the owner of that Content or (ii) in a way that violates someone else’s (including brightwheel’s) rights.

You understand that brightwheel owns the Services. You won’t modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale of, reproduce (except as expressly provided in this Section), create derivative works based on, or otherwise exploit any of the Services.

The Services may allow you to copy or download certain Content; please remember that just because this functionality exists, it doesn’t mean that all the restrictions above don’t apply – they do!

Do I have to grant any licenses to brightwheel or to other users?

Anything you post, upload, share, store, or otherwise provide through the Services, including, but not limited to, text (in posts or communications with others), files, documents, images, music, software, audio or video, is your “User Submission.”  Some User Submissions are viewable by other users. In order to display your User Submissions on the Services, and to allow other users to enjoy them (where applicable), you grant us certain rights in those User Submissions. Please note that all of the following licenses are subject to our Privacy Policy and the Data Protection Terms to the extent they relate to User Submissions that are also your personal data. You represent and warrant that you have obtained and will obtain all consents, approvals, licenses, bases and permissions as necessary to comply with applicable law and as required for brightwheel to exercise the rights granted or assigned to it under these Terms.

You retain all ownership rights in your User Submissions. For all User Submissions, you hereby grant brightwheel a license to use, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, create derivative works based upon, translate, modify and reproduce and otherwise act with respect to such User Submissions, in each case in connection with operating, improving and providing the Services.  

You agree that the licenses you grant described in this section are royalty-free, perpetual, sublicensable, irrevocable, and worldwide. When you delete your brightwheel account, we will stop displaying your User Submissions (other than Public User Submissions, which may remain fully available) to other users (if applicable), but you understand and agree that it may not be possible to completely delete that content from brightwheel’s records, and that your User Submissions may remain viewable elsewhere to the extent that they were copied or stored by other users.

Finally, you understand and agree that brightwheel, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users (including you), may need to make changes to your User Submissions to conform and adapt those User Submissions to the technical requirements of connection networks, devices, services, or media, and the foregoing licenses include the rights to do so.

What if I see something on the Services that infringes my copyright?

Brightwheel respects copyright law and expects its users to do the same. It is brightwheel’s policy to terminate in appropriate circumstances account holders who repeatedly infringe or are believed to be repeatedly infringing the rights of copyright holders. To review our complete Copyright Policy and learn how to report potentially infringing content, click here. To learn more about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, click here: http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf.  

Who is responsible for what I see and do on the Services?

Any information or content publicly posted or privately transmitted through the Services is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such content originated, and you access all such information and content at your own risk, and we aren’t liable for any errors or omissions in that information or content or for any damages or loss you might suffer in connection with it. We cannot control and have no duty to take any action regarding how you may interpret and use the Content or what actions you may take as a result of having been exposed to the Content, and you hereby release us from all liability for you having acquired or not acquired Content through the Services. We can’t guarantee the identity of any users with whom you interact in using the Services and are not responsible for which users gain access to the Services.  

You are responsible for all Content you contribute, in any manner, to the Services, and you represent and warrant you have all rights necessary to do so, in the manner in which you contribute it. You will keep all your registration information accurate and current. You are responsible for all your activity in connection with the Services.

The Services may contain links or connections to third party websites or services that are not owned or controlled by brightwheel. When you access third party websites or use third party services, you accept that there are risks in doing so, and that brightwheel is not responsible for such risks. We encourage you to be aware when you leave the Services and to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of each third party website or service that you visit or utilize. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from, your use of any third-party websites or services.

Brightwheel has no control over, and assumes no responsibility for, the content, accuracy, privacy policies, or practices of or opinions expressed in any third party websites or by any third party that you interact with through the Services. In addition, brightwheel will not and cannot monitor, verify, censor or edit the content of any third party site or service. By using the Services, you release and hold us harmless from any and all liability arising from your use of or reliance on any third party website or service, or any content, goods or services available on or through such third party website or service.

Your interactions with organizations and/or individuals found on or through the Services, including payment and delivery of goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such organizations and/or individuals. You should make whatever investigation you feel necessary or appropriate before proceeding with any online or offline transaction with any of these third parties. You agree that brightwheel shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings.

As part of the Services, we may arrange for certain Materials to be delivered to you through brightwheel affiliates or partners. The manufactures’ warranties and disclaimers provided relating to the Materials themselves should be separately reviewed. You acknowledge and agree to be governed by the terms of such brightwheel affiliates or partners, as applicable, for any orders placed by you for the Materials. Brightwheel merely facilitates your ordering of the Materials as part of the Services, the actual Materials are provided by the brightwheel affiliates or partners. You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from, your use of any Materials.

If there is a dispute between participants on this site, or between users and any third party, you agree that brightwheel is under no obligation to become involved. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other users, you release brightwheel, its officers, employees, agents, and successors from claims, demands, and damages of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such disputes and/or our Services. If you are a California resident, you shall and hereby do waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which says: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.”

Search Tools for Parents. Brightwheel may offer certain products and services to help parents find and pay for child care, and you understand and agree that brightwheel is not in the business of providing preschool or childcare services. Except as explicitly described in these Terms or otherwise communicated by brightwheel, brightwheel has no responsibility or liability for the acts or omissions of any Provider, and brightwheel is not acting as an agent for any Provider. A Guardian may use brightwheel to facilitate its receipt of preschool or childcare services from a Provider, but brightwheel cannot be and is not responsible for ensuring those preschool or childcare services are actually provided or are up to a certain standard of quality, or for mediating disputes between Providers and Guardians. Brightwheel cannot be and is not responsible for ensuring that information a  Provider represents about themselves is accurate or up to date. Although brightwheel may undertake additional checks and processes designed to help verify or check the identities or backgrounds of Providers, we do not make any representations about, confirm, or endorse any user or their purported identity or background, regardless of any involvement by brightwheel in conducting checks or assisting with bookings or listings. Brightwheel does not and has no right to control the actions of any Provider, and Providers are not brightwheel employees.

Will brightwheel ever change the Services?

We’re always trying to improve the Services, so they may change over time. We may suspend or discontinue any part of the Services, or we may introduce new features or impose limits on certain features or restrict access to parts or all of the Services. We’ll try to give you notice when we make a material change to the Services that would adversely affect you, but this isn’t always practical. Similarly, we reserve the right to remove any Content from the Services at any time, for any reason (including, but not limited to, if someone alleges you contributed that Content in violation of these Terms), in our sole discretion, and without notice.

Does brightwheel cost anything?

Some of the brightwheel Services may be provided for free. However certain aspects of the Services may require payment of a fee and you agree to pay such fees. You may purchase a subscription (“Subscription”) for such use.

General. By purchasing a Subscription (a “Transaction”), you expressly authorize us (or our third-party payment processor) to charge you for such Transaction. We may ask you to supply additional information relevant to your Transaction, including your credit card number, the expiration date of your credit card and your email and postal addresses for billing and notification (such information, “Payment Information”). You represent and warrant that you have the legal right to use all payment method(s) represented by any such Payment Information. When you initiate a Transaction, you authorize us to provide your Payment Information to third parties so we can complete your Transaction and to charge your payment method for the type of Transaction you have selected (plus any applicable taxes and other charges). You may need to provide additional information to verify your identity before completing your Transaction (such information is included within the definition of Payment Information). By initiating a Transaction, you agree to the pricing, payment and billing policies applicable to such fees and charges, as posted or otherwise communicated to you. All payments for Transactions are non-refundable and non-transferable except as expressly provided in these Terms. All fees and applicable taxes, if any, are payable in United States dollars.

Subscriptions. If you purchase a Subscription, you will be charged the annual Subscription fee, plus any applicable taxes, and other charges (“Subscription Fee”), at the beginning of your Subscription and each month or year (each a “Subscription Period”) thereafter depending on whether you elect monthly or annual billing during enrollment, at the then-current Subscription Fee. Taxes applicable to a Subscription may include without limitation, any sales, use, excise, value-added and other similar taxes; such taxes are in addition to the Subscription Fee.  BY PURCHASING A SUBSCRIPTION, YOU AUTHORIZE BRIGHTWHEEL TO INITIATE RECURRING NON-REFUNDABLE PAYMENTS AS SET FORTH BELOW. If you purchase a Subscription, we (or our third-party payment processor) will automatically charge you on the commencement of your subsequent Subscription Period, using the Payment Information you have provided until you cancel your Subscription.Your enrollment in the Premium Services will be automatically renewed on a monthly or annual basis, depending on whether you elect monthly or annual billing during enrollment. If you wish to cancel auto-renewal of the Premium Services for the following billing period, you must notify brightwheel within thirty (30) days prior to the auto renewal date. brightwheel may change the Subscription Fee upon notice to you, but such change will only take effect once your then-current Premium Services term has ended.  If you do not wish to pay the new Subscription Fee, your only remedy shall be to cancel your enrollment in the Premium Services for the following billing period, prior to the expiration of your then-current Premium Services term.  You may cancel your Premium Services subscription at any time, but again, no refunds will be granted for Subscription Fees paid.

Cancelling Subscription. YOUR PURCHASE IS FINAL AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CANCEL THE PURCHASE AND/OR RECEIVE A REFUND OF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION FEE AT ANY TIME. But if something unexpected happens in the course of completing a Transaction, we reserve the right to cancel your Transaction for any reason; if we cancel your Transaction we’ll refund any payment you have already remitted to us for such Transaction. Without limiting the foregoing, you may cancel your Subscription at any time, but please note that such cancellation will be effective at the end of the then-current Subscription period. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REFUND OF ANY PORTION OF THE SUBSCRIPTION FEE PAID FOR THE THEN CURRENT SUBSCRIPTION PERIOD AT THE TIME OF CANCELLATION. To cancel, you can send an email to Subscription@mybrightwheel.com. You will be responsible for all Subscription Fees (plus any applicable taxes and other charges) incurred for the then-current Subscription period. If you cancel, your right to use the Services will continue until the end of your then current Subscription period and will then terminate without further charges.

We reserve the right to cease operation of any free Services and to charge for certain or all Services in the future, including new Services that we add. We will notify you before any Services you are then using begin carrying a fee, and if you wish to continue using such Services, you must pay all applicable fees for such Services.

If you are participating in the Tuition Program (the “Tuition Program”), then you are also subject to our Tuition Program Payment Terms available at Tuition Program Payment Terms and we (or a third-party service provider) may accept and process payments on your behalf, for which we may charge a fee.

What if I want to stop using brightwheel?

You’re free to do that at any time, by contacting us at info@mybrightwheel.com; please refer to our Privacy Policy, as well as the licenses above, to understand how we treat information you provide to us after you have stopped using our Services. If you have signed up for an annual contract with us, any fees already paid are non-refundable and, if you are on a monthly payment plan, you will continue to be responsible for making your monthly payments for the remainder of your then-current annual contract.

Brightwheel is also free to terminate (or suspend access to) your use of the Services or your account, for any reason in our discretion, including your breach of these Terms. Brightwheel has the sole right to decide whether you are in violation of any of the restrictions set forth in these Terms.

Account termination may result in the destruction of any Content associated with your account, so keep that in mind before you decide to terminate your account. We will try to provide advance notice to you prior to our terminating your account so that you are able to retrieve any important User Submissions you may have stored in your account (to the extent allowed by law and these Terms), but we may not do so if we determine it would be impractical, illegal, not in the interest of someone’s safety or security, or otherwise harmful to the rights or property of brightwheel.

If you have deleted your account by mistake, contact us immediately at info@mybrightwheel.com – we will try to help, but unfortunately, we can’t promise that we can recover or restore anything.

Provisions that, by their nature, should survive termination of these Terms shall survive termination. By way of example, all of the following will survive termination: any obligation you have to pay us or indemnify us, any limitations on our liability, any terms regarding ownership or intellectual property rights, and terms regarding disputes between us.

I use the brightwheel App available via the Apple App Store – should I know anything about that?

App License. If you comply with these Terms, brightwheel grants to you a limited non-exclusive, non-transferable license, with no right to sublicense, to download and install the App on your personal computers, mobile handsets, tablets, wearable devices, and/or other devices and to run the App solely for your own personal non-commercial purposes. Except as expressly permitted in these Terms, you may not: (i) copy, modify or create derivative works based on the App; (ii) distribute, transfer, sublicense, lease, lend or rent the App to any third party; (iii) reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the App (unless applicable law permits, despite this limitation); or (iv) make the functionality of the App available to multiple users through any means. 

Additional Information: Apple App Store. This Section applies to any App that you acquire from the Apple App Store or use on an iOS device. Apple has no obligation to furnish any maintenance and support services with respect to the App. In the event of any failure of the App to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the App purchase price to you (if applicable) and, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App. Apple is not responsible for addressing any claims by you or any third party relating to the App or your possession and use of it, including, but not limited to: (i) product liability claims; (ii) any claim that the App fails to conform to any applicable legal or regulatory requirement; and (iii) claims arising under consumer protection or similar legislation. Apple is not responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement and discharge of any third-party claim that your possession and use of the App infringe that third party’s intellectual property rights. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms, and upon your acceptance of the Terms, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary thereof. You represent and warrant that (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a terrorist-supporting country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties. You must also comply with any applicable third-party terms of service when using the App.

What else do I need to know?

Warranty Disclaimer. Neither brightwheel nor its licensors or suppliers makes any representations or warranties concerning any content contained in or accessed through the Services, and we will not be responsible or liable for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, or decency of material contained in or accessed through the Services. We (and our licensors and suppliers) make no representations or warranties regarding suggestions or recommendations of services or products offered or purchased through the Services. THE SERVICES AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED BY BRIGHTWHEEL (AND ITS LICENSORS AND SUPPLIERS) ON AN “AS-IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR THAT USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. We make no warranty, express or implied, that the Services will meet your requirements or be available on an uninterrupted, secure, or error-free basis. We make no warranty regarding the quality, accuracy, timeliness, truthfulness, completeness or reliability of any information or content on the Services. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from brightwheel or through or from the Services shall create any warranty not expressly stated in the Terms.

Limitation of Liability. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY, CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE) SHALL BRIGHTWHEEL (OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON FOR (A) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUES, LOST SAVINGS, LOST BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, LOSS OF DATA OR GOODWILL, ANY ACTION YOU TAKE OR FAIL TO TAKE BASED ON THE INFORMATION YOU RECEIVE IN, THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICES, ANY MATERIALS RECEIVED FROM BRIGHTWHEEL AFFILIATES OR PARTNERS, WORK STOPPAGE, ACCURACY OF RESULTS, THE IMPROPER AUTHORIZATION FOR THE SERVICES BY SOMEONE CLAIMING SUCH AUTHORITY, STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICES, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER OR SYSTEM FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, OR (B) ANY AMOUNT, IN THE AGGREGATE, IN EXCESS OF THE GREATER OF (I) $100 OR (II) THE AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU TO BRIGHTWHEEL IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRECEDING THIS APPLICABLE CLAIM, WHETHER OR NOT BRIGHTWHEEL (OR ITS LICENSORS OR SUPPLIERS) HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnity. If you are a governmental entity and are prohibited by applicable law to indemnify brightwheel, then the following paragraph shall not apply to you and you shall have no indemnification obligations with respect to brightwheel.

You agree to indemnify and hold brightwheel, its affiliates, officers, agents, employees, and partners harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages (actual and consequential), losses and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ and accounting fees) arising from or in any way related to or connected with (a) your access to or use of the Services (including any actions taken by a third party using your account), (b) your User Submissions, (c) your violation of any third party’s rights, including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights, right of privacy, right of publicity, and confidentiality, and (d) your violation of these Terms. In the event of such a claim, suit, or action (“Claim”), we will attempt to provide notice of the Claim to the contact information we have for your account (provided that failure to deliver such notice shall not eliminate or reduce your indemnification obligations hereunder).

Data Protection Terms. These Data Protection Terms only apply to personal data that we process on behalf of Providers under the Terms. The personal data is about Guardians and individuals who Guardians enroll in the services offered by Providers (“Guardian Personal Data”). The Data Protection Terms only apply if you are a Provider. They do not apply if you are a Guardian. 

If you are a Guardian and have questions about how a Provider processes Guardian Personal Data or wish to exercise any rights you may have under applicable data protection laws regarding Guardian Personal Data, please contact the Provider directly. 

When processing Guardian Personal Data, brightwheel shall: (i) process Guardian Personal Data as reasonably required to provide, maintain, and optimize the Services; (ii) ensure that each person processing Guardian Personal Data is subject to a duty of confidentiality with respect to such data; (iii) implement and maintain technical and organizational measures designed to protect Guardian Personal Data; (iv) upon Provider’s request, (1) provide Provider with legally required assistance to meet the Provider’s obligations under applicable data protection laws; (2) provide information reasonably necessary to demonstrate brightwheel’s compliance with these Data Protection Terms; and (3) delete all Guardian Personal Data in brightwheel’s possession or control unless retention is required or permitted under applicable laws.

Provider agrees that it is responsible for the management and fulfillment of any data subject requests related to Guardian Personal Data under applicable data protection laws (e.g., access, deletion, correction, etc.). If requested by Provider, brightwheel will provide Provider with reasonable assistance in connection with Provider’s fulfillment of data subject requests related to Guardian Personal Data as required by applicable data protection laws. If a Guardian sends a data subject request directly to brightwheel, brightwheel may inform the Guardian that it should contact Provider directly.

To the extent that brightwheel’s processing of Guardian Personal Data is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended) (“CCPA”), this paragraph shall also apply. Provider discloses or otherwise makes available Guardian Personal Data to brightwheel for the limited and specific purpose of brightwheel providing the Services to Care Giver in accordance with the Terms. brightwheel shall: (i) comply with its applicable obligations under the CCPA; (ii) provide the same level of protection as required under the CCPA; (iii) notify Provider if it can no longer meet its obligations under the CCPA; (iv) not “sell” or “share” (as such terms are defined by the CCPA) Guardian Personal Data that is uploaded to the Services; (v) not retain, use, or disclose Guardian Personal Data for any purpose (including any commercial purpose) other than to provide the Services under the Agreement or as otherwise permitted under the CCPA; (vi) unless otherwise permitted by the CCPA, not retain, use, or disclose Guardian Personal Data outside of the direct business relationship between Provider and brightwheel; and (vii) unless otherwise permitted by the CCPA, not combine Guardian Personal Data with personal data that brightwheel (1) receives from, or on behalf of, another person, or (2) collects from its own, independent consumer interaction. brightwheel will permit Provider, upon reasonable request, to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure that brightwheel processes Guardian Personal Data in a manner consistent with the obligations applicable to a “Business” under the CCPA by requesting that brightwheel attest to its compliance with this CCPA paragraph. Following any such request, brightwheel will promptly provide that attestation or notice about why it cannot provide it. If Provider reasonably believes that brightwheel is engaged in unauthorized processing of Guardian Personal Data that is subject to this CCPA paragraph, Provider will immediately notify brightwheel of such belief, and the parties will work together in good faith to remediate the allegedly violative processing activities, if necessary.

Assignment. You may not assign, delegate or transfer these Terms or your rights or obligations hereunder, or your Services account, in any way (by operation of law or otherwise) without brightwheel’s prior written consent. Any attempt to assign or transfer these Terms without such consent will be void. We may transfer, assign, or delegate these Terms and our rights and obligations without consent.

Choice of Law and Forum Choice. These Terms and any action related thereto will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, federal arbitration law, and the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in the “Dispute Resolution for Individuals” or “Dispute Resolution for Entities” Sections below, as applicable, the exclusive jurisdiction for all Disputes (defined below) that you and brightwheel are not required to arbitrate will be the state and federal courts located in San Francisco, California, and you and brightwheel each waive any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts.

Dispute Resolution for Individuals. If you are an individual who uses the Services for yourself and not on behalf of an organization or entity, disputes with brightwheel shall be resolved as set forth in this Section.

1. Mandatory Arbitration of Disputes. We each agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or the use of the Services (collectively, “Disputes”) will be resolved solely by binding, individual arbitration and not in a class, representative or consolidated action or proceeding. You and brightwheel agree that the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these Terms, and that you and brightwheel are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of these Terms. 
2. Exceptions. As limited exceptions to subsection (a) above: (i) we both may seek to resolve a Dispute in small claims court if it qualifies; and (ii) we each retain the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief from a court to prevent (or enjoin) the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights. 
3. Conducting Arbitration and Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Consumer Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by these Terms. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. A party who wishes to start arbitration must submit a written Demand for Arbitration to AAA and give notice to the other party as specified in the AAA Consumer Rules. The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at www.adr.org.

The arbitration will be conducted using remote conferencing technology (e.g., by videoconference), in person in San Francisco, California, United States or at some other location that we both agree to. Disputes that meet the requirements for desk arbitrations as set forth in the AAA Consumer Rules, may be resolved by the submission of documents only, as set forth in the AAA Consumer Rules, unless the Arbitrator decides that a hearing is necessary. The parties agree that the arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability and scope of this arbitration agreement.

4. Arbitration Costs. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules, and we won’t seek to recover the administration and arbitrator fees we are responsible for paying, unless the arbitrator finds your Dispute frivolous. If we prevail in arbitration we’ll pay all of our attorneys’ fees and costs and won’t seek to recover them from you. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to the extent provided under applicable law.
5. Injunctive and Declaratory Relief. Except as provided in subsection (b) above, the arbitrator shall determine all issues of liability on the merits of any claim asserted by either party and may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party’s individual claim. To the extent that you or we prevail on a claim and seek public injunctive relief (that is, injunctive relief that has the primary purpose and effect of prohibiting unlawful acts that threaten future injury to the public), the entitlement to and extent of such relief must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration. The parties agree that litigation of any issues of public injunctive relief shall be stayed pending the outcome of the merits of any individual claims in arbitration.
6. Class Action Waiver. YOU AND BRIGHTWHEEL AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, if the parties’ Dispute is resolved through arbitration, the arbitrator may not consolidate another person’s claims with your claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific provision is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Dispute Resolution section shall be null and void.
7. Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in subsection (f) above (“Class Action Waiver”), if an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction decides that any part of these Terms is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of these Terms will still apply.

Dispute Resolution for Entities. If you are accessing and using the Services on behalf of a company or other legal entity, any Dispute will be resolved exclusively accordingly to the process set forth in the “Dispute Resolution for Individuals” Section above, expressly including the class action waiver, except that, to the extent legally permitted, (a) each party will be responsible for their own filing, administrative, arbitrative and similar fees, (b) the losing party will pay the prevailing party for all costs and attorney’s fees, and (c) the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules will apply to any arbitration between us.

Miscellaneous. You will be responsible for paying, withholding, filing, and reporting all taxes, duties, and other governmental assessments associated with your activity in connection with the Services, provided that brightwheel may, in its sole discretion, do any of the foregoing on your behalf or for itself as it sees fit. The failure of either you or us to exercise, in any way, any right herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision will be limited or eliminated, to the minimum extent necessary, so that these Terms shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. You and brightwheel agree that these Terms are the complete and exclusive statement of the mutual understanding between you and brightwheel, and that it supersedes and cancels all previous written and oral agreements, communications and other understandings relating to the subject matter of these Terms. You hereby acknowledge and agree that you are not an employee, agent, partner, or joint venture of brightwheel, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind brightwheel in any respect whatsoever. Except as expressly set forth in the section above regarding the Apple App Store, you and brightwheel agree there are no third-party beneficiaries intended under these Terms.

Tuition Program Payment Terms

One of the services offered by brightwheel is the tuition and fee collection program described here (the “Tuition Program”). The Tuition Program provides the ability for schools and other educational institutions (“Schools”) to establish tuition, fees, and other miscellaneous payments (“Tuition Fees”) and enable parents and guardians of their students (“Parents”) to make Tuition Fee payments. Parents and Schools are collectively referred to herein as “Users” and the services provided by Schools to Parents (including, without limitation, tuition payment services through the Tuition Program) shall be referred to collectively as the “School Services.”

These Tuition Program terms (the “Program Terms”) are a binding contract between you (“you,” or “your”) and DSSV, Inc. (“brightwheel,” “we,” “us” or “our”). You must agree to and accept all of the Program Terms, or you don’t have the right to use the Tuition Program. Your use of the Tuition Program in any way means that you agree to all of these Program Terms, and these Program Terms will remain in effect while you use the Tuition Program. These Program Terms include the provisions in this document, as well as those in the Privacy Policy and the brightwheel Terms of Use.

Brightwheel does not provide educational services, and brightwheel is not a school or other educational institution. Brightwheel has no control over the quality of the School Services provided by Schools. Parents are solely responsible for determining whether to enroll their dependents in a School and whether to make payments to a School through the Tuition Program. Similarly, Schools are solely responsible for determining whether to elicit or accept payments from Parents through the Tuition Program. Each School Service transaction between a Parent and a School shall constitute a separate agreement between such persons.

By creating your User account and using the Tuition Program, you expressly acknowledge that you understand and accept all of these Program Terms. 

As a Parent, you agree that any amounts charged by a School (each, a “Charge”) are established by the School in its sole discretion and, in some cases, may be mandatory. Charges include Tuition Fees and other applicable processing fees, surcharges, and taxes. You are responsible for reviewing the School’s tuition and fee policies and shall be responsible for all Charges incurred under your User account regardless of your awareness of such Charges or the amounts thereof. Where required by law, brightwheel will collect applicable taxes. As between you and brightwheel, all Charges are non-refundable. This no-refund policy shall apply at all times regardless of your decision to terminate usage of the Tuition Program, and any claim for a refund of any Charges is solely between you and the applicable School. Brightwheel may process refunds on behalf of Schools, but only if such refunds are initiated and approved by the applicable School.

Each time you initiate a new payment for any Charges, brightwheel may seek authorization of your selected payment method to verify your payment method, ensure the entire amount of the Charge will be covered, and protect against unauthorized behavior. The authorization is not a Charge, however, it may reduce your available credit by the authorization amount until your bank’s next processing cycle. Should the amount of our authorization exceed the total funds on deposit in your account, you may be subject to overdraft or other charges by the bank issuing your debit or check card. We cannot be held responsible for these charges and are unable to assist you in recovering them from your issuing bank.

As a School, you will receive applicable Charges (net of brightwheel’s Administrative Fee, as discussed below) paid by Parents through the Tuition Program. Brightwheel will process all payments due to you through its third-party payments processor. You acknowledge and agree that such amounts shall not include any interest and will be net of any amounts that we are required to withhold by law. Brightwheel reserves the right to withhold all or a portion of the Charges if it believes that you have attempted to defraud or abuse brightwheel (including by taking any action in breach of brightwheel’s Terms of Use) or brightwheel’s payment systems.

In exchange for permitting you to offer the School Services through the Tuition Program as a School, you agree to pay to brightwheel (and permit brightwheel to retain such amount from the Tuition Fees paid by Parents) a fee in the amount set forth on the brightwheel website (the “Administrative Fee”). Administrative Fees are not refundable. In addition, brightwheel will not refund Charges to Parents unless such refund is initiated and approved by the applicable School.

All Charges are facilitated through a third-party payment processing service. By registering your account and using the Tuition Program, you agree to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement. We may replace our third-party payment processing services without notice to you.

SMS Terms

1. Brightwheel may send SMS messages to users for its business purposes, including but not limited to, authentication, informational notifications, reminders, and marketing.
2. You can cancel the SMS service at any time. Just text “STOP” in response to the message you would like to unsubscribe from. After you send the SMS message “STOP” to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed from that use-case.
3. If you are experiencing issues with the messaging program you can get help directly at support@mybrightwheel.com.
4. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
5. As always, message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. You will receive a variable number of messages per month based on the application features you have enabled. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider.
6. If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our privacy policy.