Privacy Policy

Sunstone Academy
Operated by The Ahmadi Academy
2108 N St Ste N
Sacramento, CA 95816
United States

Email: admin@sunstoneacademy.net

Parents, guardians, and users may contact us at this address regarding privacy questions, requests, or concerns.

Sunstone Academy is an online homeschooling platform offering structured, self-paced educational programs. Parents and legal guardians remain responsible for their child’s homeschooling and act as the child’s primary educators and supervisors.

Children cannot independently enroll themselves in Sunstone Academy. Enrollment is initiated and authorized by a parent or legal guardian.

The parent or guardian provides Sunstone Academy with the email address to be used for the student account. Sunstone Academy enrolls that email address in the appropriate Academy program. The parent or guardian then creates and controls the account password through the platform’s secure account process.

Sunstone Academy does not create, receive, store in readable form, or have access to the user’s password. Passwords are managed through the platform’s authentication system.

Parents and guardians are responsible for arranging how the account credentials are used by their child, supervising access where appropriate, and ensuring that login information is not shared with unauthorized persons.

The information we collect depends on how a family or user interacts with Sunstone Academy.

We may collect:

• parent or guardian name;
• email address;
• country or general location;
• contact and support correspondence;
• enrollment and placement inquiries;
• consent and account authorization records;
• and information voluntarily included in forms or messages.

We may collect:

• student name;
• student email address;
• age;
• current grade level;
• country;
• profile name;
• profile image;
• account identification information;
• enrolled programs and courses;
• lessons accessed, started, and completed;
• assignment and activity records;
• quiz and assessment results;
• progress and completion information;
• uploaded assignments, images, documents, or other files;
• community posts and comments;
• messages sent to teachers or administrators;
• and support requests.
  
  

We ask users not to include unnecessary sensitive personal information in profiles, community posts, assignments, or messages.

We use personal information to:

• create and manage parent and student accounts;
• enroll students in appropriate programs;
• provide educational content and platform access;
• record lesson, course, and assessment activity;
• produce progress information and reports;
• provide parent guidance and learning support;
• operate community features;
• enable communication with teachers and administrators;
• respond to inquiries and support requests;
• send important account and platform notifications;
• maintain the safety and integrity of the platform;
• investigate technical problems, misuse, or safeguarding concerns;
• improve the quality, accessibility, and organization of our programs;
• comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
• and establish, exercise, or defend legal rights where necessary.

Where European Union or United Kingdom data protection law applies, we process personal information under one or more of the following legal bases:

Consent

We may rely on consent where a parent or guardian authorizes the creation and use of a child’s account or where a user voluntarily provides optional information.

Performance of a Service

We process information when necessary to provide the educational platform, manage enrollment, maintain accounts, record progress, and respond to family requests.

Legal Obligation

We may process information when required to comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, or lawful requests.

Legitimate Interests

We may process information when reasonably necessary to:

• secure and administer the platform;
• prevent misuse or fraud;
• provide educational support;
• maintain accurate records;
• improve our services;
• and protect students, families, staff, and the Academy.
  
  

We consider the rights and interests of children before relying on legitimate interests.

Sunstone Academy is designed for children and homeschooling families. We therefore apply additional safeguards to student information.

A child may not independently request or complete enrollment.

Before a student account is enrolled, a parent or legal guardian must:

• communicate directly with Sunstone Academy;
• request or authorize the child’s enrollment;
• provide the email address to be used for the account;
• receive information about the Academy’s privacy practices;
• authorize the collection and use of the student information needed to provide the service; and
• create or arrange the password used to access the account.

The parent or guardian controls the account credentials and decides how access is shared with the student. Sunstone Academy does not know or have access to the password selected by the family.

Where required by law, including for children under 13 in the United States, Sunstone Academy will maintain a documented process for direct parental notice and verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from the child.

Student accounts are created for educational use under the authority of a parent or legal guardian.

Parents and guardians are responsible for:

• selecting or approving the email address used for the account;
• creating and safeguarding the password;
• deciding when and how the student may access the platform;
• supervising younger students where appropriate;
• reviewing the student’s learning activity, communications, uploads, and community participation;
• and contacting Sunstone Academy if access should be changed, restricted, or terminated.

Families should not share account credentials outside the household or with any unauthorized person. Where more than one child uses Sunstone Academy, each student should use the account assigned to that student so that learning and progress records remain accurate.

Students must not publish or upload:

• home addresses;
• telephone numbers;
• passwords;
• personal email addresses not approved for platform use;
• precise location information;
• government identification numbers;
• financial information;
• private family information;
• unnecessary medical information;
• or identifying information about another child without authorization.
  
  

Parents should supervise younger students when they use community, upload, or messaging features.

Sunstone Academy may allow enrolled users to:

• create a profile;
• use a profile name and image;
• publish community posts;
• comment on posts;
• upload images or files;
• and participate in Academy discussions.

Information shared in a community area may be visible to other enrolled users, staff members, teachers, or administrators, depending on the platform settings.

Students may send private messages only to authorized teachers or administrators. Student-to-student private messaging is not permitted.

Parents and students should understand that content posted in shared community areas may be seen, copied, or discussed by others who have access to that area.

Sunstone Academy may review, moderate, restrict, or remove content that:

• reveals excessive personal information;
• creates a safety or privacy risk;
• is harmful, abusive, discriminatory, or inappropriate;
• violates another person’s rights;
• disrupts the educational environment;
• or violates Academy policies.
  
  

Where technically possible, student accounts and profiles will be configured using privacy-protective settings appropriate for children.

Sunstone Academy records information about a student’s use of the platform, including:

• course and lesson participation;
• completed activities;
• assessment and quiz results;
• submitted work;
• and curriculum progress.
  
  

This information may be used to create learning records, progress summaries, or reports.

Parents and guardians may request access to their child’s platform-based learning records.

Sunstone Academy records what is completed or submitted through the platform. Parents remain responsible for evaluating the child’s broader educational development and for meeting any homeschooling requirements that apply in their jurisdiction.

Sunstone Academy does not sell student information or use student information for behavioral advertising.

We do not send promotional advertising emails to students.

Parents, guardians, and students may receive necessary or educational communications, including:

• account creation and login information;
• enrollment information;
• course and platform notifications;
• reports and progress updates;
• assignment or activity notifications;
• responses to support requests;
• administrative announcements;
• policy or service updates;
• security notices;
• safeguarding communications;
• and information directly related to the student’s education.
  
  

We may use an email service provider, including Mailchimp or another provider, to deliver operational or educational communications.

We will not treat a request for information as consent to receive unrelated promotional marketing.

We use third-party service providers to operate and support Sunstone Academy.

These providers may process personal information only to the extent necessary to provide their services, subject to applicable contractual and legal safeguards.

LearnWorlds

LearnWorlds provides the learning management platform, including:

• account hosting;
• authentication;
• course delivery;
• community functions;
• progress records;
• assessments;
• platform analytics;
• and technical infrastructure.
  
  

YouTube

YouTube may be used to display embedded educational videos. YouTube or Google may receive technical information, cookie data, or viewing information when embedded content is accessed, depending on the user’s settings and consent choices.

Zoom

Zoom may be used for authorized meetings, support, orientation, or administrative communication where applicable.

Google Drive

Google Drive may be used to store, display, share, or provide access to educational files and resources.

Email Service Providers

Mailchimp or another email service provider may be used to send educational, operational, support, or account-related communications.

We may add or replace service providers as our platform develops. Material changes will be reflected in this Policy where appropriate.

Sunstone Academy and its service providers may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• keep users signed in;
• remember preferences;
• operate the learning platform;
• protect accounts;
• maintain security;
• understand technical performance;
• and display embedded content.

Where required, non-essential cookies will not be activated until the user or parent has provided an appropriate choice through the cookie consent tool.

Further information will be provided in our separate Cookie Policy.

We may share personal information:

• with LearnWorlds and other service providers that operate the platform;
• with teachers, administrators, and authorized Academy staff;
• with a parent or legal guardian responsible for the student;
• when necessary to provide requested educational or support services;
• when required by law, court order, or lawful government request;
• when reasonably necessary to protect a child or another person from serious harm;
• to investigate misuse, fraud, security incidents, or policy violations;
• or as part of an organizational restructuring, provided appropriate safeguards are applied.

We do not sell personal information.

We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

We do not permit third parties to use student information for their own advertising purposes.

Sunstone Academy is operated in the United States and is preparing to serve families internationally.

Personal information may therefore be processed in the United States or in other countries where our service providers operate.

Where required by applicable law, we use appropriate measures for international data transfers, which may include:

• contractual data protection terms;
• data processing agreements;
• approved standard contractual clauses;
• access restrictions;
• security safeguards;
• and assessments of the relevant data transfer.

Users should understand that privacy laws may differ between countries.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy.

Our general retention approach is:

Student Learning and Progress Records

Official learning, assessment, enrollment, and progress records may be retained while the account is active and for up to seven years after account closure, where reasonably necessary for educational documentation, legal compliance, dispute resolution, or safeguarding.

Technical and Security Logs

Technical, access, and security logs are generally retained for up to 12 months, unless a longer period is required to investigate a security incident or comply with law.

Contact and Support Inquiries

Contact, placement, and support inquiries that do not result in enrollment are generally retained for up to 12 months.

Community Content

Community posts, comments, and uploaded content may remain available until:

• the user deletes them;
• the account is closed;
• the Academy removes them;
• or they are no longer needed.

Copies may be retained where necessary for safeguarding, moderation, legal, security, or dispute-resolution purposes.

Consent Records

Records of parental authorization, consent, or privacy requests may be retained as necessary to demonstrate compliance.

Information that is no longer required will be deleted, anonymized, or securely archived.

Sunstone Academy uses reasonable administrative, organizational, and technical measures designed to protect personal information.

These may include:

• restricted access to administrative systems;
• account authentication;
• platform access controls;
• encrypted data transmission;
• secure hosting through service providers;
• staff access limitations;
• moderation and reporting tools;
• security monitoring;
• and procedures for responding to suspected incidents.

Passwords are created and managed by users through the platform’s secure authentication system. Sunstone Academy personnel do not have access to users’ readable passwords. If a password is forgotten or compromised, the parent or authorized user must use the platform’s password-reset process or contact Sunstone Academy for account assistance.

No online platform can guarantee absolute security. Parents and students should protect their passwords, use secure devices, and notify us promptly if they believe an account has been compromised.

If we become aware of a personal data breach, we will:

• investigate the incident;
• take reasonable steps to contain and correct it;
• assess the potential risk to affected individuals;
• notify service providers or authorities where required;
• and notify affected parents or users when legally required or reasonably necessary for protection.

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• know whether we process your personal information;
• request access to your information;
• obtain a copy of your information;
• correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion;
• restrict or object to certain processing;
• withdraw consent;
• request portability of information;
• complain to an applicable privacy authority;
• and receive information about how automated systems are used.

Parents or guardians may exercise applicable rights on behalf of their minor child.

To submit a request, email: admin@sunstoneacademy.net

We may need to verify the identity and authority of the person making the request before releasing, correcting, or deleting information.

We will not discriminate against a person for exercising a legally protected privacy right.

Where the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, applies, California residents may have rights relating to:

• access to categories and specific pieces of personal information;
• correction;
• deletion;
• information about disclosure practices;
• opting out of the sale or sharing of personal information;
• and non-discrimination.
  
  

Sunstone Academy does not sell personal information and does not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Some privacy laws may not apply to Sunstone Academy because of its organizational status or the nature and scale of its activities. Where a law does not formally apply, we may still respond voluntarily to reasonable privacy requests where doing so is lawful and appropriate.

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Where the EU GDPR or UK GDPR applies, individuals may have rights including:

• access;
• rectification;
• erasure;
• restriction;
• objection;
• portability;
• withdrawal of consent;
• and the right to complain to a relevant supervisory authority.
  
  

The age at which a child may independently consent to certain online data processing varies between EU member states. Where parental consent is required, Sunstone Academy will rely on authorization from a parent or legal guardian.

The platform may automatically score quizzes, multiple-choice assessments, or similar activities.

Automated scoring is used to provide immediate educational feedback and record performance.

Sunstone Academy does not use automated quiz results alone to make legal decisions or other decisions that produce similarly significant effects for a student.

Our platform may contain links to or embedded content from external websites and services.

Sunstone Academy does not control the privacy practices of third-party websites. Parents and users should review the privacy information of external providers before providing personal information to them.

We may update this Privacy Policy when:

• our services change;
• new platform features are introduced;
• service providers change;
• legal requirements change;
• or our privacy practices are updated.
  
  

The revised Policy will show a new “Last Updated” date.

Where a change materially affects children’s information or parental consent, we will provide additional notice and obtain new consent where required.

Questions, privacy requests, or concerns may be sent to:

Sunstone Academy
Operated by The Ahmadi Academy
2108 N St Ste N
Sacramento, CA 95816
United States

Email: admin@sunstoneacademy.net

We will review privacy requests and respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.