This policy explains what information STEM-ED, Inc. ("STEM-ED", "we", "us") collects through www.stemed.org, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. STEM-ED is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs the Aerospace Robotics Competition (ARC) for middle and high school teams.
1Who we are and how to reach us#
STEM-ED is responsible for the information described here. Write to support@stemed.org or by mail to STEM-ED, Inc., 574 Parish Blvd., Mary Esther, FL 32569.
2Information you give us#
We collect only the fields each form shows. Fields marked optional on the form may be left blank.
2.1Team registration#
A coach registers a team for the 2026–27 season with: the coach's first and last name, phone number (used for emergencies) and email; the team captain's first and last name and email; the team name; the school name and grade levels (optional); the regional competition; and, optionally, a request for AirXRP drone kits and how many.
Registration must be completed by the coach, an adult who is responsible for the team. Information about a student, such as the team captain, is provided by the coach. Parents and guardians give permission for each student to take part through the participant waiver described in section 5.
2.2Contact, volunteer and sponsorship forms#
- Contact: your name, email and message.
- Volunteer: your name, email, the role you are interested in and your message.
- Sponsorship: your name, organization (optional), email, the sponsorship level you are interested in and an optional message.
2.3Gate-run leaderboard#
If you finish the flight game on our home page, you can choose to post your time. To do that you give your name, email, an optional phone number and your time, and you confirm that you are 13 or older. You can also tick a box to receive ARC news. The public board shows only your first name, the initial of your last name and your best time. Your email and phone are never shown.
2.4Donations, waivers and the forum#
Donations are made on GiveLively, participant waivers are signed on WaiverSign, and the community forum is hosted on freeforums.net. Those services collect what you enter on their pages under their own privacy policies. We receive the records they provide to us as the organization, such as a donor receipt or a signed waiver.
3Information collected automatically#
- Request information: like every website, our hosting provider receives your IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time of the request, and keeps it in short-lived server logs used for security and to keep the site running.
- Form protection: when you submit a form, our forms provider uses a one-way, non-reversible fingerprint of your network address to limit abuse (rate limiting). It is not used to identify you.
- Browser storage: the site stores a few small values in your browser so it works properly. They are listed in our Cookies and Analytics Notice.
- Analytics: visitor analytics on this site are off. If we turn them on, they will run only after you agree in a consent banner, as the Cookies and Analytics Notice explains, and this policy will be updated first.
4How we use information#
- To register teams, organize regional events and the National Championship, place teams in divisions, and contact coaches and captains about the season.
- To reach a coach in an emergency during an event, using the phone number given for that purpose.
- To process AirXRP drone kit requests made on the registration form.
- To answer messages, coordinate volunteers and follow up with sponsors.
- To show the gate-run leaderboard and, if you asked for it, send ARC news.
- To keep the site and forms secure, prevent spam and abuse, and fix problems.
- To meet legal, tax and accounting obligations and to enforce our Terms of Use.
We do not sell or rent personal information, share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, or make decisions about anyone by automated means alone.
5Photos, video and events#
Students take part in ARC events only with a participant waiver signed by a parent or guardian. That waiver also governs whether STEM-ED may use photos or video of the student. We use a photo or video of a student only when a current waiver for that student permits it. To ask us to remove a photo, write to the address in section 1.
6Who we share information with#
We share information only as needed to run the competition and this site:
- STEM-ED staff and volunteers who run registration, events, kits and sponsorship. Registration notifications go to the members of the STEM-ED team who handle teams and AirXRP kit requests.
- Service providers that host and operate the site for us under contract: Vercel (website hosting); Parlor, operated by Braintied, Inc. (forms, the leaderboard and the database behind them); Supabase (the database and file storage Parlor runs on, in the United States); and Resend (sending form notification emails from forms@mail.stemed.org).
- Regional hosts, judges and event partners, who receive team and coach details needed to run an event the team is entered in.
- Authorities or others when the law requires it, to protect the safety of participants or the public, or to protect STEM-ED's rights.
- A successor organization if STEM-ED merges or transfers its programs, which would remain bound by this policy for information collected under it.
Our service providers may use the information only to provide their services to us.
7How long we keep information#
- Team registrations: for the season they cover and three years after it, for program, tax and safety records.
- Contact, volunteer and sponsorship messages: up to two years after the conversation ends.
- Leaderboard entries: until the end of the season, unless you ask us to remove yours sooner. A request for ARC news stays until you unsubscribe.
- Server logs: kept by our hosting provider for a short period, generally no more than 30 days.
We delete or de-identify information when it is no longer needed for these purposes, unless the law requires us to keep it longer.
8How we protect information#
The site is served only over HTTPS. Forms post directly to our forms provider, which accepts submissions only from www.stemed.org, stores them in an access-controlled database, and limits who on our team can see them. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we work to protect information and to limit what we collect.
9Your choices and rights#
You can ask us to show you the information we hold about you, correct it, delete it, or stop sending you ARC news. A parent or guardian can make these requests for their child. Depending on where you live, state law may give you additional rights; we honor requests from anyone, wherever they live.
Send requests to support@stemed.org from the email address you used with us, or by mail to the address in section 1. We may need to confirm your identity before acting, and we answer within 30 days. We will not treat you differently for making a request. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as a request to opt out of any optional analytics.
10Children and students#
Our competition serves students, and we take extra care with their information. Our Children's Privacy Notice explains how we handle information about students, including those under 13.
11Links to other sites#
This site links to sites we do not control, including GiveLively, WaiverSign, the forum, YouTube, Google Drive and Microsoft forms used for some events. Their privacy policies apply when you use them.
12Changes to this policy#
If we change this policy, we will post the new version here and update the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use information we already hold, we will notify the people affected before it takes effect.
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