PRIVACY POLICY

Critical Reading Journeys

Altura Education, LLC

https://readingjourneys.com

Effective Date: November 15, 2025

1. Introduction

Altura Education, LLC operates Critical Reading Journeys (CRJ), an AI-powered educational platform designed for advanced learners in grades 3-6. We are committed to protecting the privacy of students, teachers, and families who use our services.

This Privacy Policy explains:

  • What information we collect

  • How we use and protect that information

  • Your rights regarding student data

  • How to contact us with questions or requests

2. Compliance With Education Privacy Laws

2.1 FERPA Compliance

Critical Reading Journeys is designed to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). When schools use CRJ, we act as a "school official" with legitimate educational interests in student records. We use student data solely to provide educational services as directed by the school and do not disclose student information to third parties except as required by law or as described in this policy.

2.2 COPPA Compliance

We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). For school-based accounts, we rely on schools to provide consent on behalf of parents as permitted under COPPA. For future direct-to-parent accounts (homeschool use), we will obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Account Information

Teacher Account Information:

  • Teacher name and verified school email address

  • School or district affiliation

Student Account Information:

  • Student name or pseudonym (assigned by teacher)

  • Username (assigned by teacher)

  • Grade level

3.2 Educational Data

We collect and store educational records necessary to provide our services:

  • Complete transcripts of student dialogue interactions with the AI tutor

  • Student reading responses and written work

  • Performance metrics and progress data

  • Timestamps of reading sessions and activities

3.3 Technical Information

We do NOT collect:

  • IP addresses

  • Tracking cookies

  • Web analytics or behavioral tracking data

4. How We Use Student Information

We use student information solely for educational purposes:

  • To provide AI-guided reading instruction and dialogic learning experiences

  • To generate student evaluation reports for teachers

  • To track student progress through the Critical Reading Journeys framework

  • To improve and maintain our educational platform

  • To provide technical support when requested by teachers

We do NOT:

  • Sell student data to any third party

  • Use student data for advertising or marketing purposes

  • Share student data with third parties except as described in Section 5

  • Create individual student profiles for commercial purposes

5. Information Sharing And Disclosure

5.1 Service Providers

We use the following third-party service providers to operate CRJ:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS) – Cloud hosting and data storage (Northern Virginia data center)

  • Google Workspace (Gmail) – Email communications with teachers

  • Anthropic (Claude Sonnet 4.5) – AI language model for dialogic instruction

Important Note on AI Processing: Student dialogue transcripts are sent to Anthropic's Claude AI for processing to enable the interactive reading conversations. We are working to establish formal data processing agreements with Anthropic to ensure student data protection. Student names and personally identifiable information are minimized in these interactions.

5.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose student information if required by law, such as:

  • In response to a valid subpoena or court order

  • To comply with legal obligations

  • To protect the rights, property, or safety of Altura Education, our users, or the public

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate security measures to protect student data:

  • Data encryption in transit and at rest

  • Secure authentication for teacher accounts (verified school email required)

  • Limited employee access (only the founder/owner and lead developer can access student data, and only when requested by teachers for support purposes)

  • Regular security assessments and updates

  • Hosting with AWS in secure data centers in Northern Virginia

While we take reasonable precautions to protect data, no internet transmission or electronic storage method is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention And Deletion

7.1 Active Accounts

For active accounts, we retain student dialogue transcripts and performance data to provide continuous educational services and generate progress reports. Data is retained as long as the account remains active.

7.2 Inactive Accounts

We maintain the following data retention schedule:

  • Canceled accounts: Data is deleted within 12 months of cancellation

  • Inactive accounts: Data is deleted on a rolling 3-year cycle

7.3 Expedited Deletion Requests

If a school or teacher requests immediate data deletion before the standard retention period, we will delete the data within 1 week of receiving the request. Contact us at support@readingjourneys.com to submit a deletion request.

8. Parent And School Rights

8.1 Access to Student Data

Parents have the right to review their child's data collected and maintained by CRJ. To access student data, parents should contact the teacher who created the student account. Teachers control access to student data through the platform.

8.2 Data Correction

Schools and teachers may request corrections to inaccurate student data at any time by contacting support@readingjourneys.com. We will respond to correction requests within 1 week.

8.3 Account Transfer

If a teacher leaves a school mid-year, the school may transfer student accounts to another authorized teacher. Contact support@readingjourneys.com to arrange account transfers.

8.4 Opt-Out and Consent Withdrawal

Parents may opt their child out of using CRJ at any time by contacting their child's teacher or school. Upon request, we will delete the student's data within 1 week.

9. Account Creation And Age Verification

9.1 School-Based Accounts (Current)

Currently, only verified teachers with school email addresses may create accounts and add students to CRJ. Teachers create student accounts with pseudonyms or student names as appropriate for their school's policies. Students cannot create accounts directly.

9.2 Future Homeschool Parent Accounts

In the future, we may allow homeschool parents to create accounts for their children. Before implementing this feature, we will establish a verifiable parental consent process that complies with COPPA requirements.

10. International Users

CRJ currently serves schools in the United States only. All data is stored on AWS servers located in Northern Virginia, USA. We do not currently operate in jurisdictions subject to GDPR, California SOPIPA, or New York Education Law 2-d, but we may expand our compliance framework as we serve additional markets.

11. Business Transitions

In the event that Altura Education is acquired by or merged with another company, student data and the obligations under this Privacy Policy will be transferred to the acquiring company. The acquiring company will be required to honor the commitments made in this Privacy Policy. Schools and parents will be notified of any such business transition.

If Altura Education ceases operations, we will provide notice to schools and parents and will ensure student data is either securely transferred to schools or permanently deleted in accordance with applicable laws.

12. Changes To This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will:

  • Post the updated policy on our website with a new effective date

  • Notify teachers via email

  • Obtain renewed consent if required by law

We encourage schools and parents to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or requests regarding student data, please contact us:

Altura Education, LLC

Privacy Contact: support@readingjourneys.com

Website: https://readingjourneys.com

Phone: (512) 776-8551

For immediate assistance with data access, correction, or deletion requests, teachers and schools should email support@readingjourneys.com. We respond to all requests within 7 business days.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on November 15, 2025.