SOAR Next Privacy & Child Safety Policy

SOAR Next LLC provides reading support, coaching, and consulting for families, students, individual educators, and approved learning groups. This policy describes what information we collect about adults and children, why we use it, the companies that help us, how long it is kept, how we protect it, and the choices available to families. We apply the student protections described here regardless of a student's age.

SOAR Next LLC · P.O. Box 480, Lake Orion, MI 48361 · (800) 390-SOAR · [email protected]

On this page: 1. Information We Collect · 2. Why We Use Information · 3. Notice and Parental Consent · 4. Student Safety and Family Participation · 5. Session Recordings and Access · 6. Service Providers, AI Tools and Data Sharing · 7. Advertising, Cookies and Child-Facing Pages · 8. Retention and Deletion · 9. How We Protect Information · 10. Parent and Customer Privacy Rights · 11. Changes and Contact

1. Information We Collect

Parents, guardians and adult customers

We collect the name, email, phone number, enrollment and purchase records, communications, and information you choose to provide for your family's program. Payment-card details are entered through our payment processor; we do not see or store the full payment-card number.

Students and children

After the parent notice and permission described in section 3, we collect only the student information needed to deliver services: the child's name and the background a parent gives on our intake form, which our team uses internally to plan the program; a screen name for the child's reading-practice account, which the parent may choose (see section 4); grade and reading or study-skills level; a login for our reading-practice software; activities, progress, work, and reading-software results; and audio, video, transcripts, and the name used during recorded live sessions. Technical records needed for the platform may also be collected. We ask for a parent's or guardian's permission for the personal information of students under 18; for children under 13, we also use a method of verifiable parental consent recognized under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

We do not ask students for their own email address, home address, telephone number, social media information, or photographs. Program communications are directed to parents or authorized adult purchasers.

GPS Consulting files and recordings

For GPS, a parent may upload or email educational records, IEPs, 504 plans, school or specialist reports, evaluations, progress notes, and observations. These materials may contain sensitive information about a child. GPS sessions are recorded even if the conversation is between adults only, and may contain a parent's voice and video, a transcript, and discussion of the child's educational needs. A child may also participate when the family and coach agree.

SOAR Circle (parents only)

SOAR Circle is a community for parents and guardians, not children. It runs as a private Facebook group, so what you post there is also handled by Meta under Facebook's own terms and privacy policy. You may post anonymously using the group's anonymous posting option: other members then see your post from an anonymous participant, although group admins and Meta can still see who posted. On Circle calls, you're welcome to use a first name or another name you choose. Circle calls may be recorded and offered as replays to members, so please avoid sharing identifying details about your child or other people.

2. Why We Use Information

We use your information to provide programs and consultation, select appropriate learning activities, measure student progress, contact adult customers, administer accounts, keep sessions safe, answer requests, and meet legal obligations. We never sell student information, use it to create advertising profiles, or market directly to a child. Marketing communications are directed to adults and include ways to unsubscribe.

We share a student's progress or personal records with the student's parent or authorized guardian. We do not send them directly to a school or professional without a parent's specific written permission identifying the recipient and what is to be shared, except as otherwise required by law or for an immediate safety issue.

3. Notice and Parental Consent

Before collecting personal information about a student under 18 for our family programs, we give the parent or guardian notice and request permission. For children under 13, we obtain verifiable parental consent under COPPA, using an eligible paid-transaction method or another recognized method. An organization buying for learners cannot consent on behalf of each child's parent; we obtain each family's own consent, including by a signed form where appropriate. For free enrollments or fully discounted purchases, we do not rely on a paid-transaction verification method.

Parents may refuse consent, review or request deletion of their child's information, or withdraw consent to future collection. Without the necessary consent, the child cannot receive the account or related program features that require that information. If we collect contact information solely to request consent and consent is not obtained within a reasonable period, we delete that request-only information.

For each child whose information requires parental permission, we keep a consent record connected to that child: the consenting parent or guardian, the related order or enrollment, the date and time, the verification method, and the version of the notice and this policy presented. We do not create the child's program account until the required consent has been obtained. A parent who declines or withdraws consent may request deletion and account closure under the retention rules below.

4. Student Safety and Family Participation

Live sessions are virtual and use an approved business video platform. At launch, sessions with children are conducted by Susan Kruger Winter and Brian Winter. Before anyone else coaches children, the person must meet SOAR Next's screening, training, and authorization requirements. Coaches do not privately message, email, call, or connect with students through personal accounts; scheduling and program communications go to parents or guardians.

Screen names (optional). SOAR Next LLC takes every precaution to protect students and their information. For parents who would like to do even more, we encourage you to be proactive: when you create your child's Reading Studio account, use a screen name instead of their full or legal name. A first name or nickname works well. Please avoid numbers and names that aren't a person's, and use the same screen name every time so we can follow your child's progress.

In Reading Studio group sessions, please help your child avoid sharing a full name, school, home address, or location. A parent is always welcome to listen in; our coaches work as if a parent is within earshot, although staying nearby is your choice. Please contact us promptly with any session or safety concern.

Our Child Safety Policy sets the rules our coaches follow, including how concerns are recorded and reported. You may request a copy at [email protected].

5. Session Recordings and Access

Every live coaching session with a child is recorded in audio and video; both GPS sessions are recorded even if only adults attend. Every adult attendee receives advance notice of recording, and any consent required by applicable law is obtained before recording starts. When a child participates, the appropriate parent notice and permission also apply. Recordings and transcripts are used for program delivery, student safety, quality review, and responding to concerns.

We provide the enrolled parent or authorized guardian with secure access to recordings of both of their family's GPS consulting sessions. Delivery uses a private or access-controlled method; we may verify the recipient's authority and apply any protection required for another participant or by law. Group Reading Studio recordings are not distributed to participating families. Recordings of parent-only Circle calls may be offered for replay to Circle members. We do not make recordings public or use them in advertising.

Session recordings are kept for up to three years after the session; a recording may be kept longer while a related concern is being resolved or when required by law. See section 8.

6. Service Providers, AI Tools and Data Sharing

We use service providers only to support the purposes explained in this policy. They may handle information in systems they operate for us, and they are not authorized to use student information for their own advertising or marketing. We do not sell, rent, or give children's information to other companies for their own purposes. Our principal service providers are:

Provider	What they do, and the information involved
SOAR Learning, Inc.	Customer support, website, administration, customer records, and shared technical systems; the information needed for that service
Zoom	Video sessions: audio, video, names, recordings, and transcripts
Reading-practice software	Student login, reading activity, and progress, when assigned for Reading Studio
Dropbox and Google Workspace	Restricted storage of GPS documents, working files, and recordings where needed
Keap	Adult customer contact and service records; a student's screen name, if provided
Member area	Family account access and program materials
Kinsta, Cloudflare, and WebVitality	Website hosting, network services, forms, and technical maintenance
Zendesk	Customer support tickets, including intake form answers and documents a family sends us
Postmark	Delivery of website form notifications and program emails
Google reCAPTCHA	Spam protection on website forms; technical information about the visitor's browser and device
Stripe	Payment processing and adult purchase information
Meta (Facebook)	The private SOAR Circle group for parents, and what members post there
OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Anthropic (Claude)	AI assistance, as described below; only the information a task needs

AI tools. We may use AI tools to help us work efficiently, but AI never makes decisions about your child; at least one human member of our team reviews everything before it is shared with clients or published. We use business versions of these tools, under terms that do not allow the provider to use our information to train its models. We share only what is needed to accomplish specific objectives and use the alias provided by the parent or student whenever possible.

Using a screen name for your child's Reading Studio account is a simple way to keep identifying information out of the reading-practice software and session records, and we encourage it.

We may disclose information when required by law, to address a child-safety concern, or when a parent gives the specific additional permission needed for a disclosure. If we propose a materially different third-party use of children's information, we will give notice and request new consent where required.

7. Advertising, Cookies and Child-Facing Pages

Parent-facing marketing pages may use analytics and advertising tools to understand visits and communicate with adult customers. We do not permit advertising pixels, behavioral advertising tracking, or session-replay technology on child program screens or pages where a student provides personal information. The website uses HTTPS for transmission; essential account and security information may still be processed to provide the service.

You may manage cookies using your browser settings and site preferences. Technical login and security data may still be needed to operate the services.

8. Retention and Deletion

We keep personal information only as long as it is reasonably needed for the purpose described, then delete it or remove what identifies a person, unless the law, a safety concern, or an unresolved dispute requires us to keep it longer. Copies in our providers' backups are deleted on those providers' normal schedules.

When possible, we delete information within 90 days after it is no longer needed for the family's program. Information whose deletion would significantly affect a family's experience of the program, such as a student's progress history, may be kept longer, and is deleted once it is no longer needed for that purpose.

Information	How long we keep it, and why
Recordings and transcripts of children's sessions and GPS sessions	Up to 3 years after the session, so we can answer questions about a session and review safety and quality; longer while a concern is open or the law requires. Recordings are then deleted; transcripts are kept after that only with names and identifying details removed.
Intake form answers	While the family's program is active. When possible, deleted within 90 days after the program ends; kept longer only where deleting them would significantly affect the family's experience, and deleted once no longer needed.
GPS documents supplied by the family	When possible, 90 days after the consultation ends, to prepare deliverables and answer follow-up questions, unless the parent asks us to keep them for a possible return engagement (up to 2 years).
Reading-software and student program records	When possible, deleted, or deletion requested from the software provider, within 90 days after the student's program ends or the account closes. Kept until then to track progress.
Parental consent records	While the child's account exists, plus 3 years, so we can show that consent was given.
Contact details collected only to ask for consent	Deleted if consent is refused or not given within a reasonable time.
Purchase and payment records	As long as needed for accounting, tax, and legal requirements.
Recordings of Circle calls (parents only)	Kept in the Circle library for as long as the Circle program runs.
Circle posts	Stay in the Facebook group until you or a group admin removes them. Meta handles its own copies under Facebook's policies.

When a verified parent asks us to delete eligible information, we do so promptly, subject to legal and safety exceptions. We may keep notes for improving our programs only when they no longer identify a student.

9. How We Protect Information

Live sessions use our business Zoom account with a waiting room, so only participants we admit can join. Recordings and GPS documents are kept in restricted business storage that does not sync to personal computers, and children's files are never kept on personal devices. Copies of GPS documents may also appear in our secured internal email and support systems while we prepare the family's program. Access is limited to people who need it for their work. We encourage Reading Studio families to use screen names (section 4). If information about your child is ever accessed without authorization, we will tell you without unreasonable delay.

10. Parent and Customer Privacy Rights

A parent or guardian may ask to see or correct information we hold about their child, request deletion, refuse further collection or use, withdraw consent, or ask that information not be sent to a third party except where required for the enrolled service. Some requests will mean the student can no longer use the program. Adult customers may also ask about the personal information we hold about them.

Send a request to [email protected], call (800) 390-SOAR, or write to SOAR Next LLC, P.O. Box 480, Lake Orion, MI 48361. We verify the requester's authority before releasing student records or making sensitive changes, respond promptly, and explain any legal or safety exception to deletion.

11. Changes and Contact

We may revise this policy when technology, programs, or legal requirements change. For material changes to how we collect, use, or disclose a child's personal information, we will notify parents and obtain renewed consent where required before applying the change. The date at the top identifies the current policy.

For your purchase terms, see the SOAR® Guarantee & Fit Policy for Families. For information SOAR Learning, Inc. holds for schools and districts, see SOAR Learning's privacy policy.