Web Policies

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Disclaimer

VDOE maintains this website to provide the public with readily available information related to the department and statewide educational programs and Virginia's elementary and secondary schools. Users are welcome to download material displayed on this site for non-commercial purposes only, provided they retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained on the materials. The contents of this site may not be used for commercial purposes, without the written permission of VDOE.

Some of the resources on this site were developed and contributed by educators and others outside VDOE. These materials are provided on this site as a courtesy to assist educators in sharing resources; any information borrowed from this website and incorporated into any educational program, materials or curriculum does not indicate that the Virginia Board of Education or VDOE was involved in the production of, has received has reviewed, or has endorsed the aforementioned educational program, materials or curriculum.

Pages on this site provide links to other sites that are not maintained by VDOE. These links are provided as a convenience for persons who visit the website. VDOE is not responsible for the contents of any off-site pages or any other sites linked from this site; therefore, the department does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, usefulness or adequacy of any resources, information, products or process contained in any website linked directly or indirectly to this site.

VDOE staff do not give legal advice or interpret the law for members of the public. Information is provided as a service and is not intended as a substitute for the advice of legal counsel.

Finally, any communication or material transmitted to this site by electronic mail or otherwise, including any data, questions, comments, suggestions or the like is, and will be treated as, non-confidential.

Privacy Policy

Virginia Law

VDOE protects records in accordance with obligations as defined by applicable Virginia statutes, including, but not limited to, the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act, Chapter 38 of Title 2.2 of the Code of Virginia (§ 2.2-3800 and 2.2-3803), Administration of systems including personal information; Internet privacy policy; exceptions Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3803, the Virginia Freedom of Information Act § 2.2-3700, et seq., and by any applicable U.S. federal laws. Any personal information that is collected and retained is maintained in compliance with statute.

Information Collected

VDOE collects only the minimum amount of information needed to provide services. If you do nothing during your visit to the VDOE website but browse or download information, the following information is automatically collected and stored about your visit:

The Internet domain and IP address from which you accessed the site;
The type of browser and operating system you used;
The date and time you visited this site;
The pages visited; and
If you arrived from another website, the address of that website.

The information collected is used to improve the content of web services and to help determine how people are using the pages. The information in web logs is not personally identifiable, and no attempt is made to link it with the individuals that browse the VDOE website.

If, during your visit to the VDOE website, you send an email message, VDOE will collect the email address and contents of the message, including audio, video and graphic information formats that you sent. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve the website or to forward your message to another agency for appropriate action.

VDOE does collect personal information directly from individuals who volunteer to subscribe to services, complete forms or participate in surveys. VDOE only collects, retains and uses personal information where believed to be essential to administer VDOE business and to provide products, services and other opportunities requested by customers.

How the Collected Information is Used

Your input is used to improve the content of VDOE's web services and to help determine how people are using the pages. Routing information is used to send requested web pages to your computer for viewing. Transaction routing information is used primarily in a statistical summary format to assess content and server performance. VDOE may share this summary information with our business partners when needed.

VDOE may keep your information indefinitely, but ordinarily deletes routing information regularly after the web page is transmitted. However, on rare occasions when a “hacker” attempts to breach computer security, logs and any other relevant information in VDOE's possession may be shared with law enforcement agencies.

Optional information is retained in accordance with the records retention schedule at the Library of Virginia. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), any records in VDOE's possession at the time of a “Freedom of Information Request” might be subject to inspection by or disclosure to members of the public. However, identifiable personal information will be removed prior to such release in accordance with FOIA.

Restrictions on the Disclosure of Customer Information

VDOE doe not sell or rent subscribers’ information to any outside company or organization. VDOE does not reveal specific information about users or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use, except if required to do so by FOIA or other law.

Cookies

“Cookies” are small files either stored on a server or sent back to a visiting computer. In certain applications, user information is stored as cookies, which are then sent back to and stored on the user’s computer. Some sections of the website use cookies to customize the information presented to you. Cookies are also used to aggregate site usage information to help VDOE improve users’ experience.

Accessibility Policy

VDOE is committed to ensuring equal access to information on its website to all people with disabilities. At a minimum, this web site meets W3C’s Web Content and Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG) Level A and Federal Section 508 web standards while working towards WCAG 2.0 Level AA compliance. For more information and resources, go to Website Accessibility.

Statement of Non-Discrimination

VDOE does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, political affiliation or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities. The policy permits appropriate employment preferences for veterans and specifically prohibits discrimination against veterans. The following position has been designated to handle inquiries regarding VDOE’s non-discrimination policies:

Director of Human Resources
Virginia Department of Education
P. O. Box 2120
Richmond, Virginia 23218-2120
Telephone: (804) 225-2021

For further information on Federal non-discrimination regulations, contact the Office for Civil Rights at OCR.DC@ed.gov or call 1-800-421-3481.

Social Media User Agreement

The following User Agreement governs the use of VDOE’s social media sites. If you use any part of VDOE’s social media sites, you agree to comply with the agreement.

Comments

By your use of VDOE’s social media sites, you agree to the following:

Comments made by the public to these sites are reviewed by VDOE and may be deleted by VDOE if they violate the comment policy described here.
Comments should be related to the posted topic of the agency’s social media page or post.
You are subject to the Terms of Service (TOS) of the host site. Information (photos, videos, etc.) you share with or post to official agency pages is also subject to the TOS of the host site and may be used by the owners of the host site for their own purposes.
VDOE’s social media accounts are not open to comments promoting or opposing any person campaigning for election to a political office, or promotion or advertisement of a business or commercial transaction, product or service.
The use of obscene, threatening or harassing language is prohibited.
Attacks against any person for any reason are prohibited.
Personal attacks of any kind or offensive comments that target or disparage any ethnic, racial, age, or religious group, gender, sexual orientation or disability status are prohibited.
Comments advocating illegal activity or posting of material that violates copyrights or trademarks of others are prohibited.
This comment policy is subject to amendment or modification at any time.

Editing and Deletions

VDOE has the right to review, edit, move or delete any information or material submitted to VDOE’s social media sites. VDOE reserves the right to block/ban visitors who repeatedly violate these terms of this agreement.

The following materials or information shall not be submitted to VDOE’s social media site and are subject to review, editing, moving, or deletion as stated above:

Obscene or threatening language or hate speech based on race, gender, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation or disability.
Abusive, defamatory or sexually explicit language or materials.
Promotions of services, products or political organizations.
Information of a personal or sensitive nature, including but not limited to phone numbers, email addresses, or postal addresses.
Multiple successive off-topic posts by a single user.
Repetitive posts copied and pasted by multiple users.
Posts or comments that advocate illegal activity.
Infringement on copyrights or trademarks.

Requests for Information

Communications made through VDOE's social media outlets do not constitute a legal or official notice or comment. VDOE cannot respond to individual requests for information through VDOE’s social media sites. Refer to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Access to VDOE Information to make a request for information or records.

Copyright

Use of the above-stated material on this site requires permission from the Virginia Department of Education.