Privacy policy.

The short version

Save Seattle Schools is currently published by one Seattle Public Schools (SPS) parent and led by an informal network of SPS parents. We want a stronger public school system and a clearer plan for its future.

This isn’t an elaborate email-harvesting scheme: signing up is optional, we don’t sell your information, and emailing us doesn’t put you on a mailing list.

We use information you provide to respond to you, manage updates you request, or run features you choose to use. The sections below explain what the site collects, which service providers process it, and how to request removal.

Who’s behind the site

We’re an independent parent effort, unaffiliated with any other organization. Some participating parents are also involved in groups such as All Together for Seattle Schools (ATSS), PTAs, or other community organizations. Those connections do not mean those groups run, sponsor, or endorse this site.

We’re currently keeping our names private so the arguments can stand on their own—and so raising questions doesn’t unnecessarily strain relationships with SPS leaders, board members, or others in the school community.

That doesn’t mean we’re unwilling to talk. Email us at outreach@saveseattleschools.com, and we’re happy to arrange a phone call or Zoom conversation.

This policy covers Save Seattle Schools (“we,” “us”) at saveseattleschools.com, the saveseattleschools.org redirect and messages you send us about the project.

When you visit

Our hosting and domain-service providers process technical information such as your IP address, requested page, browser information and request time to deliver the site, diagnose errors and prevent abuse. These details may appear in operational and security logs.

When you dismiss a site notice, we save that preference in your browser so the same notice stays hidden across tabs and visits. It remains until you clear site data. A new announcement may appear again.

We use PostHog to understand which pages people read, how far they scroll, how long they spend on a page, and which manifesto, school-profile and evidence links they use. We also count accepted email-signup submissions. Analytics includes page paths, referring websites and basic browser and device information. It excludes names, email addresses, form contents and URL query strings and fragments.

Basic analytics runs when you have not made a choice, including if you close the analytics drawer. It uses no visitor identifiers in cookies or browser storage. PostHog processes your IP address and browser information to produce a daily visitor estimate, then discards the raw IP address and browser string. We disable location enrichment and do not connect analytics to our signup database.

If you choose “Accept analytics,” we also measure page loading, responsiveness and layout stability using numeric performance timings, without collecting page elements or resource URLs. PostHog also reconstructs your interactions with this website, including clicks, scrolling and navigation. These are recordings of the webpage, not your camera, microphone or other apps. We mask page text and exclude forms, typed values, embedded content, console logs and network request bodies. Pages with URL query strings are not recorded.

Accepting the current analytics notice also allows us to connect activity to an opaque account or supporter ID when one is available. This can link consenting visits across sessions. We do not send names, email addresses, school affiliations or poll responses with that ID, and signing up for email updates does not identify you in analytics. Earlier consent to recordings alone does not enable this linking.

Your analytics choice is saved in local browser storage until you change it or clear that storage. Allowing recordings also enables identifiers in session storage to connect activity within that browser tab; the browser's copy ordinarily disappears when the tab closes, while activity already linked to an account or supporter ID remains linked in PostHog. “No analytics” turns off basic analytics, recordings and identification. Closing or ignoring the drawer does not enable recordings or identification, or change a saved choice. We remember dismissal for the current tab so it does not interrupt every page. You can change your choice using “Analytics preferences” in the footer. Changing your choice stops future collection; it does not automatically erase information already received. Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track turn off all analytics.

We do not use advertising trackers, sell personal information or share it for targeted advertising.

Maps and location

The public site serves its maps, fonts and images from our own site. Maps show school locations and published geographic data; they do not request your device’s location. We do not use your IP address to identify your school or neighborhood.

Source links open other publishers’ websites. Those websites handle information under their own privacy policies.

When you contact us

If you email us, we receive your email address, any name you provide and the contents of your message. We use that information to respond, investigate corrections or privacy concerns, and keep a record of how we handled your request.

We do not add correspondents to a mailing list or publish their messages or contact details without permission. Please avoid sending student records, home addresses or other sensitive information about children.

Email update signups

When you sign up for email updates, we store your email address, any first or last name you choose to provide, the signup time, the page you signed up from and a record of the signup wording. We use this information to prepare and manage Save Seattle Schools email updates. Signing up does not create an account.

We are collecting signups before launching email updates. We will confirm ownership of your email address before newsletter delivery begins, and provide a way to unsubscribe. You can request removal now using the contact address below. We do not sell the list or give it to schools, campaigns or advocacy partners for their own outreach.

Signup records are stored in our Render-hosted database with access limited to project operators. Our signup database does not store IP addresses or browser identifiers. We use temporary submission counts to limit abuse. We review pending signups after 12 months and delete them if updates have not launched; deleted records may remain in provider backups until those backups expire.

School polls

The school poll is for adults 18 or older. We store your email address for access, unfinished, pending and confirmed answers, your optional ZIP code and school connections, confirmation times, and a revision number for edits. Extra-credit answers are optional. Submitting declares that you are 18 or older; there is no separate age checkbox. We share only anonymous, aggregated poll totals and data with SPS and the press to inform advocacy. Your email and individual answers are not shared with them. Participation does not subscribe you to email updates.

We send access links through Resend. Those messages contain your access link and no poll answers. The optional updates checkbox is separate consent; when selected, updates enrollment happens when you open the confirmation link. Open and click tracking are disabled. Links expire after 24 hours; opening the link verifies your email and confirms the submitted response.

Answers save privately as you go, including before you enter email. Unconfirmed answers do not count in results. A necessary browser cookie lets you resume unfinished answers for 24 hours; ZIP codes and individual connections are not published. The private poll also uses a necessary sign-in cookie valid for up to seven days and no visitor analytics. You can sign out or request a new email link. Our poll database does not retain session IP addresses or browser descriptions; hosting logs are handled as described above.

Results show only aggregate primary answers after ten confirmed active responses. Email addresses and individual extra-credit answers are not published. You can edit or withdraw your response. Withdrawal erases its answers and removes it from the count; your access account remains until you request its deletion. Confirmed real responses have no automatic 30-day deletion rule.

Pending drafts can be confirmed for 24 hours. Expiration prevents using a draft or access link; it does not promise immediate deletion from storage. Request account or email-data deletion using the contact address below. Deleted records may remain in provider backups until those backups expire.

Who processes information

People helping operate the project may access information needed to handle a request. Our service providers include Render for hosting and Cloudflare for domain and redirect services and routing analytics traffic to PostHog, and PostHog for website analytics hosted in the United States.

We may disclose information when required by law or when reasonably necessary to investigate abuse, protect someone’s safety or defend legal rights. We do not provide visitor or correspondent information to schools, campaigns or advocacy partners for their own outreach.

Retention and security

New session recordings are set to expire after 30 days. Aggregate analytics and event records follow our provider’s retention settings; changing your browser preference does not delete existing records. Contact us with questions about information already collected.

We keep correspondence for as long as needed to respond and resolve the matter, maintain relevant correction records or meet legal obligations. Provider logs follow the providers’ retention settings and policies. Retention may be longer when a security incident or legal requirement needs investigation.

We limit access to people who need it to operate the project. The site uses HTTPS; no online service or email system can guarantee complete security. Our providers may process information in the United States and other countries where they operate.

Children’s information

This is an advocacy and research site for families and the wider community, not a service directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly solicit personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us so we can investigate and remove it as appropriate.

Your choices

You can ask about information you have sent us or request its correction or deletion. We may need limited information to verify a request. We will respond as required by applicable law and explain if a legal obligation or another applicable exception prevents us from fulfilling it. You do not need to provide student records or identity documents with an initial request.

Our research also includes public records about schools and public officials. A request about published reporting will be reviewed for accuracy, privacy and the public interest; it does not automatically require removal of a public record.

Policy updates

We will update this page and its date when our practices change. If a change requires notice or consent under applicable law, we will provide that before the new use begins. See also our terms of use.

Contact

For privacy questions, corrections, content permissions or legal notices, email Save Seattle Schools at outreach@saveseattleschools.com.