Privacy Policy

This website and the registration form on it are operated by B.I.D.E. — Band Instrument Discovery Experience ("B.I.D.E.", "we", "us"), an independently developed and owned music education program. B.I.D.E. is the party responsible for the information collected here.

B.I.D.E. is not operated by a school or school division. Participating schools host and partner with the program. Information you submit through this site is submitted to B.I.D.E., not to the school district.

Questions or requests: bideacademy@gmail.com

This policy applies to this website and the registration form on it. It does not apply to any school website, school system, or third-party site we may link to, each of which has its own policies.

a. Information you give us

Through the registration form we collect:

• Student first and last name, grade, and school
• Parent or guardian first and last name and relationship to student
• Email address, phone number, and preferred contact method
• Prior playing experience and instrument preferences
• Event attendance details and headcount
• Requested accommodations and any questions you send us
• Your photography permission choice
• Your confirmation that you are the parent or legal guardian

We do not collect payment card information, Social Security numbers or other government identifiers, health records, or academic records through this site.

b. Information collected automatically

Like most websites, our hosting and security providers log basic technical information when a page is requested, such as IP address, browser and device type, referring page, and time of request. This is used for delivering the site, diagnosing errors, and preventing abuse.

c. Cookies and similar technologies

We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. The site may store information in your browser that is strictly necessary to keep the site working, such as remembering your progress through the registration form. You can clear this at any time through your browser settings.

We use the information described above only to:

• Register a student for the program and its events
• Plan instruments, staffing, space, and materials
• Provide accommodations you tell us about
• Communicate with you about the program, schedules, and changes
• Honor your photography permission choice
• Keep the site secure and functioning, and comply with the law

We do not use registration information for advertising, profiling, or automated decision-making.

The registration form is intended to be completed by a parent or legal guardian who is 18 or older, on the student's behalf. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13, and the site is not directed to children for independent use.

A parent or guardian may review the information submitted about their child, ask us to correct it, ask us to delete it, and refuse to permit its further use, by emailing bideacademy@gmail.com. We will honor verified requests promptly and will not condition participation on providing more information than is reasonably necessary.

If you believe a child provided information to us without a parent or guardian, contact us and we will delete it.

Education records that a school maintains about a student are governed by FERPA and by that school's own policies, not by this policy. Information you submit here is a program registration held by B.I.D.E., not a school record.

We share information only in these limited situations:

• Program staff. The program director and program staff who need it to run the event.
• Host schools. Participating school staff, only as needed to host the program at that school (for example, rosters and building access).
• Service providers. We use a hosted database to store registrations and an email service to deliver them to the program inbox. These providers process information on our instructions and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes.
• Legal reasons. Where required by law, subpoena, or to protect the safety or rights of a student, staff member, or the public.

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share registration information for money or for targeted advertising, and we do not provide it to data brokers or marketers.

Submissions are transmitted over an encrypted connection and stored in an access-controlled database. Access is limited to people who need it to run the program. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect information and to respond quickly if a problem occurs.

Registration information is kept for the program season it relates to, plus a reasonable period for program records and follow-up communication — generally no longer than two years — and is then deleted. We may keep information longer where the law requires it. You can ask for earlier deletion at any time.

You may at any time ask us to:

• Confirm whether we hold information about your student
• Provide a copy of it
• Correct anything inaccurate
• Delete it
• Change or withdraw your photography permission
• Stop sending you program communications

Email bideacademy@gmail.com with the student's name and the school. We will verify that you are the parent or guardian who submitted the registration and respond within 45 days, and usually much sooner. There is no charge for these requests.

Depending on where you live, state privacy laws such as the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act may give you rights to access, correct, delete, obtain a copy of, or opt out of certain uses of your personal data. We extend the rights listed in section 10 to everyone who registers, regardless of state. To exercise a right, or to appeal a decision we make about a request, email bideacademy@gmail.com and include "Privacy Request" in the subject line.

The registration form asks whether your student may appear in B.I.D.E. program photographs. Your choice is recorded with your registration and honored by the program. Any photograph taken or published by a school is separately governed by that school's own media and privacy policies.

Information is stored and processed in the United States. If you access the site from outside the United States, you understand your information will be processed there.

If this policy changes, we will post the updated version on this page and update the effective date above. Material changes affecting information already collected will be communicated to registered families by email where we have one.

B.I.D.E. — Band Instrument Discovery Experience
Email: bideacademy@gmail.com

This policy is provided for transparency and is not legal advice.