Effective date: August 1, 2025
Who we are: Brian Koster, LLC dba EmpowerED Professional Learning (“EmpowerED PL,” “we,” “us,” “our”)
Contact:
Email: [email protected]
(privacy requests)
Support: [email protected]
Mailing address: 7901 4th St N, Ste 300, St. Petersburg FL 33702
1) Scope
This Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit empoweredpl.com (the “Site”), purchase a course, use our learning platform (SenseiLMS + WooCommerce), complete quizzes/assignments, earn certificates, or contact support. It also describes your choices and rights under applicable laws (e.g., GDPR/UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA).
We provide professional development to educators, not students or minors. Please do not upload student personally identifiable information (PII) to the Site.
2) Information We Collect
We collect information in three ways: you provide it, we collect it automatically, and we receive it from third parties.
A. Information you provide
Account & Profile: name, email, password, role/title, organization/school, time zone.
Purchases & Enrollment: billing name, email, address, course selections, discount codes; we do not store full payment card numbers (handled by our payment processors).
Course Activity: lesson/quiz attempts and scores, reflection submissions, uploaded files, comments/discussions, progress/completion dates.
Certificates & Records: name as it should appear on certificate, completion date, PD hours.
Support/Contact: messages, ticket history, preferences.
Surveys/Feedback (optional): satisfaction ratings, testimonials (published only with your permission).
B. Information collected automatically
Device & Usage: IP address, browser type/version, operating system, pages viewed, time on page, referring/exit pages, clickstream, approximate location (city/region).
Cookies & similar tech: essential cookies (login, session, cart), preferences, analytics. See Cookies below.
C. Information from third parties
Payment processors (e.g., Stripe/PayPal): transaction status, last-4 digits, card brand, and fraud signals.
Email & CRM tools: delivery status, open/click events.
Institutional purchases: roster details provided by your district/org (name, work email, course assignment).
3) Why We Use Your Information (Purposes & Legal Bases)
Provide the service (create/secure accounts, enroll you, track progress, issue certificates). (GDPR: performance of a contract)
Improve the service (troubleshooting, analytics, quality checks, content updates). (legitimate interests / consent where required)
Communicate with you (transactional emails—receipts, course access, reminders, completion). (contract / legitimate interests)
Support & safety (diagnose technical issues, prevent fraud/abuse, secure the platform). (legitimate interests / legal obligations)
Comply with law (tax, accounting, regulatory requests). (legal obligations)
Marketing (only with your consent or as permitted by law; you can opt out anytime).
4) Cookies & Analytics
Essential cookies (required): login/session security, cart/checkout, lesson progress.
Preference cookies: store settings like time zone or display options.
Analytics: we may use privacy-respecting analytics or Google Analytics to understand usage and improve content.
Your choices: You can refuse non-essential cookies via our banner (where required) and in your browser settings. Some features may not work without essential cookies.
5) Payment Processing
Payments are handled by third-party processors (e.g., Stripe or PayPal). We receive confirmation of payment and limited details (e.g., last-4, card type) but do not store full card numbers. Your use of those services is subject to their privacy policies.
6) How We Share Information
We do not sell your personal information. We share information only with:
Service providers / processors who help us run the Site (hosting, LMS/WordPress plugins including SenseiLMS and WooCommerce, email delivery, analytics, payment processing, customer support). They are bound by confidentiality and data-processing terms.
Your organization/district (if your seat is provided by them) for enrollment verification, PD hours, or roster management, as directed by your organization.
Legal & safety: to comply with law, enforce our terms, or protect rights, safety, and security.
Business transfers: if we merge, acquire, or sell assets, data may be transferred consistent with this Policy.
We do not permit our processors to use your data for their own marketing.
7) International Transfers
We are based in [United States / your country]. If you access from outside the U.S., your data may be processed in the U.S. and other countries. Where required (e.g., EEA/UK), we use appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses for cross-border transfers.
8) Data Retention
We retain personal information only as long as necessary to provide the service and for legitimate business or legal purposes:
Course records (progress, completions, certificates): typically 7 years for verification, accounting, and compliance.
Support tickets: up to 3 years after closure.
Marketing consent & unsubscribes: retained to honor your preferences.
You may request deletion—see Your Rights below.
9) Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards (encryption in transit, role-based access, backups, logging). No system is 100% secure; please use a strong, unique password and keep it confidential. Report suspected incidents to [email protected]
.
10) Children’s Privacy
Our courses are intended for adults (18+). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact [email protected]
and we will delete it.
11) Your Choices & Rights
A. Account & communications
Access/update: edit your profile in My Account or email [email protected]
.
Email preferences: use unsubscribe links or request changes via [email protected]
.
Do not upload student PII: our PD courses are for educators; avoid sharing student data.
B. GDPR/UK GDPR (EEA/UK residents)
You may have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, port, or object to processing; and to withdraw consent at any time (without affecting prior lawful processing). Contact [email protected]
. You can also lodge a complaint with your data-protection authority.
Controller: Brian Koster, LLC (EmpowerED Professional Learning).
Legal bases are listed in Section 3.
C. California (CCPA/CPRA)
California residents have the right to know/access, correct, delete, and opt out of sale/share of personal information, and to limit use of sensitive personal information (SPI). We do not sell personal information and do not use SPI for cross-context behavioral advertising. If we implement targeted advertising cookies, we will provide an opt-out mechanism and honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where required.
Submit requests: [email protected]
or [web form URL]. We won’t discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
12) Third-Party Links
Course materials may link to third-party sites/tools (e.g., YouTube, Google, Padlet). Your use of those services is governed by their terms and privacy policies.
13) Institutional & FERPA Considerations
We serve educators, not students. If you are purchasing on behalf of a district or submitting evidence that includes student work, you are responsible for de-identifying student data. We can provide a Data Processing Addendum (DPA) upon request for institutional agreements: [email protected]
.
14) Changes to This Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. We’ll post the new date at the top and, if changes are material, notify you via the Site or email. Your continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.
15) How to Contact Us
Privacy/Data requests: [email protected]
General support: [email protected]
Mailing: [Your mailing address]
Appendix A — Categories of Personal Information (CPRA mapping)
Identifiers: name, email, IP address, account ID.
Customer records: billing details (no full card numbers).
Commercial info: purchases, enrollments, refunds.
Internet/technical: device data, usage, cookies.
Education/PD records: course progress, quiz results, certificates.
Inferences: minimal (e.g., course interests) to improve recommendations.
Sensitive PI: none required for typical use; if you provide job title/school, we treat as professional info, not SPI.
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