Privacy Policy

Personal data we collect and why we collect it.

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy.... After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Contact forms

If you submit a contact form on our site, we store a copy of what you submitted for our internal reference, and it is sent to one of our administrative assistants.

If you sign up for freebies or for information on one of our regional conventions, we add the information you submit to our email list, handled by Robly. You can find their privacy policy here: https://support.robly.com/priv.... You may unsubscribe at any time from our email list, as well as request that we completely delete your information.

Purchases

If you purchase registration/tickets or anything else from our site, we retain a copy of your name, address, and contact information to verify your order.

Credit card transactions are handled by Authorize.net, and they also receive a copy of your name, address, and payment information so they can process the transaction. We do not retain any payment information on our site or servers.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you have an account and you log in to this site, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Analytics

We collect site usage statistics using Google Analytics, but do not collect or store any personally-identifying information.

Who we share your data with (updated March 24, 2020)

As of March 24, 2020, we reserve the right to share your information -- including name, address, phone number or email address -- with our Convention Sponsors.

We also occasionally send special offers to our list on behalf of other companies or organizations whom we think offer products or services that may interest and benefit you. These companies or organizations provide compensation (financial or otherwise) to us for doing so, and this plays a huge role in helping us keep convention registration pricing as affordable as possible. These companies would then receive your personal information only if you decide to interact with them directly.

How long we retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users who purchase products or register on our website, we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

If you submit a contact form, we retain a copy of what you submitted for our internal staff to access.

What rights you have over your data

If you have an account on this site, have submitted a form, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where we send your data

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

How do we protect your information?
Our website is scanned on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible. Our server utilizes regular malware scanning. Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems and are required to keep the information confidential.

To maintain the safety of personal information, we implement a variety of security measures when a user places an order or enters, submits, or accesses their information. Furthermore, all transactions are processed by USA Home Education Association through Authorize.net, a gateway provider, and the financial information you provide is not stored or processed on any GHC servers.

California Online Privacy Protection Act:
CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The laws reach stretches well beyond California to require any person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting PII from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals or companies with whom it is being shared. See more here. In accordance with CalOPPA, we agree that users can visit our site anonymously. This privacy policy will be linked on our home page or at a minimum, on the first significant page after entering our website. Our Privacy Policy link includes the word “Privacy” and can easily be found on the page specified above.

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)
When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, United States' consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children's privacy and safety online. We do not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.

Fair Information Practices:
The Fair Information Practices Principles (“FIPP”) form the backbone of privacy law in the United States, and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding FIPP and how they should be implemented is critical for complying with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.

In order to adhere to FIPP, we will notify you via email within 1 business day if a data breach should occur. We also agree to the Individual Redress Principle which requires that individuals have the right to legally pursue enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or government agencies to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.

CAN SPAM Act:
The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. We adhere to the CAN-SPAM Act, and ask that all of our speakers, vendors, exhibitors and sponsors do so as well.

Marketing to children

See COPPA

Our contact info:

You may contact us here

Updated July 31, 2024