Terms of Use

What this site is, what we ask of you when you send us something, how we handle corrections and right of reply, and what we promise and do not promise. Volunteer-run and nonpartisan.

What this site is, what we ask of you, and what we promise and do not promise.

The short version

• This is a nonpartisan project run by two parents in Lee County, Florida, funded by its readers through memberships and by nobody else.
• Reading the site is free and needs no account. Memberships are optional, and the membership terms are at the bottom of this page.
• If you send us something, you are asking to be heard, and you are telling us it is true as far as you know.
• We publish nothing about you that identifies you.

What we ask of you

• Send us things that are true, and that you saw yourself. Not rumour, not something you were told third-hand.
• Do not name individuals. Ratings, repairs and stories describe conditions, patterns and decisions. A submission naming a teacher, an aide, a principal or any other employee is set aside rather than edited down and published.
• Do not use this to retaliate against anyone, and do not use it to settle something that happened between two specific people. That belongs with the district’s own complaint process, which none of this replaces.
• Do not submit somebody else’s words as your own, or forward a private message from a colleague. They did not choose to be published. Ask them to send it themselves.
• Do not try to move a school’s rating by submitting more than once, coordinating a group, or pretending to be something you are not. That is why one-star and five-star ratings are confirmed with a real person before they count.
• Do not attempt to break, overload or probe the site.

What happens to what you send

By submitting something you give us permission to publish it, on the terms the form you used sets out, and to edit it for length, clarity and to remove anything that could identify you or anyone else. You keep ownership of your own words.

We are not obliged to publish anything. We decline submissions regularly and we do not always explain why. We may also remove something we have already published if new information changes what it means.

We will not sharpen your argument for you. If we cannot publish something without rewriting what you meant, we leave it alone.

Accuracy, and how to tell us we got something wrong

Campaign-finance figures on this site come from reports candidates filed themselves with the Supervisor of Elections. District figures come from the district’s own published documents. Every figure is sourced so you can check it against the original, and you should.

Reporting that money was given or spent is not an allegation that anyone did anything wrong. Political contributions in Florida are legal and publicly disclosed, and nothing here says otherwise.

Accounts sent to us by teachers, staff, parents and students are labelled as what they are: first-hand accounts, published anonymously, not confirmed by the district. Where a public record corroborates one, we cite it.

If something here is wrong, email us and say what and why. We correct errors, we date the correction, and we say what changed. If we have written about you and you want to respond, we will publish your response.

Not advice

Nothing on this site is legal, financial or educational advice, and nothing here is a substitute for talking to your child’s school, the district, or a professional. The letter builder writes a request; it cannot compel anyone to do anything. School ratings are the impressions of the people who sent them, not a district assessment and not a state school grade.

Nonpartisan, and not for sale

Parents for Transparency accepts no money from candidates, political parties, campaigns or political committees, and takes no money from the School District of Lee County. Business listings are free and always will be; there is no paid placement and no featured slot, and a listing is never an endorsement of anything.

We apply the same treatment to everyone we cover. Where either of us has a business relationship with someone this site covers, we disclose it.

Using our work

The public records this site is built on belong to the public and you can use them freely. Our own writing, analysis and graphics are ours. Quote them, cite them and link to them as much as you like. Republishing a whole piece needs our say-so first, which we usually give.

Links, and things we do not control

We link to the Supervisor of Elections, the district, news outlets, shopping sites and social platforms. We do not control any of them and we are not responsible for what they do. Once you follow a link you are on their site under their terms.

What we do not promise

This site is provided as it is. We work hard to be accurate and we correct what we get wrong, but we cannot promise the site is always available, always current, or free of error. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for loss arising from your use of it. Nothing here limits any right you have that cannot be limited by agreement.

Where this is governed

These terms are governed by the law of the State of Florida, and any dispute belongs in the state or federal courts serving Lee County, Florida.

Membership terms

These apply if you buy a membership. Memberships are sold by Parents for Transparency LLC, a Florida limited liability company, 11000 Metro Parkway, Suite 13, Fort Myers, FL 33966. Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see or store your card number.

A membership is a recurring subscription that supports independent research and advocacy about public education in Lee County. It includes the items listed for your tier at /membership when you join. We may add benefits, and we will not remove one from your tier without telling you first.

A membership does not buy coverage, favorable or unfavorable; a say over what we publish; a private meeting; an endorsement; or access to anything other readers cannot see. Everything we publish is free to everyone and stays free. Nobody’s question or request is carried to the School District of Lee County because they are a member.

• Prices: Member $8 a month or $75 a year. VIP Member $24 a month or $250 a year. Teacher membership is free. Paid memberships renew automatically each period until you cancel. We charge the card on file through Stripe; if a payment fails we retry and email you, and if it keeps failing the membership ends. Price changes come with at least 30 days’ notice by email and apply at your next renewal.
• Angel Supporter contributions of $50, $100, $500 or $1,000 are one-time payments, not subscriptions, and are not refundable once the sticker, shirt or gift has shipped.
• Canceling: any time at billing.stripe.com/p/login/00w9AV9gzgxbd8RbyFeEo00 (Stripe emails you a sign-in link; no one has to approve it), or by emailing info@parentsfortransparency.com. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for. We refund any charge in full within 14 days if you ask. For annual memberships we email you 30 to 60 days before each renewal date.
• Teachers: the free membership is on the honor system for people currently working in a Lee County school. We do not verify employment and we do not contact your employer. A district email address you give us is stored and never displayed, published, shared or emailed. Using one address for more than one membership is flagged and may end the memberships tied to it.
• Stickers, membership cards, shirts, other merchandise and engravables ship within 4 to 6 weeks, within the United States. If we cannot ship an item in the stated time we offer the choice of waiting or a refund of that portion. The merchandise is a thank-you, not the thing you are paying for. Anything already sent is yours to keep.
• Members-only materials are for your personal use; do not resell or republish them. The public versions of our reporting stay free for anyone to share.
• Your name appears on the supporter wall only if you opt in, in the form you choose, and comes off when you ask.
• Anyone whose payments total $1,000 or more in a rolling twelve months is named on our public funder list, opted in or not. If you do not want to be named, do not give more than $999 in a year.
• Not legal advice: our workshops, guides and members-only resources are general information about how these systems work, not advice about your child, your school or your situation. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship and nothing you send us is confidential. For advice about your own situation, consult a licensed attorney.
• Not tax-deductible: memberships are sold by a for-profit company. Payments are not charitable contributions and are not tax-deductible.
• We may end a membership, refunding the unused portion, if it is used to harass, impersonate, or gain access under false pretenses.
• We may update these terms and will email members before a material change takes effect. These terms are governed by Florida law; any dispute is handled in the courts of Lee County, Florida.