Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how the GOP Leadership Academy ("the Academy," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects information when you use gopacademy.org and its related subdomains and services (the "Service"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information we collect

• Account information — your first and last name, email address, and password (stored only as a secure one-way hash).
• Profile and location — your state and county, and, for precinct chairs, your precinct number and mailing address.
• Precinct-chair roster data — where a county party provides or a county chair enters roster records, we store names, emails, precinct numbers, and addresses to verify precinct-chair status.
• Learning activity — course enrollments, module progress, exam attempts and scores, and the certificates you earn.
• Technical data — session cookies required to keep you signed in, and standard server logs (such as IP address and browser type) used for security and reliability.

2. How we use your information

• To provide the Service — create your account, deliver courses, administer exams, and issue certificates.
• To verify precinct-chair eligibility for courses beyond PC-101, by matching your email against your county party's roster.
• To communicate with you — account verification, password resets, exam results, and certificate notifications.
• To maintain records — your transcript and verifiable credentials.
• To secure and improve the Service, and to comply with legal obligations.

3. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only as follows:

• County and state party officials — county chairs and administrators may view roster and training records for their own county to administer the program.
• Service providers — vendors that host and operate the Service on our behalf (for example, Microsoft Azure for hosting, database, and email delivery), under obligations to protect your data.
• Credential verification — a certificate's recipient name, course, issue date, and credential ID are shown on the public verification page when someone looks up a credential ID. Contact details such as your address and phone are never shown publicly.
• Legal requirements — when required by law or to protect the rights, safety, and security of the Academy and its users.

4. Cookies and sessions

We use an essential session cookie to keep you signed in and to protect forms against cross-site request forgery. These cookies are necessary for the Service to function and do not track you across other websites.

5. Data security

Passwords are stored using industry-standard one-way hashing and are never stored in plain text. Data is transmitted over encrypted (HTTPS) connections, and access to personal information is limited to authorized personnel and the county officials responsible for your program. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your information.

6. Data retention

We retain your account, transcript, and credential records for as long as your account is active and as needed to maintain an official record of certification. You may request deletion of your account as described below; certain records may be retained where required for legitimate recordkeeping or legal purposes.

7. Your choices and rights

• You may view and update your name and email from your profile page.
• You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information by contacting us.
• You may verify your email and manage your password from your account.

8. Children's privacy

The Service is intended for adults involved in party leadership and training. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16.

9. Third-party links

The Service may display recommended reading and other links to third-party sites (such as online booksellers). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites, and some links may be affiliate links. Please review the privacy policy of any third-party site you visit.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information can be sent to privacy@gopacademy.org.