Teachers are the primary users of Tier Forward. Teachers create accounts using Google Sign-In, enter student information, administer assessments, and monitor student progress.
Students (grades K–5) do not log in, create accounts, or directly interact with the Service. All student data is entered by teachers. Students may receive printed materials generated by the Service, but they do not have a digital interface with it.
Schools and Districts may contract with Tier Forward for use by their teachers, in which case the school or district is the "Educational Agency" that authorizes Tier Forward's access to student education records under FERPA.
When a teacher signs in using Google Sign-In (via Firebase Authentication), we receive and store:
We do not collect or store passwords. Authentication is handled entirely by Google.
Teachers enter the following information about their students directly into the Service:
When teachers use the Service, we may automatically collect limited technical information including browser type, device type, IP address (for security and abuse prevention), and log data. This information is not linked to student records.
We use session cookies and browser local storage to maintain teacher login sessions. We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics cookies.
| Purpose | Data Used |
|---|---|
| Authenticate teacher accounts and maintain sessions | Teacher Google account info |
| Display student rosters and assessment data to the assigned teacher | Student name, grade, scores |
| Calculate and display intervention tier placement | Assessment scores |
| Generate printable skill materials for students | Tier placement, grade level |
| Track and display progress monitoring over time | Progress data, scores |
| Communicate with teachers about their account or the Service | Teacher email |
| Maintain, secure, and improve the technical operation of the Service | Log data, IP addresses |
We do not use any information — including student data — for: advertising or marketing, building student profiles for commercial purposes, research unrelated to improving the Service, or any purpose beyond what is described in this policy.
We do not sell student data. We do not sell teacher data. We do not sell any personal information.
Tier Forward is built on Google Firebase, which provides our authentication, database, and hosting infrastructure. Google Firebase acts as our data processor — processing data only on our instructions, solely to provide infrastructure services, and is contractually prohibited from using this data for its own purposes.
We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or lawful government request. We will notify affected schools or teachers to the extent permitted by law.
If Tier Forward is acquired or merged, we will provide advance notice and ensure the successor entity is bound by the same data protection obligations. Schools will have an opportunity to request deletion before any transfer.
We do not share student personally identifiable information (PII) with researchers, analytics providers, educational data aggregators, or any other third parties.
Tier Forward uses the following Google Firebase services:
Data location: Google Firebase stores data in Google-operated data centers, primarily in the United States. For more information, see Google's Cloud Data Processing Addendum.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99, protects the privacy of student education records. When schools use Tier Forward, we operate as a "school official" under the FERPA school official exception (34 CFR § 99.31(a)(1)).
This means:
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), 15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq., protects children under 13. Students do not directly use, log in to, or interact with Tier Forward's web application. All student information is entered by teachers. We follow the school consent mechanism recognized under COPPA guidance:
Student and teacher data is retained for as long as the teacher account remains active and in use.
If a teacher account has not been accessed for 24 consecutive months, we will send a notification and delete the account and all associated student data within 60 days unless the teacher reactivates.
Upon a valid deletion request, we will permanently delete the requested data from Firestore within 30 days. We do not maintain backup archives of deleted records.
In the event of a data breach affecting student PII, we will notify affected schools within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach.
Schools and districts have the right to:
Schools and districts that require a formal written DPA before using the Service may request our standard DPA by contacting jillsommers@tierforward.com. Our DPA is aligned with the SDPC National Data Privacy Agreement (NDPA) framework and is designed to be executed without modification by most Alabama school districts.
Email jillsommers@tierforward.com with your school name, teacher name(s) or student identifiers, and the nature of the request. We will respond within 30 days.
Teachers who use Tier Forward have the right to:
When we make material changes, we will post the updated policy at tierforward.com/privacy, update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document, and notify active teachers by email at least 30 days before material changes take effect.
This Privacy Policy was prepared for Tier Forward, operated by Jill Sommers, Bear Exploration Center, Montgomery, Alabama. Tier Forward is an educational service operating under applicable federal law including FERPA (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) and COPPA (15 U.S.C. § 6501 et seq.).