Overview
Welcome to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (“MSBA”) website. Your privacy is a top priority for us. This policy applies only to the use of MSBA website (“MassSchoolBuildings.org” or “Website”). MassSchoolBuildings.org is the official website of the MSBA. As you navigate our Website, you will see links that, when clicked will take you to other websites not operated or controlled by the MSBA. These other websites may have individual privacy policies specifically tailored to the interactions available through each site. Because this privacy policy only applies to MassSchoolBuildings.org, you should examine the privacy policy of any website, including those you access through our webpage.
A Quick Summary of Major Points
- Whenever you visit MassSchoolBuildings.org, be aware that some information is automatically collected. None of this information automatically collected is personally identifiable, which means this information would not identify you as an individual.
- Some MSBA forms and services, such as our “Contact Us” request form, will require you to provide additional, and potentially personally identifiable information.
- MassSchoolBuildings.org is subject to the Massachusetts Public Record Law. If you submit any information to us, that information may become a public record and subject to disclosure upon request.
A Privacy Partnership
Your privacy with respect to the use of MassSchoolBuildings.org results from a partnership between you (the user), and the MSBA. At the MSBA, we work to protect your privacy in accordance with best industry practices. However, because some of the information we receive through MassSchoolBuildings.org is subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law (M.G.L. c. 66) we cannot ensure absolute privacy. Information that you provide us through MassSchoolBuildings.org may be made available to members of the public under that law. This policy informs you of the information that we collect from our Website, what we do with it, to whom it may be disseminated, and how you can access it. Based on this information, you can make an informed decision about your use of MassSchoolBuildings.org. You can maximize the benefits of your privacy partnership with the MSBA by making informed decisions about whether to share personally identifiable information with us through our Website.
Personally Identifiable Information
We use the term “personally identifiable information” to mean any information that could reasonably be used to identify you, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, Social Security number, birth date, bank account information, credit card information, or any combination of information that could be used to identify you.
Information Voluntarily Provided by You
No personally identifiable information is recorded during your visit to the Website unless you voluntarily choose to provide such information. The MSBA collects voluntary information from you through surveys, online forms, and any emails sent to the MSBA through our Website.
Information Automatically Collected and Stored by MassSchoolBuildings.org
MassSchoolBuildings.org collects and stores your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, indefinitely, as well as information about the date and time of your visit, whether a file you have requested exists, and how many “bytes” of information MassSchoolBuildings.org transmitted to you over the web. We use your IP address to assess the frequency of visits to MassSchoolBuildings.org and the popularity of its various pages and functions. We will not attempt to match any personally identifiable information that you provide to us with your IP address, unless there are reasonable grounds to believe that doing so would provide information that is relevant and material to a criminal investigation. The one exception is that when you fill out information in a form on MassSchoolBuildings.org, we receive your IP address along with this submission. We do not use this form-related IP address information unless it may be relevant and material to a criminal investigation.
Dissemination of Your Personally Identifiable Information
We do not sell any personally identifiable information collected through MassSchoolBuildings.org or submitted to the MSBA in conjunction with using the MSBA’s web-based applications, and there is no direct or online public access to the information. However, once you voluntarily submit personally identifiable information to us related to your use of MassSchoolBuildings.org, its dissemination is governed by the “Public Records Law” (M.G.L. c. 66), the “Fair Information Practices Act” (M.G.L. c. 66A), and other applicable laws and regulations. For this reason, part or all of the information you send us may be provided to a member of the public in response to a public records request. There are pieces of information, such as credit card numbers, TIN, username, or password that are not considered public for the purposes of a public records request. For more information on types of data exempted from disclosure under the Public Records Law, please refer to the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law.
Additionally, the information that you voluntarily submit will be disclosed only to MSBA employees or those under contract with the MSBA with a “need to know” for purposes of fulfilling their job responsibilities. For example, when you submit information through the “Contact Us” form on our Website, an email is automatically generated and sent to the relevant MSBA department or personnel responsible for addressing your inquiry. These emails are distributed internally to ensure that your query is handled promptly and by the appropriate team members. The information will be used for such purposes as responding to your questions or to any requests for assistance, authorizing access and facilitating sign-on to certain applications, authenticating you for access to certain transactions and information, generating summary statistics about usage, auditing applications, detecting fraud, and/or otherwise fulfilling the MSBA’s legal obligations.
Your Access and Opportunity to Correct
The “Public Records Law” and the “Fair Information Practices Act” provide you with certain rights to get information about you that is in our records. To learn more about the circumstances under which you can get and correct this information, please click on the above references to these laws.
Security
Because information sent to the MSBA through MassSchoolBuildings.org may not be encrypted, you should not send messages containing information that you consider highly sensitive to MassSchoolBuildings.org. We use standard security measures to ensure that information provided by you, including your personally identifiable information, is not lost, misused, altered, or unintentionally destroyed. We also use software to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, we make no attempts to identify individual users or their usage habits. By submitting your information, you consent to the use and disclosure of your information as described in this Policy.
Cookies and Usage Data
Cookies are simple text files stored on your web browser to provide a means of distinguishing among users of this Website. The use of cookies is a standard practice among Internet websites. Our Website may use or more of the following types of cookies and similar technologies, which are subject to change from time to time:
- Strictly necessary cookies and technologies, which enable you to use the services, load and view content, and access your account.
- Persistent cookies for the purpose of collecting and aggregating data regarding MassSchoolBuilding.org’s visitor activity in order for the MSBA to continuously evaluate and improve its Website services. Persistent cookies allow the Website to recognize you when you visit again and tailor the information presented to you based on your needs and interests.
- Session cookies to enhance or customize your visit to this Website. Session cookies can be created automatically on the device you use to access the MSBA Website. These session cookies do not contain personal information and do not compromise your privacy or security. We may use the cookie feature to store a randomly generated identifying tag on the device you use to access this Website. A session cookie is erased during operation of your browser or when your browser is closed.
- Functionality cookies and technologies to help us remember you and personalize features and content for you on the services.
- Preference cookies and technologies that allow us to capture and store your information privacy related preferences, account settings, and certain login information.
- Analytics cookies and technologies that help us and our service providers compile statistics and analytics about platform users, including traffic, usage, demographic, and trend data. For example, we use Google Analytics to help us understand how users engage with our Website. Google Analytics uses cookies to track your interactions with our Website, then collects that information and reports it to us. This information helps us improve our Website so that we can better serve you. If you wish, you can opt-out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On.
To learn more about cookies and similar technologies, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org. Most web and mobile device browsers automatically accept cookies. If you prefer, you can change your browser to prevent that or to notify you each time a cookie is set. If you want to opt-out of receiving targeted advertisements based on your interest, you can visit the National Advertising Initiative’s (NIA) Consumer Opt Out page (https://optout.networkadvertising.org/?c=1), which will allow you to opt-out of seeing advertisements set by participating NAI members.
Some web browsers incorporate a Do Not Track or DNT feature that signals to the websites that you visit that you do not want to have your activity tracked. Presently, many websites and mobile applications, including our Website, do not respond to DNT signals because such signals are not yet uniform. As a result, we may track your online activities, including over time and across different sites and apps.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this privacy policy is not and should not be construed as providing any form of business, legal, or other advice, nor do we warrant as fail proof the security, accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information provided on this Website, and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law the MSBA disclaims any liability for any losses caused by the reliance on the security, accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Users may wish to consult with their own counsel.
Policy Changes
We reserve the right to change the terms of this policy at any time. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed of any updates. The date that this policy was last modified can be found at the top of this page. Any modifications are effective immediately.
Questions about MSBA’s website policies
If you have questions about the MSBA’s website policies, you can use this form. Please do not include sensitive information, such as Social Security or bank account numbers.
