Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 24, 2026

This privacy policy describes how Beansprout Academy of Fort Mill (“Beansprout Academy,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our website and services. Beansprout Academy is a licensed child care center and early learning program located at 3070 Pleasant Road, Fort Mill, SC 29708, providing Montessori-inspired care for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years to families in Fort Mill, Tega Cay, Indian Land, Rock Hill, and the surrounding York County and Lancaster County area. By using our website or services, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly to us, such as when you contact us, request or book a tour, enroll a child, pay tuition, apply for a job, or reach out for support. This may include:

  • Inquiry and tour requests: parent or guardian name, email address, phone number, your child’s age or date of birth, desired start date, and any message you send us.
  • Enrollment information: parent or guardian names, mailing address, phone numbers, email addresses, employer and work contact details, emergency contacts, and people authorized to pick up your child.
  • Child information: your child’s name, date of birth, photo, allergies, dietary needs, medical conditions, medications, physician and dental provider contacts, immunization records, developmental notes, and any custody or court documents relevant to pickup.
  • Billing information: tuition and fee payment details, billing address, and records needed for child care subsidies, vouchers, or tax statements. Card and bank account numbers are handled by our third-party payment processor and are not stored on our website.
  • Employment applications: name, contact details, résumé, work history, certifications, and information required for background checks under South Carolina child care licensing rules.

While your child is in our care, we also keep daily attendance, check-in and check-out times, meals, naps, diapering and toileting, activities, incident or accident reports, developmental observations, and photos or videos taken during daily activities.

When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information, such as your device and browser type, IP address, pages visited, referring website, and time spent on pages.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Respond to your comments and questions, schedule tours, and communicate about availability and enrollment
  • Provide safe, appropriate care for your child, including responding to allergies, medical needs, and emergencies
  • Verify the identity of anyone picking up a child
  • Maintain records required by the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SC DSS) and other licensing, health, and safety regulations
  • Process tuition, fees, subsidies, and year-end tax statements, and send you payment confirmations and updates
  • Send daily reports, newsletters, closures, weather alerts, event reminders, and other center communications
  • Send you marketing communications (with your consent)
  • Evaluate job applicants and meet employment and background-check requirements
  • Improve our website and services
  • Comply with the law, enforce our policies, and protect the safety of children, families, and staff

3. Information Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We share it only as described below:

  • Service providers who assist us in operating our website and conducting our business, such as our parent communication app, payment processor, email and text message providers, website hosting, and analytics providers, as long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential and use it only to perform services for us.
  • Licensing and government agencies, including SC DSS, the South Carolina Department of Public Health, and child care subsidy or voucher programs, when required for licensing, inspections, audits, or funding.
  • Emergency and medical personnel when necessary to protect a child’s health or safety.
  • Authorized people you designate, such as emergency contacts and approved pickup individuals, to the extent needed to verify identity or reach you.
  • Legal and safety reasons: to comply with the law, court orders, or subpoenas; to meet mandatory reporting obligations regarding suspected child abuse or neglect under South Carolina law; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of children, families, staff, or others.
  • Business transfers: in connection with a sale, merger, or transfer of our business, subject to this policy.

4. Text Messages (SMS)

If you provide a mobile number and opt in, we may send text messages about tours, enrollment, billing, closures, and center updates. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time, or HELP for help.

We do not sell, rent, or share mobile phone numbers or SMS opt-in consent with third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties, except service providers that deliver messages on our behalf.

5. Photos and Videos

We take photos and videos of children during daily activities to share with that child’s family through our parent communication app. We will not use a child’s photo or name on our website, social media, or advertising without written permission from a parent or guardian. You may grant or withdraw photo-release permission at any time by contacting the front office. We ask families not to post photos or videos of other children on social media without their parents’ consent.

6. Children’s Privacy Online

Our website is intended for parents, guardians, and adults. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from children under 13, in accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Information about children that we hold comes from their parents or guardians during inquiry and enrollment. If you believe a child has submitted information to us through our website, contact us and we will delete it.

7. Data Security

We implement appropriate administrative, physical, and technical security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include restricted access to child and family files, secure storage of paper records, password-protected systems, and encrypted connections (HTTPS) on our website. No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Data Retention

We keep enrollment, attendance, medical, and incident records for as long as your child is enrolled and afterward for the period required by South Carolina child care licensing regulations, tax law, and other legal obligations. Inquiry and tour information is kept for as long as reasonably needed to respond and follow up. When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or destroy it.

9. Your Rights

You have the right to access, update, or delete your personal information at any time, subject to records we are required by law to keep. Parents and guardians may:

  • Review and request copies of their child’s records held by the center
  • Ask us to correct inaccurate information
  • Update emergency contacts, authorized pickups, and medical information at any time
  • Opt out of marketing emails (use the unsubscribe link) and text messages (reply STOP)
  • Request deletion of information we are not required by law to keep

We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

10. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience on our website, understand how visitors use it, and measure the effectiveness of our advertising. These include Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, and the Meta (Facebook and Instagram) Pixel. You can choose to disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect the functionality of the site. You can also:

11. Third-Party Links

Our website may link to third-party sites such as Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram, or our parent portal and payment providers. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites, and we encourage you to review their policies.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page with a new effective date. Material changes will also be communicated to enrolled families.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, please contact us:

Beansprout Academy of Fort Mill
3070 Pleasant Road
Fort Mill, SC 29708
Phone: (803) 548-2326
Email: info@beansproutacademy.com