These Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions apply to the Power Your Future Challenge. Please read these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions carefully before entering.

Overview

Logistics

Challenge name: Power Your Future Challenge
Announcement date: February 26, 2024
Submission start date: August 6, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET)
Submission deadline: November 19, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET)
CTE Momentum website: poweryourfuture.ctemomentum.com

Purpose

The purpose of the Power Your Future Challenge is to create engaging learning opportunities for students to explore clean energy; connect CTE programs with a wide variety of clean energy pathways; and inspire students to envision and pursue clean energy careers.

Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is announcing the Power Your Future Challenge (Challenge), a challenge funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins Act [also known as Perkins V]).

The Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions of the Challenge cannot be modified except by the Department, at its sole and absolute discretion. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.

Challenge Dates

The submission period opens on August 6, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. (ET). Submissions are due on or before November 19, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. (ET) on the Challenge website.

The Department will conduct an online information session prior to the submission deadline. The date of the online information session will be determined and announced by the Department, posted on the Challenge website, and sent to individuals that have requested to receive email updates on the Challenge website. The dates for Challenge events will be determined and announced by the Department and posted on the Challenge website. Furthermore, the Department will determine time frames for judging submissions, as well as the date that winners will be announced.

Contact Information

The Department has assigned Jenny Lambert as the primary point of contact for the Challenge. Jenny Lambert can be reached by mail at U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20202, by email at [email protected], or by phone at (202) 987-1304.

If you use a telecommunications device or a text telephone for the deaf and hard of hearing, call the Federal Relay Service, toll free, at (800) 877-8339.

Definitions

All defined terms appear in bold font and are capitalized in these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions. The definitions of Career and Technical Education (CTE), Eligible Recipient, and Special Populations are from section 3 [20 U.S.C. 2302] of Perkins V. The definition of Underserved Student is from the Final Priorities and Definitions— Secretary’s Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grants Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 10, 2021.

Challenge Information

I. Administration

The Power Your Future Challenge (Challenge) is an open innovation prize competition conducted by the Department. It is the second challenge in an annual CTE challenge series titled CTE Momentum. Luminary Labs LLC (Luminary Labs) has been contracted by the Department to assist and support the Department in organizing and managing these annual CTE challenges (referred to as CTE Momentum). Activities conducted by Luminary Labs may also include providing technical assistance to potential entrants. Additional background and information about CTE Momentum are available on the Challenge website.

The Department anticipates receiving between 200 to 400 hundred submissions and selecting up to ten (10) winners. The cash prize pool is set at $50,000 and will be divided equally among the winners of the Power Your Future Challenge.

Program Authority

The purposes, call to action, and activities related to the Challenge are authorized by section 114(c)(1) of Perkins V. Under this section, the Secretary of the Department is authorized to carry out research, development, dissemination, evaluation and assessment, capacity building, and technical assistance with regard to CTE programs under Perkins V.

II. Background

Career and Technical Education (CTE) is an essential strategy for developing a more competitive workforce and preparing students to succeed in careers. Evidence-based components of CTE, within career-connected high schools, include dual enrollment, work-based learning, workforce credentials, and career advising and navigation. Emerging technology is a critical aspect in an increasing number of jobs, and education providers and institutions must adapt to prepare students for cutting-edge, high-quality careers that will continue to build our nation’s future. Growth industries, including energy, aerospace, robotics, medicine, technology, and sustainable development all point to an increasing need for applied technical learning.

The nation is making strategic investments in the transition to clean energy to secure a brighter future for all. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, “The clean energy industry generates hundreds of billions in economic activity and is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the coming years. There is tremendous economic opportunity for the countries that invent, manufacture and export clean energy technologies.” The U.S. energy sector provides a robust pipeline for workforce development, and skilled workers are required to meet the workforce demands in various energy sectors, e.g., solar, wind, water, geothermal, bioenergy, nuclear, hydrogen, and fuel cells. Fortunately, today’s students are committed to societal change and passionate about important issues such as climate change: “81% of youth feel they can make a difference in their community.” By leveraging the power of CTE, the CTE Momentum: Power Your Future Challenge seeks to provide students with the opportunity to develop skills and experiences to envision and pursue careers across a wide array of industry sectors related to clean energy.

The CTE Momentum: Power Your Future Challenge aligns with the Investing in America Agenda and the following national initiatives:

  • Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) – (2021)
    IIJA, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), ensures employers have the “skilled, diverse talent pool they need to deliver infrastructure projects, and workers, including those who have historically been underrepresented in traditional infrastructure sectors, have a fair shot at the good jobs required to implement the law.” For example, “BIL deploys a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers; more than $7 billion to ensure domestic manufacturers have the critical minerals and other components necessary to make EV batteries; and $10 billion for clean transit and school buses at the Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency.” Additional information regarding Investing in America is available on Invest.Gov; the website includes a detailed map of major projects in all 50 states.
  • Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – (2022)
    IRA marks the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and manufacturing by investing into domestic energy production.
  • Raise the Bar: Lead the World – (2023)
    The U.S. Department of Education’s initiative Raise the Bar: Lead the World supports a national call to action to “establish and scale career and college pathways that lead to students earning industry-recognized credentials and securing in-demand jobs.” Further information regarding building capacity among secondary education, postsecondary education, and workforce development systems to expand access to career-connected high school programs for more students is available on the Raise the Bar: Unlocking Career Success website.
  • Investing in America Agenda – (2023)
    “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is mobilizing historic levels of private sector investments in the United States, bringing manufacturing back to America after decades of offshoring, and creating new, good-paying jobs, including union jobs and jobs that don’t require a college degree. His Investing in America agenda is rebuilding our roads and bridges using Made in America materials built by American workers. And it’s transforming our country for the better – reaching communities in every corner of the United States, including those that have too often been left behind.”

III. Call to Action

The call to action is for teams to submit innovative action plans that will advance the use of clean energy in their schools and communities.

IV. Eligibility

An eligible entrant to the Power Your Future Challenge must either be (1) or (2):

(1) An Eligible Recipient under the Perkins Act. The term Eligible Recipient means:

(a) a local educational agency (including a public charter school that operates as a local educational agency), an area career and technical education school, an educational service agency, an Indian Tribe, Tribal organization, or Tribal educational agency or a consortium, eligible to receive assistance under section 131; or

(b) an eligible institution or consortium of eligible institutions eligible to receive assistance under section 132; or

(2) A state or local public or private nonprofit entity that partners with at least one Eligible Recipient (as described in bullet (1)) above to connect high school students to clean energy career opportunities.

An eligible entrant must also:

(i) Register on the Challenge website (see the ADDITIONAL INFORMATION section);

(ii) Enter a submission on the Challenge website according to these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions;

(iii) Comply with all requirements on the Challenge website;

(iv) Acknowledge limit of one winner per Eligible Recipient;

(v) Self-select eligibility category—that is bullet (1) or (2) provided in section IV. ELIGIBILITY;

(vi) Provide documentation to demonstrate that the Eligible Recipient’s principal or school district-level administrator permits entry into the challenge;
and

(vii) Agree to:

(a) Assume any and all risks and waive claims against the Federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from their participation in the Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arises through negligence or otherwise;

(b) Indemnify the Federal government against third-party claims for damages arising from, or related to, Challenge activities, patents, copyrights, and trademark infringements; and

(c) Comply with and abide by these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions and the decisions of the Department which shall be final and binding in all respects.

V. Challenge Eligibility

(a) To participate in the Challenge, an entrant must submit an eligible entry according to the IV. ELIGIBILITY section; and

(b) An entrant must complete the entry requirements outlined in the VII. SUBMISSION INFORMATION section.

VI. Award Selection Criteria

Judges may assign up to five (5) points for each selection criterion during the scoring of submissions (for a total of up to 25 points) based on the following five (5) selection criteria:

(a) IMPACT. The extent to which the action plan demonstrates an innovative solution that advances clean energy use while considering broader applications.

(b) FEASIBILITY. The extent to which the action plan demonstrates a practical solution to advance clean energy use at the school or in the community.

(c) LEARNING. The extent to which the action plan improves students’ academic, technical, and collaboration skills, as well as awareness of clean energy related careers.

(d) COLLABORATION. The extent to which the action plan demonstrates cross-disciplinary partnership, including at least one CTE program.

(d) STUDENT ENGAGEMENT. The extent to which the action plan involves a broad cross-section of students, including students from Special Populations and Underserved Students.

The Department will review the recommendations of the judges and may consider additional factors when selecting winners from the top scoring submissions to ensure diverse distribution of awards, including:

(a) Geographic location and local population density;

(b) Percentage of students enrolled in free and reduced-price lunch programs under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759), as amended through P.L. 116-6; and

(c) School size (number of students).

VII. Submission Information

Submission dates, times, and Requirements

The Challenge officially begins on the Challenge start date with this announcement and continues until the submission deadline. Luminary Labs is the official timekeeper for the Challenge. Submissions must be received by the submission deadline to be eligible for review. To submit an entry, an entrant must go to the Challenge website and complete all required fields of the submission form before the submission deadline. Each entrant must complete all of the required fields in the submission in accordance with these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions. All entrants are required to provide consent to these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions upon submitting an entry. Once submitted, a submission may not be altered. The Department reserves the right to disqualify any submission that the Department deems inappropriate.

Entrants must designate a primary contact to serve as the team lead. Each team lead must be employed as a CTE teacher, coordinator, or director by the Eligible Recipient or be employed by the state or local public or private nonprofit entity partnering with the Eligible Recipient and must be at least 18 years of age. A school may collaborate with another school or schools; however, one team lead and lead school must be identified. In the event that a dispute regarding the identity of the entrant who actually submitted the submission cannot be resolved by the Department, the affected entry will be deemed ineligible.

Technical Problems, Submission Extensions, and Accommodations

The Department encourages entrants to submit entries as far in advance of the submission deadline as possible and suggests at least two hours before the submission deadline to ensure the completed submission is received. If an entrant submits an entry after the submission deadline because of a technical problem with the Challenge website, the entrant must immediately contact the individual listed in the CONTACT INFORMATION section and provide an explanation of the technical problem experienced on the Challenge website. The Department will accept the entrant’s submission if the Department can confirm that a technical problem occurred with the Challenge website and that the technical problem affected the entrant’s ability to submit an entry by the submission deadline. The Department will contact the entrant after a determination is made on whether the entry will be accepted.

Submission Extension

Submission extensions only apply to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the Challenge website. The Department will not grant an entrant an extension in the event of user error; for example, if the entrant failed to submit an entry on the Challenge website by the submission deadline, or if the technical problem experienced is unrelated to the Challenge website.

Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or auxiliary aid in connection with the submission process should contact the individual listed in the CONTACT INFORMATION section. If the Department provides an accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the submission process, the entry remains subject to all other requirements and limitations in these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions.

VIII. Submission Review Information

Review and Eligibility Determination Process

The Department, with the assistance and support of Luminary Labs, will review submissions based on the requirements listed in the III. ELIGIBILITY section of these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions to determine if entrant is deemed eligible to advance to the review process.

Review and Selection Process

The Department anticipates selecting up to ten (10) winners using a two-tier review process.

(1) Tier 1 Review: Submissions will be assigned to reviewers with expertise relevant to the criteria described in the VI. AWARD SELECTION CRITERIA section of these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions. During Tier 1, reviewers will independently evaluate and score the submissions to identify the most competitive submissions. Reviewers will assign each criterion a score of up to five (5) points for a total of up to 25 points. The Department anticipates selecting the top 20 to 30 submissions to proceed to Tier 2.

(2) Tier 2 Review: During the second tier, judges with expertise relevant to the criteria described in the VI. AWARD SELECTION CRITERIA section of these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions will independently score the top 20 to 30 submissions. Judges will assign each criterion a score of up to five (5) points for a total of up to 25 points.

The Department will review the judges’ scores and may consider additional factors when selecting winners from the top scoring submissions to ensure diverse distribution of awards, including:

(a) Geographic location and local population density;

(b) Percentage of students enrolled in free and reduced-price lunch programs under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759), as amended through P.L. 116–6; and

(c) School size (number of students).

By participating in the Challenge, each entrant acknowledges and agrees that such recommendations of the independent reviewers and judges based on the criteria may differ and agrees to be bound by, and not to contest, the final decisions of the Department.

IX. Prizes

The Department anticipates selecting ten (10) winners. The Challenge has a cash prize pool of $50,000, to be divided equally among the winners. Any potential prizes awarded under the Challenge will be paid by electronic funds transfer. Award recipients will be responsible for any applicable local, state, and Federal taxes, and reporting that may be required under applicable tax laws.

Additional Information

General Terms and Conditions

The Department reserves the right to suspend, postpone, cease, terminate, or otherwise modify this Challenge or any entrant’s participation in the Challenge, at any time, at the Department’s sole discretion.

All entry information submitted on the Challenge website and all materials, including any copy of the submission, become property of the Department, and will not be acknowledged or returned by the Department or Luminary Labs. Proof of submission is not considered proof of delivery or receipt of such entry. Furthermore, the Department and Luminary Labs shall have no liability for any submission that is lost, intercepted, or not received by the Department and/or Luminary Labs. The Department and Luminary Labs assume no liability or responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to, or alteration of, submissions.

Representations and Warranties/Indemnification

By participating in the Challenge, each entrant represents, warrants, and covenants as follows:

(a) The entrants are the sole authors, creators, and owners of the submission;

(b) The entrant’s submission:

(1) Is not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim;

(2) Does not, and will not, violate or infringe upon the privacy rights, publicity rights, or other legal rights of any third party;

(3) Does not contain any harmful computer code (sometimes referred to as “malware,” “viruses,” or “worms”); and

(c) The submission, and entrants’ implementation of the submission, does not, and will not, violate any applicable laws or regulations of the United States.

Entrants will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Department and Luminary Labs from and against all third-party claims, actions, or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses relating to, or arising from, entrant’s submission or any breach or alleged breach of any of the representations, warranties, and covenants of entrant hereunder.

The Department reserves the right to disqualify any submission that the Department, in its discretion, deems to violate the Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions.

Submission License

Each entrant retains title to, and full ownership of, their submission. The entrant expressly reserves all legal rights not expressly granted under this agreement. By participating in the Challenge, each entrant hereby irrevocably grants a license to the Department and Luminary Labs to store and access submissions in perpetuity that may be reproduced, published, or distributed in the future. Please refer to INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (PI) OF SUBMISSIONS section for further information regarding rights to submissions.

Publicity Release

By participating in the Challenge, each entrant hereby irrevocably grants to the Department and Luminary Labs the right to use such entrant’s name, likeness, image, and biographical information in any and all media for advertising and promotional purposes relating to the Challenge in perpetuity and otherwise as stated in the SUBMISSION LICENSE section.

Disqualification

The Department reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any entrant who is found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Challenge, Challenge website, or other Challenge-related websites; to be acting in violation of the Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions; to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or with the intent to disrupt or undermine the legitimate operation of the Challenge; or to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person. The Department reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Links to Third-Party Websites

The Challenge website may contain links to third-party websites that are not owned or controlled by the Department or Luminary Labs. The Department and Luminary Labs do not endorse or assume any responsibility for any such third-party sites. If an entrant accesses a third-party website from the Challenge website, the entrant does so at the entrant’s own risk and expressly relieves the Department and/or Luminary Labs from any and all liability arising from use of any third-party website or its content.

Disclaimer

The Challenge website contains information and resources from public and private organizations, as well as insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders, to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform that may be useful to the reader. Inclusion of this information does not constitute an endorsement by the Department or Luminary Labs of any products, services, curriculum, pedagogy, or view expressed.

The Challenge website also contains hyperlinks and URLs created and maintained by outside organizations, which are provided for the reader’s convenience. The Department and Luminary Labs are not responsible for the accuracy of the information contained therein.

Notice to Challenge Entrants and Award Recipients

Attempts to notify entrants and award recipients will be made using the email address associated with the entrants’ submission. The Department and Luminary Labs are not responsible for email or other communication problems of any kind.

If, despite reasonable efforts, an entrant does not respond within three days of the first notification attempt regarding selection as an award recipient (or a shorter time as exigencies may require) or if the notification is returned as undeliverable to such entrant, that entrant may forfeit the entrant’s award and associated prizes, and an alternate award recipient may be selected.

If any potential award recipient is found to be ineligible, has not complied with the Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions, or declines the applicable prize for any reason prior to award, such potential award recipient will be disqualified. An alternate award recipient may be selected, or the applicable award may go unawarded.

Intellectual Property (IP) of Submissions

Entrants retain ownership of their submission, including any software, research, or other IP that they develop in connection therewith, subject to the license granted to the Department to use submissions as set forth herein.

Entrants retain all rights to the submission and any invention or work, including any software, submitted as part of the submission, subject to the following:

If the submission wins, the Department retains a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up world-wide license to any such invention or work of the submission throughout the world, in perpetuity, to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work for Federal purposes and authorize others to do so.

Please refer to SUBMISSION LICENSE section for further information regarding rights to submissions.

Dates/Deadlines

The Department reserves the right to modify any dates or deadlines set forth in the Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions or otherwise governing the Challenge.

Challenge Termination

The Department reserves the right to suspend, postpone, cease, terminate, or otherwise modify the Challenge, or any entrant’s participation in the Challenge, at any time at the Department’s discretion.

General Liability Release

By participating in the Challenge, each entrant hereby agrees that:

(a) The Department and Luminary Labs shall not be responsible or liable for any losses, damages, or injuries of any kind (including death) resulting from participation in the Challenge or any Challenge-related activity, or from entrants’ acceptance, receipt, possession, use, or misuse of any prize; and

(b) The entrant will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Department and Luminary Labs from and against all third-party claims, actions, or proceedings of any kind and from any and all damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses relating to, or arising from, the entrant’s participation in the Challenge.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Department and Luminary Labs are not responsible for incomplete, illegible, misdirected, misprinted, late, lost, postage-due, damaged, or stolen entries or prize notifications; or for lost, interrupted, inaccessible, or unavailable networks, servers, satellites, internet service providers, websites, or other connections; or for miscommunications, failed, jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected computer, telephone, cable transmissions or other communications; or for any technical malfunctions, failures, difficulties, or other errors of any kind or nature; or for the incorrect or inaccurate capture of information, or the failure to capture any information.

These Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions cannot be modified except by the Department at its sole and absolute discretion. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions shall otherwise remain in effect and shall be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained herein.

Exercise

The failure of the Department to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

Governing Law

All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of the Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with U.S. Federal law as applied in the Federal courts of the District of Columbia if a complaint is filed by any party against the Department, and the laws of the State of New York as applied in the New York state courts in New York City if a complaint is filed by any party against Luminary Labs.

Privacy Policy

By participating in the Challenge, each entrant hereby agrees that, occasionally, the Department and Luminary Labs may also use the entrant’s information to contact the entrant about Challenge and innovation related activities and acknowledges that the entrant has read and accepted the PRIVACY POLICY on the Challenge website.

Additional Terms That Are Part of the Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions

Please review the Luminary Lightbox™ Terms of Service for additional rules that apply to participation in the Challenge and more generally to use of the Challenge website. Such Terms of Service are incorporated by reference into these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions. If there is a conflict between the Terms of Service and these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions, the latter terms shall control with respect to this Challenge only.

Participation in the Challenge constitutes an entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions. By entering, an entrant agrees that all decisions related to the Challenge that are made pursuant to these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions are final and binding and that all such decisions are at the sole discretion of the Department and/or Luminary Labs.

Luminary Labs collects personal information from entrants to the Challenge. The information collected is subject to the PRIVACY POLICY located at Luminary Lightbox™ Terms of Service.

List of Winners/Official Rules/Contact

To obtain a list of winners (after the conclusion of the Challenge) or a copy of these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions, send a self-addressed envelope with the proper postage affixed to: Luminary Labs, 61 Broadway Suite 2800. New York, NY 10006. Please specify “Awards List” or “Official Rules” and the name of the specific Challenge in this request.

Please contact the individual listed in the CONTACT INFORMATION section should you have any comments or questions about these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions.

Access Information

Accessible Format

Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the submission package in an accessible format. e.g., braille, large print, or audio recording, on request by contacting the individual listed in the CONTACT INFORMATION section.

Electronic Access

The official version of these Official Rules, Terms, and Conditions is published on the Challenge website.

Privacy policy for the Challenge Website

Powered by Luminary Labs: The prize competitions hosted on the Challenge website are being managed by Luminary Labs under contract with the U.S. Department of Education (Contract Number: GS-07F-015AA and Order Number: 91990021A0018/91990021F0380).

Policy Updates

Luminary Labs may update this PRIVACY POLICY FOR THE CHALLENGE WEBSITE periodically. Please check for updates when accessing the Challenge website in the future. Contact us at [email protected] should you have any comments or questions about this PRIVACY POLICY FOR THE CHALLENGE WEBSITE.

Summary

Thank you for your interest in the Challenge. This PRIVACY POLICY FOR THE CHALLENGE WEBSITE details how information on the Challenge website is collected and used by Luminary Labs and the Department. By visiting this site, you are agreeing to the terms of this PRIVACY POLICY FOR THE CHALLENGE WEBSITE.

The website that hosts the Power Your Future Challenge (referred to as the “website,” “Challenge website,” or “site”) is organized and hosted by Luminary Labs. This is not a government website and the Department’s Privacy Policy does not apply to this site. For more information about the Department and the Department’s Privacy Policy, please visit www.ed.gov or view ED’s Privacy Policy.

The Challenge website and the services provided through this website are properties of Luminary Labs. Therefore, throughout this Privacy Policy the words “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Organizer” refer to Luminary Labs.

Any individual or team that submits a submission to the Challenge (“a competition”) will collectively be referred to as “you,” “team,” “your,” “your team,” or “entrant,” throughout this PRIVACY POLICY. All submission information and submissions, including team and submission details, shall be collectively referred to herein as the “submissions” or each as a “submission.”

Information Collected

The Department and Luminary Labs may collect personal information about site visitors in order to conduct the competitions. We will not collect personally identifiable information about you unless you choose to submit an entry for a competition. We do not give, share, sell, or transfer any personally identifiable information to a third party.

You will be asked to provide personally identifiable information (such as your name, email address, phone number, and professional affiliations) when making a submission to a competition. To enter a competition, you will also be required to submit non-personally identifiable information including, but not limited to, images representing your submission, and answers to specific questions posed on the submission form. All submitted information is used only for the expressed purposes for which it is intended and is not made available to any third party.

If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, our website’s operating system will automatically record some general information about your visit.

During your visit, our web operating system will record:

(a) The Internet domain for your Internet service, such as “xcompany.com” or “xcompany.net” if you use a private Internet access account, or “yourschool.edu” if you connect from a college or university domain.

(b) The type of browser (such as “Chrome version X” or “Internet Explorer version X”) that you are using.

(c) The type of operating system that you use (such as Macintosh, Linux, or Windows).

(d) The date and time you visit our site, and the web pages that you visit on our site.

(e) The address of the previous website you were visiting if you linked to us from another website.

(f) The city and state from which you are browsing.

We use this information for statistical analysis and to help us make our site more useful to visitors. This tracking system does not record information about individuals.

Use of Information

The Department and Luminary Labs may use your personally identifiable information for the purposes of conducting the competitions and communicating with you about the competitions. The Department and Luminary Labs will not share with other external entities information submitted to or collected by the Department and Luminary Labs, except with the review panel for the purposes of evaluating submissions and selecting competition winners. When the winners have been selected, the Department and Luminary Labs will share the school names of the entrants as disclosed by these entrants in the submission form. No other entrants’ personally identifiable information (PII) will be shared with the public.

The Department will not share with other external entities information submitted to or collected by the Department or by Luminary Labs, except for with partners participating in the competitions, and publicizing the winning submissions. When the winners have been selected, the Department will share the winners’ school names, cities, and states with the public. No other contestants’ PII will be shared with the public.

Third-Party Sharing Resulting from Legal Processes

As required by law, the Department and Luminary Labs may share your information when legally compelled to do so. This may include to government entities or to third parties in response to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal processes. The Department and Luminary Labs may also disclose personally identifiable information in order to protect and defend our legal rights or defend against legal claims that have been or may be brought against us. Additionally, the Department and Luminary Labs may share this information in order to protect the rights, property, or safety of you or another person. In this instance, we may share your personally identifiable information with law enforcement or another entity we feel, in our judgment, may be able to protect you or the other person. Finally, should the Department or Luminary Labs reasonably feel than any activities are unlawful, we will report these activities to law enforcement.

Security of Your Information

Luminary Labs takes appropriate measures to secure and protect the privacy of your information. All information will be housed on the secure servers of Luminary Labs’ data storage provider. These servers are protected with generally available security technologies, including firewalls and data encryption. As a contractor to the Department, Luminary Labs will share information with the Department. All such information will be housed on secured government systems that comply with Federal information management policies.

Cookies

When you visit any website, its server may generate a piece of text known as a “cookie” to place on your computer. Placing cookie text allows websites to “remember” visitors’ preferences, surfing patterns, and behavior while they are connected.

The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of Web pages. Cookies from the competition website only collect information about your browser’s visit to the site; they do not collect any personal information about you.

There are two types of cookies, single session (temporary) and multi-session (persistent). Session cookies last only as long as your Web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.

Session Cookies: We use session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through our site. These cookies let our server know that you are continuing a visit to our site.

Persistent Cookies: We use persistent cookies to enable Google Analytics to differentiate between new and returning visitors to our site. A Google Analytics (a third-party analytics provider) persistent cookie remains on your computer between visits to the competition website for six months. Knowing if a user visited the competition website within the past six months tells us the difference between visitors and “unique visitors” or those who visit our website more than once during this time period. This is an industry standard and provides high-level information on the breadth of traffic to and content usage of our given digital services. It is a powerful, invaluable metric because it’s the only measure that accurately calculates how many individual users visited the competition website in a given time. Combined with total visits, it tells a more comprehensive story about users and their visit patterns.

If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies stored on your machine, you can opt out or disable cookies in your browser. You will still have access to all information and resources on the competition website. However, turning off cookies may affect the functioning of some features of the site. Be aware that disabling cookies in your browser will affect cookie usage at all other websites you visit as well.

The Department and Luminary Labs use a third-party analytics provider (Google Analytics) to analyze the data collected through the session and persistent metrics cookies. The third-party analytics provider does not receive personally identifiable information through these cookies and does not combine, match, or cross-reference site information with any other information. Please review the third-party analytics provider’s PRIVACY POLICY for additional information.

Luminary Labs does not share the cookies, nor do we use cookies to track your behavior on other sites. Luminary Labs does not access or store the raw information collected through these cookies. We do view aggregate statistical analyses through Google Analytics, but these analyses do not include any personally identifiable information. We do not sell, rent, exchange, or otherwise disclose these analyses to persons or organizations other than the Department, with whom we may share the results of certain Google Analytics analyses for the purposes of improving the site and our service.

Links

This PRIVACY POLICY pertains to information on the Challenge website. If you follow a link to another website, you will not be bound by this PRIVACY POLICY while visiting that site, but by the policy of the site you will be visiting. These other sites may send their own cookies to users, collect data, or solicit personal information.

Children

The Challenge website is not directed at children. The Department and Luminary Labs do not knowingly collect any information from individuals under the age of 13. Additionally, you must be 18 years of age or older to enter the Challenge.