Peregrine Terms of Service

PEREGRINE LEARNING LLC Terms of Service Peregrine Tutoring Marketplace 1. Introduction and Acceptance These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern access to and use of the Peregrine online tutoring marketplace ("Peregrine," "the Platform"), operated by Peregrine Learning LLC, a California limited liability company ("Company," "we," "us"). By creating an account and checking the box indicating your agreement, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. If you add a Student to your account, you also accept these Terms on the Student's behalf. Section 14 requires individual arbitration of most disputes and waives class actions. 2. What Peregrine Is Peregrine is an internet-based referral agency connecting independent tutors with parents, independent learners, and students seeking academic tutoring ("Clients"). Peregrine is not a party to, and does not directly or indirectly engage in, the provision of any tutoring services. Any engagement of a tutor's services, including the manner, content, and conduct of instruction, is undertaken exclusively between the tutor and the Client who books that tutor. Each tutor delivers services under the tutor's own name, using the tutor's own curriculum, teaching methods, equipment, and supplies. Peregrine is not a school, a licensed educational institution, or a provider of tutoring, specialized educational therapy, or clinical intervention services. Peregrine tutors are not required to hold special-education credentials. If your child has a diagnosed learning disability or requires specialized intervention, tutoring arranged through Peregrine may be a helpful supplement but is not a substitute for licensed specialized services. 2A. Peregrine's Role Peregrine's role is limited to: identity verification and background screening of prospective tutors; providing a platform for tutor discovery, scheduling, messaging, and payment administration; and providing administrative and technology services ancillary to the independent tutoring relationship between each tutor and their Client. Peregrine does not select, assign, direct, or supervise the manner in which any tutor provides instruction, and does not guarantee the quality, outcome, or continuation of any tutoring relationship. 3. Accounts 3.1 Account Types. Peregrine supports three account types: (a) Independent Learner accounts, for adults eighteen (18) years of age or older booking and paying for their own tutoring; (b) Parent/Guardian accounts, through which a parent or legal guardian manages booking, payment, and access on behalf of one or more dependent Students; and (c) Tutor accounts, subject to the verification process described in Section 4. 3.2 Minors. Students access the Platform only through a parent or guardian's account, using a PIN set by that parent or guardian. Students do not create independent logins. Before a Student under thirteen (13) uses Student Mode, the parent or guardian must complete the notice and consent process described in our Privacy Policy. A parent or guardian may observe any session involving their Student, and we encourage parents of Students under thirteen (13) to be present or within earshot during sessions. Independent Learner accounts require confirmation that the account holder is at least eighteen (18) years of age. 3.3 Consent. By creating an account, each user affirms that they have read and agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy and that the information they provide is accurate. Parents and guardians affirm that they hold legal authority to consent on behalf of any Student added to their account. 4. Tutors 4.1 Application and Verification. Prospective tutors must complete identity verification, a live interview, a standalone disclosure and authorization under the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA"), execution of the Tutor Agreement, and a criminal and sex-offender background screening before any tutor profile becomes visible or bookable on the Platform. Tutors must also connect a Google Calendar for scheduling purposes, complete a short orientation on the Platform's tools and child-safety rules (orientation does not cover teaching content or methods), and complete Stripe Connect account setup before their profile becomes visible or bookable on the Platform. As part of the application, a tutor must certify that they hold any business license, business tax registration, or professional license, permit, certification, or registration that their local jurisdiction or the State requires for independent tutoring work, and must describe their current or prior independent tutoring or teaching business. A tutor who lacks a required license or registration will not be activated until they obtain it. The Company keeps these certifications for at least three (3) years. 4.2 Independent Contractor Status. Tutors are independent contractors, not employees, agents, or partners of the Company. Tutors control the manner and means by which they provide tutoring services, subject only to the child-safety and conduct standards described in these Terms and the Tutor Agreement. Each tutor: (a) delivers services under the tutor's own name and not under the Company's name; (b) provides their own equipment, internet connection, curriculum, and supplies; (c) sets their own availability, hours, and session offerings; (d) sets their own rates, without deduction by the Company; (e) is free to accept or decline any Client, booking request, or subject without penalty of any kind, including reduced visibility or ranking on the Platform; and (f) is free to maintain their own clientele and to offer tutoring elsewhere, including through competing platforms. 4.3 Pricing. Each tutor sets their own hourly rate for each subject taught. A tutor may adjust their rate at any time; changes apply to future bookings only and do not affect the price of sessions already booked. 4.4 Service Fee. In addition to the tutor's rate, the Company charges the booking user a service fee, shown separately at checkout before payment. The tutor receives the full rate the tutor set, and the Company does not deduct its fee from that rate. 4.5 Availability. Tutors set their own availability and hours. 4.6 Conduct Standards. Tutors agree to communicate with students and families they meet through the Platform solely through the Platform, to conduct themselves professionally at all times, and to comply with the Tutor Agreement, including its Child Safety Standards. Repeated or serious violations may result in suspension or removal from the Platform. Conduct posing a safety concern may result in immediate suspension without prior warning. 5. Booking and Payment 5.1 Session Length. Each booked session includes 50 minutes of instruction and a 10-minute buffer at the end, allowing tutors time to prepare for their next session. A booking reserves the full calendar time slot (e.g. a "1-hour" booking reserves 60 minutes) and is billed at the full hourly rate; the buffer is part of that reserved time, not an additional charge. 5.2 Individual Sessions. Users may book and pay for individual sessions at any time without any obligation to purchase a multi-session package. 5.2A Who You Are Buying From. Tutoring sessions and packages are purchased from the tutor, not from the Company. The Company collects payment as the tutor's limited payment collection agent, and payment to the Company satisfies the Client's payment obligation to the tutor for that session or package. 5.3 Session Packages. A tutor may choose to offer optional prepaid packages of four (4), eight (8), or thirty (30) sessions at a package discount the tutor sets. A package's terms are fixed as of the date of purchase. 5.4 Package Expiration. Each package expires a fixed period following the date of purchase, as disclosed at the time of purchase. When a package expires, the package discount ends, and the unused balance (the amount paid for the unused sessions) converts to account credit that does not expire and may be used at any tutor's then-current rate. 5.5 Refunds. A package is eligible for a full refund only where (a) no sessions from that package have been used, and (b) the request is made within fourteen (14) days of purchase. Following the use of any session, or after the fourteen-day period, the remaining package balance is non-refundable except at the Company's discretion or as required by law. If a tutor leaves or is removed from the Platform, you may apply the remaining balance to another tutor under Section 5.6 or receive a refund of the unused balance. Any discretionary refund is funded by the Company and does not reduce amounts owed to a tutor for completed sessions. 5.6 Tutor Changes on an Active Package. A user may request that the remaining balance of an active package be applied to a different tutor. The remaining dollar value of the original package will be converted into a new number of sessions at the newly selected tutor's then-current rate; any resulting fractional value will be credited to the account for future use. 5.7 Cancellations. Each tutor sets their own cancellation window, shown on the tutor's listing and at booking. Where a tutor has not set one, a session cancelled with twenty-four (24) hours' or more notice is fully refunded or restored to the applicable package. A session cancelled with less notice than the applicable window is forfeited without refund, and the tutor is paid for that session. A session cancelled by the tutor is refunded or restored in full regardless of notice. 5.8 Non-Attendance. If a tutor fails to attend a scheduled session, the family is fully refunded or restored. If a family fails to attend a session the tutor attended, the session is forfeited without refund, and the tutor is paid for that session. 6. Background Screening Prospective tutors authorize the Company to obtain a consumer report through its screening provider, as further described in the standalone FCRA Disclosure and Authorization each tutor separately executes. The Company does not itself collect or retain Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other sensitive identity information submitted as part of that process. The screening consists of a national criminal records database search, a sex-offender registry search, a Social Security number trace, and a global watchlist search, run through a third-party consumer reporting agency. It does not include a fingerprint-based search of state (California Department of Justice) or federal (FBI) criminal history records. The Company reviews results against written eligibility criteria covering offenses involving violence, sexual misconduct, crimes against children, and controlled substances, and tutors are re-screened annually. No screening can identify every risk, and parents and guardians remain responsible for supervising their Students. Adverse eligibility decisions based on a background report follow the notice and waiting-period procedures required under the FCRA and applicable California law, administered in part through our screening provider's compliance tools, as further described in the standalone FCRA Disclosure and Authorization. 7. Platform Communication 7.1 In-Platform Only. All communication between tutors and families or Students they meet through the Platform regarding tutoring must occur through the Platform. Tutors may not contact a Student outside the Platform by phone, text, email, social media, gaming or messaging apps, or in person, for any reason. A family that wishes to continue with a tutor outside the Platform may do so only after completing the Platform's off-platform transfer process, which includes a transfer fee paid by the family; after the transfer, the Platform's screening, communication, and safety features no longer apply to that relationship. This Section does not restrict a tutor's relationships with clients the tutor did not meet through the Platform. 7.2 No Recording. The Company does not record video or audio of tutoring sessions at this time. No one may record, transcribe, photograph, or screenshot a session, or use an AI notetaker or similar tool on a session. If the Company ever offers recording, it will do so only with prior notice and the advance written consent of every participant or, for a Student, the Student's parent or guardian. 7.3 Reporting. Any user may report a concern regarding a tutor, student, or session at any time through the Platform's reporting feature. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 first. 8. Reviews Following a completed session, parents or independent learners may submit a rating and optional written review of the tutor, and students may submit a simple session reaction. Reviews and reactions are displayed on the tutor's public profile as separate signals and are not combined into a single score. Student reactions are displayed without the Student's name. By submitting a review, you grant the Company a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to display it on the Platform. The Company does not remove reviews because they are negative, but may remove reviews that are unlawful, abusive, or disclose personal information. 9. Prohibited Conduct Users may not misrepresent their identity, attempt to circumvent identity verification or background screening, solicit contact outside the Platform, record a session in violation of Section 7.2, harass or endanger another user, or use the Platform for any unlawful purpose. 9A. Content and Student Work Students, through their parents or guardians, own the work Students create. Tutors own the lesson plans and materials they create. Each user grants the Company a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, and transmit content the user uploads, solely to operate the Platform. 10. Limitation of Liability The Platform facilitates connections between independent tutors and families. The Company does not employ tutors as staff and, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, is not liable for the conduct of any tutor, student, or parent. The Company's total liability arising from use of the Platform is limited to the greater of (a) the amount paid by the user to the Company in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim or (b) one hundred dollars ($100). THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," AND THE COMPANY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. The Company does not guarantee any academic result. Nothing in these Terms limits the Company's liability for its own fraud, gross negligence, or willful misconduct, for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or for any liability that cannot be limited under applicable law. 11. Termination The Company may suspend or terminate any account for violation of these Terms, including immediately where a safety concern is identified. 12. Governing Law These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles, except that Section 14 is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. 13. Amendment The Company may update these Terms from time to time. The Company will notify you of material changes by email or in-Platform notice at least thirty (30) days before they take effect, and you must accept material changes before your next booking. Changes do not apply to disputes that arose before the change took effect. Non-material changes take effect when posted. 14. Dispute Resolution 14.1 Informal Resolution. Before filing a claim, you and the Company agree to try to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days after written notice to the other. 14.2 Arbitration. Any dispute arising out of these Terms or the Platform will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court. The Company will pay all arbitration fees beyond the filing fee you would pay in court. This Section applies to claims a parent or guardian brings on their own behalf and, to the extent permitted by law, on behalf of a Student. 14.3 Class Action Waiver. Claims may be brought only in an individual capacity, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding. Nothing in this Section waives your right to seek public injunctive relief in court; any such claim will be stayed until arbitration of the individual claims is complete. 14.4 Opt-Out. You may opt out of this Section 14 by emailing michael@peregrine-learning.com within thirty (30) days after first accepting these Terms. Opting out does not affect the rest of these Terms. 15. Contact Peregrine Learning LLC, registered-agent address on file with the California Secretary of State, michael@peregrine-learning.com.