Terms of Service

Introduction

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of languageresearchlab.in, the Joyful English program, and any related portals, dashboards or tools operated by Language Research Lab ("LRL", "we", "us", "our"). By visiting our site, registering for a portal, or otherwise using our services, you agree to these Terms.

If you are accessing our services on behalf of a school, organisation or other entity, you confirm you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms.

Who Can Use This Site

Our public website is intended for teachers, school administrators, researchers, donors and partner organisations. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly allow children to create accounts or interact with the site directly.

Access to classroom reading-assessment tools is provided exclusively through participating schools, under agreements between LRL and the school. Students do not register for or directly access our systems themselves.

Section 5 below describes how student data reaches us through the school and how we handle it once it does.

Portal & Account Use

Where your school registers you for the CALA or dashboard portals, you're responsible for:

• Keeping your login credentials confidential and not sharing your account with others.
• Using the portal only for purposes related to the Joyful English program and your role at your school.
• Notifying us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

We may suspend or limit portal access where we reasonably believe an account is being misused, or where a school's participation in the program has ended.

Reading Assessment Tools

Our reading assessment tool records short audio or video clips of students reading aloud, uploaded and processed as described in our Privacy Policy. Because this may involve personal data of children under 18, we handle it as follows. By using this tool on behalf of a school, you confirm that:

• The school has obtained verifiable parental or guardian consent before any student is recorded, following its own consent process, before any recording is uploaded to our systems.
• The tool will be used only for its intended purpose — tracking literacy progress against the LSRW framework — and not for unrelated monitoring or disciplinary purposes.
• Recordings will not be downloaded, shared, or repurposed outside the assessment pipeline without LRL's involvement.

Recordings are retained for as long as necessary to support the school's participation in the program, or until the school or a parent/guardian requests earlier deletion. See Section 5 for how we handle children's data specifically.

Children's Data

We do not knowingly collect personal data directly from children, and children never interact with our site, portals, or accounts. Where our reading-assessment tools process a child's voice or video recording under Section 4, we do so as a data processor acting on the school's instructions and consent record, in line with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. This means:

• We do not use children's data for tracking, behavioural monitoring, or targeted advertising, regardless of any consent given.
• We limit processing to what's necessary for the literacy-assessment purpose described in Section 4.
• We support the school's ability to withdraw consent or request deletion of a student's recordings at any time.

If you believe a child's data has been provided to us without appropriate consent, contact us immediately using the details in Section 19, and we will suspend processing of that data pending review.

Acceptable Use

When using our site or portals, you agree not to:

• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any account, system, or data that isn't yours.
• Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the site, portals, or underlying infrastructure.
• Upload or transmit content that is unlawful, infringing, or that you don't have the right to share.
• Use automated means (scraping, bots, etc.) to extract data from the site beyond normal browsing.
• Misrepresent your affiliation with a school, donor organisation, or LRL itself.

We may suspend access for anyone who violates this section.

Donations & Payments

Donations made through our site are processed by Razorpay, a third-party payment processor, under Razorpay's own terms and privacy policy. We do not directly collect or store your card, UPI or bank details.

Donations are generally non-refundable except where required by law or at our discretion in cases of clear error (for example, an accidental duplicate payment). To request a review of a donation, contact us using the details in Section 19.

Where applicable, donation receipts will be issued in accordance with our status as a registered non-profit.

Intellectual Property

The content on this site — including text, research materials, pedagogy toolkits, branding and design — is owned by LRL or our licensors, unless otherwise stated. You may view and use materials we make available (such as toolkits) for their intended educational purpose, but may not reproduce, redistribute, or use them commercially without our written permission.

Feedback, suggestions, or ideas you share with us about our programs or tools may be used by LRL without obligation to you, unless we agree otherwise in writing.

Third-Party Services & Links

Our site and services rely on third-party providers, including Razorpay (payments), Cloudflare (hosting and storage), and Microsoft Azure (transcription). We are not responsible for the availability or practices of these providers beyond our contractual relationship with them.

Our site may also link to external websites, such as partner organisations. We don't control and aren't responsible for the content or practices of sites we don't operate.

Disclaimers

Our site, portals and tools are provided "as is" and "as available." While we work to keep them accurate, secure and available, we don't guarantee that they will be uninterrupted, error-free, or fit for every particular purpose. Assessment data and research outputs are provided to support — not replace — a teacher's or school's own professional judgment.

Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law, LRL will not be liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of our site or services. Nothing in these Terms is intended to limit liability in ways not permitted under Indian law, including for fraud or gross negligence.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold LRL harmless from claims arising out of your misuse of our site or services, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of a third party, to the extent such claims result from your own actions.

Suspension & Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to our portals or tools if we reasonably believe you've violated these Terms, or where a school's participation in the Joyful English program ends. You may stop using our site or ask us to close your portal account at any time by contacting us.

Dispute Resolution

Before initiating formal legal proceedings, both parties agree to first attempt to resolve any dispute arising from these Terms through good-faith discussion, and — if that fails — mediation, before proceeding to the courts described in Section 15. This does not apply to claims for injunctive relief, or where a party reasonably believes a delay would cause irreparable harm.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of our services will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts having authority over Puducherry, India, unless otherwise required by applicable law.

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable or invalid under applicable law, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Governing Language

These Terms are drafted in English. Any translation provided for convenience is not authoritative; the English version governs in the event of any conflict.

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time as our programs and tools evolve. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of our site or services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, reach out to us: