Privacy Policy


The Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS) values and respects your privacy. This policy governs The Accreditation Portal Application (Application) available through https://portal.fcis.org/ By using the Application, you are deemed to have consented to the practices described in this policy.

User Registration

The Application obtains the information you provide when you register at the Accreditation Portal. In order to use the Application, registration is required.

Types of Information Collected

FCIS collects and maintains the information provided by you in the Application. Some of this information collected may be personally identifiable information, such the name and email address of the registered use. This information is used solely for purposes of the accreditation process.

Use of Information & Information Sharing

FCIS uses the information collected solely for purposes of the accreditation process. Any data collected will be stored on a secure server.

As part of the application process, FCIS may share the Application data with one or more of four accreditation associations: Cognia, Southern association of Independent School(SAIS), Association of Christian Schools international (ACSI). Cognia, SAIS, and ACSI will use the information in the Application for their own accreditation processes.

FCIS will not share your information without your permission, except as provided above or if you consent to share your information to a third party service provider working on FCIS’ behalf.

FCIS will also disclose your information, if required to do so by law, or in urgent circumstances, such as, but not limited to, the protection of FCIS’ rights or property. FCIS will not trade, sell, rent, lease, or otherwise share your information to anyone, or let anyone use it except if you have authorized its use.

FCIS contracts with Amazon Web Services as a website host provider. FCIS stores your information on Amazon's secure servers. This information is stored indefinitely.

Use of Cookies

The Application uses session-based cookies—small files placed on your hard drive for identification purposes—to store login information. Although a cookie file can contain information such as a user ID to track the pages visited, the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply. Cookies cannot read information from your hard drive. They will also not run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.

Online Tracking

Some browsers incorporate a Do Not Track feature that signals to websites you visit that you do not want to have your online activity tracked. Tracking is not the same as using or collecting information in connection with a single website. For these purposes tracking refers to collecting personally identifiable information from consumers who use or visit a website or online service as they move across different websites over time. How browsers communicate the Do Not Track signal is not yet uniform. As a result this Site may not be set up to interpret or respond to Do Not Track signals communicated by your browser. As described more fully throughout this Privacy Policy, we limit our use and collection of your personal information. For a description of Do Not Track protocols for browsers and mobile devices, or simply to learn more about the choices available to You, You can visit the All About Do Not Track website: http://allaboutdnt.com.

Protecting the Privacy of Children

Children (individuals 18 years old) are not the target audience for our Application.

Internet Security

FCIS is concerned about safeguarding the confidentiality of your information and provides safeguards to protection information we process and maintain. However, we urge you to take every precaution to protect your data when you are on the Internet as no security system can prevent all potential security breaches. Please take proactive steps to secure your personal data, such as frequently changing your passwords.

Links to Third Party Sites

FCIS application may contain links to other sites, including links to SAIS, Cognia, and ACSI websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. FCIS encourages you to learn about the privacy practices and policies of those companies.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

FCIS reserves the right to change, modify or update this policy at any time without notice. FCIS will post a prominent notice on the Application to notify you of any material changes.

Contact Information

FCIS welcomes your comments regarding its privacy policy. If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, contact Cindy Addison at caddison@fcis.org.