Code of Conduct

ATPE Online Community Code of Conduct and Guidelines

Acceptance of the Guidelines for Use and Community Code of Conduct

These Guidelines for Use and Community Code of Conduct are entered into between the Association for Texas Professional Educators (“ATPE,” “we,” or “us”) and you, a member of ATPE (“you”). The following terms, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, “Guidelines for Use”) govern your access to and use of the ATPE Online Community via https://community.atpe.org/home/memberhome, including any content, functionality, and services offered on or through https://community.atpe.org/home/memberhome (the "Online Community"), whether as a guest or a registered user.

The Online Community offers members across the state a space to connect, share experiences, and expand their professional learning community. Please read the Guidelines for Use carefully before you start to use the Online Community. By using the Online Community, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Guidelines for Use and our Privacy Policy via https://www.atpe.org/Privacy, incorporated herein by reference. If you do not want to agree to these Guidelines for Use or the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the. For any questions regarding the Online Community, please contact ATPE.

This Online Community is offered and available to users who are 18 years of age or older and reside in the United States or any of its territories or possessions. By using this Online Community, you represent and warrant that you are of legal age to form a binding contract with ATPE and meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements. If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use the Online Community.

Changes to the Guidelines of Use and Online Community

We may revise and update these Guidelines for Use and/or the Online Community from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and apply to all access to and use of the Online Community thereafter.

Your continued use of the Online Community following the posting of revised Guidelines for Use and/or modified Online Community means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check this page from time to time so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you.

Accessing the Online Community and Account Security

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend this Online Community, and any service or material we provide on the Online Community, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Online Community is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Online Community, or the entire Online Community, to users, including registered users.

You are responsible for both:

  • Making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Online Community.
  • Ensuring that all persons who access the Online Community through your internet connection are aware of these Guidelines of Use and comply with them.

To access the Online Community or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Online Community that all the information you provide on the Online Community is correct, current, and complete. You agree that all information you provide to register with this Online Community or otherwise, including, but not limited to, through the use of any interactive features on the Online Community, is governed by our Privacy Policy, and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Online Community and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are owned by ATPE, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.

You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any of the material on our Online Community. No right, title, or interest in or to the Online Community or any content on the Online Community is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by ATPE. Any use of the Online Community not expressly permitted by these Guidelines for Use is a breach of these Guidelines for Use and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.

Trademarks

The ATPE name, the ATPE logo, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans are trademarks of ATPE or its affiliates or licensors. You must not use such marks without the prior written permission of ATPE. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans on this Online Community are the trademarks of their respective owners.

User Contributions

The Online Community may contain message boards, chat rooms, personal web pages or profiles, forums, and other interactive features (collectively, “Interactive Services”) that allow users to post, submit, publish, display, or transmit to other users or other persons (hereinafter, “post”) content or materials (collectively, “User Contributions”) on or through the Online Community.

All User Contributions must comply with the Content Standards set out in these Guidelines of Use.

Any User Contribution you post to the site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. By providing any User Contribution on the Online Community, you grant us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns the right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute, and otherwise disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose.

You represent and warrant that:

  • You own or control all rights in and to the User Contributions and have the right to grant the license granted above to us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns.
  • All of your User Contributions do and will comply with these Guidelines.

You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not ATPE, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness.

We are not responsible or liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Online Community.

Content Standards

These content standards apply to any and all User Contributions and use of Interactive Services. User Contributions must in their entirety comply with all applicable federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations. Without limiting the foregoing, User Contributions must not:

  • Contain any material that is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable.
  • Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
  • Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person.
  • Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Guidelines of Use and our Privacy Policy.
  • Be likely to deceive any person.
  • Promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote, or assist any unlawful act.
  • Cause annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, embarrass, alarm, or annoy any other person.
  • Impersonate any person, or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.
  • Involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, and other sales promotions, barter, or advertising.
  • Give the impression that they emanate from or are endorsed by us or any other person or entity, if this is not the case.

All User Contributions must:

  • State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
  • Send messages such as "thanks for the information" or "me, too" to individuals, not to the entire list. Do this by using the "Reply to Sender" link in every message.

Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the list,” to the group. Instead, use the Online Community interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list.

Monitoring and Enforcement; Termination

We have the right to:

  • Remove or refuse to post any User Contributions for any or no reason in our sole discretion.
  • Take any action with respect to any User Contribution that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such User Contribution violates the Guidelines of Use, including the Content Standards, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Online Community or the public, or could create liability for ATPE.
  • Disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy.
  • Take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Online Community.
  • Terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Online Community for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of these Guidelines of Use.

Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to cooperate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Online Community. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS ATPE AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSEES, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING, OR TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER SUCH PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

However, we cannot review all material before it is posted on the Online Community, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications, or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.

ATPE Member Legal Services Department

The Online Community is not a means for eligible members to request assistance from the ATPE Member Legal Services Department. All requests for assistance from the ATPE Member Legal Services Department should be made through the ATPE Member Legal Services Intake System (MLSIS) or by phone at (800) 777-2873 during business hours. Visit atpe.org/protection for information about eligibility for these member benefits.

Users should refrain from sharing information on the Online Community that deals with an employment-related legal concern about which you have contacted the ATPE Member Legal Services Department. Sharing details about a legal matter that involves you could jeopardize your attorney-client privilege. Similarly, ATPE cannot prevent your posts on the ATPE Online Community from being viewed and disclosed by other authorized users of the community, which could have an adverse impact on your legal situation.

Legal Disclaimers, Indemnification, and Limitation of Liability

The information presented on or through the Online Community is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Online Community, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

This Online Community may include content provided by third parties, including materials provided by other users and third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators, and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by ATPE, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of ATPE. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties.

YOUR USE OF THE ONLINE COMMUNITY, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE ONLINE COMMUNITY IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE ONLINE COMMUNITY, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE ONLINE COMMUNITY ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER ATPE NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH ATPE MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE ONLINE COMMUNITY. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER ATPE NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH ATPE REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE ONLINE COMMUNITY, ITS CONTENT, OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE, OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT THE ONLINE COMMUNITY OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE ONLINE COMMUNITY WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, ATPE HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL ATPE, ITS AFFILIATES, OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE ONLINE COMMUNITY, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE ONLINE COMMUNITY OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED

BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ATPE, its affiliates, licensors, and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Guidelines of Use or your use of the Online Community, including, but not limited to, your User Contributions, any use of the Online Community’s content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Guidelines of Use, or your use of any information obtained from the Online Community.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

All matters relating to the Online Community and these Guidelines of Use, and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto (in each case, including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Texas without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of Texas or any other jurisdiction).

Any legal suit, action, or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Guidelines of Use or the Online Community shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the State of Texas, in each case located in the City of Austin and County of Travis. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts.

Your Comments and Concerns

All feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other communications relating to the Online Community should be directed to: comm@atpe.org.

Date of Publication: December 9, 2025