DEAR VENDOR: Just because many software users (including school district officials) half-heartedly skim the terms of service before checking the box does not mean you can be lax with these policies. If you do so, you may invite the scorn of Bill Fitzgerald, a former teacher and school technology director who recently took a look at Digedu's terms and privacy policies and explains why they are "just about the worst I have ever seen." Despite the scolding, he offers one plausible explanation: "an organizational disconnect between their legal team and the education and engineering teams." After all, resource-strapped startups tend to focus on product, engineering and marketing--not lawyers.
