Terms of Use

By accessing or using the US Education Data Initiative at mahadevmaitri.org/us (the "Site"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use (the "Terms"). If you do not agree to all of these Terms, you must not use the Site.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Mahadev Maitri Foundation ("Foundation," "we," "us," or "our"), a non-profit organisation incorporated in India (CIN: U85211HR2024NPL119316).

If you are using the Site on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation to these Terms.

The Site is a free, public-interest educational data resource. It provides:

• Searchable profiles for 98,000+ US public K-12 schools, sourced from NCES Common Core of Data and EDFacts.
• Profiles for 4,200+ US colleges and universities, sourced from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System).
• District and state-level education statistics.
• Side-by-side comparison tools for schools, districts, states, and colleges.
• Neighbourhood economic outcome data from the Opportunity Atlas.

The Site is provided free of charge with no account creation required. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Site at any time without notice.

All data displayed on the Site is derived from publicly available US federal government datasets. Specifically:

• NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) — school directory, enrollment, and finance data.
• EDFacts — graduation rates and academic outcome data.
• IPEDS — college enrollment, costs, completion rates, and outcomes.
• Opportunity Atlas (Opportunity Insights, Harvard University / US Census Bureau) — economic mobility data.

While we strive to display data accurately as published by these sources, we make no representations or warranties regarding the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability of any data on the Site. Federal datasets are updated periodically; data on the Site may not reflect the most recent academic year. Data is typically from the 2023–24 school year or the most recent available release.

You acknowledge that:

• Individual school or college circumstances may differ from what federal data shows.
• School rankings, scores, and metrics are derived calculations and should not be treated as definitive assessments of educational quality.
• Data errors, omissions, or delays in federal source datasets will be reflected on the Site.
• The Site does not audit, verify, or supplement federal data with proprietary research.

The Site does not provide educational, financial, legal, or any other professional advice.

Nothing on the Site should be relied upon as the sole basis for any decision regarding:

• School enrolment, transfers, or residential decisions.
• College application, admission, or attendance decisions.
• Educational investment or financial planning.
• Property purchase or rental decisions based on school data.
• Any other decision of personal, financial, or legal significance.

Always consult directly with schools, colleges, licensed educational consultants, financial advisers, or other qualified professionals before making consequential decisions. The Foundation is not liable for decisions made in reliance on Site data.

5.1 Foundation property

The Site's design, layout, code, branding, logo, written content (excluding federal data), and user-facing tools (search, comparison engine, scoring methodology) are the intellectual property of Mahadev Maitri Foundation and are protected by applicable copyright and intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from these elements without our written permission.

5.2 Federal data

Data sourced from US federal agencies (NCES, IPEDS, EDFacts, Opportunity Atlas) is in the public domain under US law. You are free to use raw federal data subject to those agencies' terms. Our aggregation, formatting, scoring, and presentation of that data remains our intellectual property.

5.3 Fair use

Journalists, researchers, and educators may quote limited data from the Site with attribution to "Mahadev Maitri Foundation, mahadevmaitri.org/us (data: [source agency])."

You may use the Site to:

• Research schools, colleges, and educational statistics for personal, academic, or journalistic purposes.
• Share links to Site pages.
• Embed factual data from the Site in non-commercial publications with attribution.
• Use the comparison tools to make informed educational decisions.

You agree not to:

• Scrape, crawl, or systematically download Site data in bulk without our written permission.
• Use automated bots, scripts, or tools that impose unreasonable load on our servers.
• Attempt to access administrative interfaces, databases, or non-public portions of the Site.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or extract our proprietary algorithms, scoring methodology, or source code.
• Use Site data to harass, defame, or harm any school, educational institution, or individual.
• Republish or resell Site data as a standalone commercial product.
• Remove or obscure any attribution, copyright, or source citation.
• Use the Site in any manner that violates applicable local, state, national, or international law.
• Introduce malware, viruses, or any other harmful code.
• Impersonate the Foundation or misrepresent your affiliation with us.

Violation of these prohibitions may result in termination of your access and, where appropriate, legal action.

The Site links to external websites including US federal data sources, college official websites, and other educational resources. These links are provided for convenience only. We do not control and are not responsible for the content, accuracy, privacy practices, or availability of any third-party website.

Our display of a college or school's name, logo, or data does not constitute an endorsement, partnership, or affiliation with that institution. All institutional names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.

The Site may display advertisements served by Google Ads. Advertisements are clearly labelled. The Foundation does not endorse products or services advertised on the Site. The content of advertisements is determined by Google's ad systems based on page context and (where consent is given) user interest signals. We are not responsible for advertiser claims.

No school ranking, data point, or placement on the Site is influenced by advertising relationships. Advertisers cannot pay for preferential data treatment, higher rankings, or positive editorial coverage.

THE SITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, or uninterrupted availability.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE FOUNDATION, ITS TRUSTEES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND VOLUNTEERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

• Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages.
• Loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunities.
• Decisions made in reliance on data displayed on the Site.
• Errors, inaccuracies, or omissions in federal source data.
• Temporary or permanent unavailability of the Site.
• Unauthorised access to or alteration of your data by third parties.

In jurisdictions that do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or limitation of liability, our liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Foundation and its trustees, officers, employees, and volunteers from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Site; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any third-party rights; or (d) any content you submit to us.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Site at any time and for any reason, including if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, without notice and without liability to you.

Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, and 13 — will continue to apply after any termination.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Haryana, India without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the Site shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Gurgaon, Haryana, India.

Notwithstanding the above, users in the United States acknowledge that access to and use of this Site, including all data tools, is subject to US federal and applicable state law where those laws impose non-waivable obligations. Nothing in this clause limits rights you may have under the laws of your jurisdiction.

Before initiating any formal dispute, we encourage you to contact us at Director@MahadevMaitri.Org so we can attempt to resolve the matter informally.

We may revise these Terms at any time by updating this page. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects when changes were made. Your continued use of the Site after any revision constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.

For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to provide advance notice, such as a notice on the Site homepage for a period prior to the change taking effect.

Questions about these Terms may be directed to: