Terms of Service

Last updated: June 2026  ·  Effective immediately

Plain English summary: Learnest connects K–8 students with high school tutors. We verify tutors, facilitate matches, and host your data — but we're not a party to tutoring agreements or payments. Everyone pays tutors directly.

1. Who Can Use Learnest

Tutors

To become a tutor on Learnest, you must:

  • Be enrolled in grades 9–12 at a U.S. high school
  • Pass a subject-specific strengths quiz with a score of 70% or higher
  • If you are under 18, obtain written consent from a parent or guardian before your profile goes live
  • Maintain professional conduct in all interactions with students and families

If you are under 18 and your parent or guardian does not confirm consent within 7 days of your application, your account will not be activated. We will send a reminder to your parent or guardian to complete the consent process.

Students and Families

To enroll a student as a Learner on Learnest, a parent or guardian must:

  • Be the legal parent or guardian of the student (K–8)
  • Complete the onboarding process and provide consent
  • Provide accurate information about the student's grade, subjects, and availability

2. Learnest's Role

Learnest is a platform, not a tutoring service. We:

  • Verify tutor knowledge through subject quizzes
  • Match students with tutors based on subject, grade, availability, and location
  • Provide scheduling and communication tools
  • Host Jitsi-powered video rooms for online sessions

We do not:

  • Employ tutors or enter into agreements on their behalf
  • Process or hold payments between families and tutors
  • Guarantee specific tutoring outcomes or student progress
  • Monitor or record tutoring sessions

3. Tutor Responsibilities

By opening a Nest on Learnest, tutors agree to:

  • Represent their knowledge honestly — only apply for subjects where they genuinely excel
  • Show up reliably for scheduled sessions, and give families at least 24 hours' notice if cancelling
  • Maintain a professional, respectful tone in all communications with students and parents
  • Not share student personal information with any third parties
  • Not conduct sessions for which they are not qualified or have not passed the quiz
  • Set their own rates and collect payment directly from families — Learnest is not involved in payment

4. Parent and Family Responsibilities

Parents and guardians using Learnest agree to:

  • Supervise sessions involving their children, particularly for in-person tutoring
  • Pay tutors directly at the agreed rate — Learnest does not invoice or collect fees on tutors' behalf
  • Provide accurate information during onboarding
  • Treat tutors respectfully — Learnest tutors are students too
  • Communicate directly with tutors about scheduling, cancellations, or changes

5. Acceptable Use

All users of Learnest — tutors, students, and parents — agree not to:

  • Harass, threaten, or demean any other user
  • Share another user's personal contact information outside the platform without consent
  • Use Learnest for any purpose other than peer tutoring
  • Impersonate another person or submit false information
  • Attempt to circumvent Learnest's matching system or access accounts you don't own

6. Learnest Cares (Financial Aid Program)

Learnest Cares is our program for families who qualify for free tutoring. Participation by tutors is entirely voluntary. Tutors who opt in may occasionally be matched with Cares Learners for free sessions; they will always know in advance when a session is a Cares match.

Families approved for Learnest Cares must re-verify eligibility annually. Approval does not guarantee a specific tutor or session frequency.

7. Account Suspension and Termination

Learnest may suspend or remove an account — tutor or family — for:

  • Violations of these Terms
  • Repeated no-shows or session cancellations without notice
  • Harassment or unsafe conduct
  • Fraudulent information during onboarding or financial aid applications

Tutors whose applications expire (no parent consent within 7 days of signup) will have a reminder sent to their parent or guardian to complete the process.

8. Disclaimers and Limitations

Learnest is provided "as is." We make no warranties regarding tutoring outcomes, tutor availability, or the accuracy of quiz scores as a measure of teaching ability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Learnest's liability for any claim arising from use of this platform is limited to the amount you paid to Learnest (which is $0, since we charge no fees).

8a. Service Availability

Learnest is provided on a best-effort basis. We may suspend, modify, or discontinue features at any time. We will make reasonable efforts to notify users of significant changes via email before they take effect.

9. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of Learnest after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

10. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States. Any disputes will be resolved in good faith before pursuing formal legal proceedings.

11. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach us at [email protected]. We aim to respond within 2 business days.