Policies & agreements

Overview

This Instructor Participation Agreement forms part of the Terms and applies to all Instructor participation on the Platform. Instructors are independent contractors operating their own businesses. Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment, agency, partnership, or joint-venture relationship. Instructors control the manner, means, methods, and content of their instruction, and set their own schedules, availability, and rates within the ranges the Platform supports. Instructors supply their own instruments, equipment, and materials, and bear their own business expenses, including travel to lessons. The standards in this Agreement describe the results Students book and the requirements of a safe, trustworthy marketplace; they are not direction or control over how Instructors teach. Nothing in this Agreement limits an Instructor from providing services outside the Platform to clients not introduced through the Platform, teaching their own curriculum, setting their own methods, or offering services through other channels or platforms.

1. Eligibility & Background Review

Instructors must be at least 18 years old, legally able to provide their offered lessons, and responsible for maintaining any license, permit, certification, insurance, or authorization required for their services.

iNSTAiNSTRU may require identity verification and background checks before or during Platform participation. iNSTAiNSTRU may request additional information or re-screening based on account, safety, legal, or operational needs where permitted by law.

Credentials and Profile Accuracy. Instructors must have at least one year of experience in each subject they offer. By representing on your profile or in communications with Students that you have a stated level of experience, hold a license or certification, or possess any other credential, you attest that the representation is true and current. You must keep your profile accurate, including your identity, photos, subjects, and service area, and promptly update or remove any representation that becomes untrue, including any license or certification that lapses or is revoked. iNSTAiNSTRU may request documentation supporting any representation, and may suspend or deactivate an account where documentation is not provided. Misrepresentation of experience, credentials, or identity is a breach of this Agreement and may result in immediate deactivation.

2. Lesson Quality Standards

• Arrive prepared and on time.
• Provide lessons consistent with the service, format, location, price, and schedule agreed through the Platform.
• Communicate changes promptly through Platform messaging.
• Keep profile, services, pricing, availability, and contact information accurate.

3. Communication & Off-Platform Policy

Use Platform messaging for scheduling, updates, and support-relevant lesson communications. Soliciting Students to avoid Platform booking, payment, fees, or safety workflows may result in account limits or closure.

4. Safety & Professional Conduct

• Follow all applicable laws and professional obligations.
• Do not discriminate, harass, threaten, retaliate, or engage in sexual misconduct or hateful conduct.
• Maintain safe, appropriate, and respectful lesson environments.
• Respect Student privacy and do not record lessons or interactions unless all legally required consents and Platform permissions are obtained.
• If an adult books for a minor, follow the adult account holder's lawful instructions about supervision, location, and participation, and decline any lesson that appears unsafe or inappropriate.

Reporting. If you believe a child or anyone else is in immediate danger, contact emergency services first. Report any safety concern involving a Student to support@instainstru.com immediately, including any concern involving a minor, any injury during a lesson, any conduct that violates the Acceptable Use Policy, and any request that you do something you believe is unsafe or inappropriate. iNSTAiNSTRU will not penalize an Instructor for making a good-faith report.

5. Lessons with Minors

When a lesson involves a minor, an adult over 18 must be present at the lesson. The Instructor must confirm an adult is present before the lesson begins. The adult must remain in the room where the lesson takes place, or within direct sight of the lesson if it takes place outdoors, at a pool, in an open area, or at a public location, for the duration of the lesson. For an online lesson, the adult must remain in the room with the Student for the duration of the lesson. This requirement applies to every lesson type, including lessons at the Instructor's own studio, home, or other space, and online lessons. If no adult is present, or the adult leaves and does not promptly return, the Instructor must end the lesson and report the incident to support@instainstru.com. An Instructor who ends a lesson under this section will not be penalized, and the booking will be handled under the Fees, Payments, and Cancellation Supplemental Terms. The Instructor must not communicate with minors outside the Platform, solicit contact information from minors, connect with, follow, or message a minor on social media or any other service, or arrange to meet a minor outside of a booked lesson.

6. Lesson Locations

Depending on the lesson type selected at booking, a lesson takes place at the Student's address, at a location the Instructor has posted on the Platform (the Instructor's own studio, home, or other space, or a public location such as a park, library, or similar public space), or online. In-person lessons must take place at the location for the selected lesson type. Instructors must accurately identify each location where they host lessons and must not hold a lesson at any other location. Online lessons must be conducted through the Platform's designated video service and must not be moved to another service.

Where the lesson takes place at premises the Instructor owns or controls (such as the Instructor's studio or home), the Instructor is responsible for: (a) maintaining the premises in a condition reasonably safe for the lesson, and complying with any local permits, licenses, occupancy requirements, insurance obligations, or use restrictions applicable to hosting the lesson at that location; (b) any premises liability arising from conditions at or on the property; (c) complying with the adult-present rule at the Instructor's location just as at any other location; (d) declining any lesson at the Instructor's location where the adult-present rule cannot be met; (e) anyone else present at the location during a lesson, and ensuring that no person present creates a safety concern for a Student; and (f) ensuring the lesson area is free of firearms, alcohol served to minors, controlled substances, and any hazard that would make the lesson unsafe.

Where the lesson takes place at a public location the Instructor has posted, the Instructor is responsible for selecting a location that is lawful, safe, and suitable for the lesson; for complying with any permit, fee, or rule that applies to providing paid instruction at that location, including park and recreation permits; and for conducting the lesson in a manner appropriate to a public setting. Neither the Instructor nor iNSTAiNSTRU controls public premises.

Instructors hosting lessons involving water must comply with all applicable pool fencing, safety equipment, and supervision requirements, and must confirm the required adult is present at poolside.

INSTAINSTRU LLC does not inspect, approve, endorse, or verify any Instructor location. The Acceptable Use Policy, Instructor Participation Agreement, and Terms of Service apply at every lesson location without regard to who owns or occupies the premises.

7. Physical Contact and Verbal Conduct

Some subjects involve physical contact as an inherent and necessary part of instruction: a piano teacher positioning a student's hands, a swim instructor supporting a student in water, a dance or fitness instructor adjusting posture, a martial-arts instructor demonstrating a technique. Where physical contact is part of the instruction: (a) contact must be limited to what is directly relevant to teaching the lesson; (b) contact must be brief, purposeful, and openly performed, and must not be concealed or prolonged; (c) the Instructor must explain what the contact is for before it happens whenever possible; (d) contact that can be reasonably avoided or accomplished by demonstration or verbal instruction must be avoided; (e) contact must stop immediately if the Student indicates discomfort; (f) for lessons involving a minor, the adult present at the lesson may object to any contact and require the Instructor to substitute a non-contact alternative, and the Instructor must comply.

Contact must never involve a Student's private areas and must not occur under clothing. Brief, appropriate assistance to a Student who is injured or in distress is permitted; extended physical comforting is not. In lessons involving water, supporting contact necessary for safety and instruction is expected; such contact must be limited to what is required to keep the Student safe and to teach the skill. Contact that is romantic, sexual, or otherwise unrelated to teaching the lesson is prohibited and is grounds for immediate deactivation. Instructors in subjects that do not involve physical contact, including tutoring, test prep, language, and most academic subjects, should avoid physical contact with Students altogether.

Instructors must not discuss their own or a Student's romantic or sexual life, comment on a Student's body or appearance except as directly relevant to instruction, share personal contact details, or engage in conversation with a minor unrelated to the lesson that a responsible adult would not expect. Instructors must not photograph or record a Student without the prior consent of the responsible adult, must not retain such images beyond the instructional purpose, and must never share them.

8. Acceptable Use Policy

The Acceptable Use Policy applies to all Instructor conduct on and off the Platform in connection with lessons and Students, including its child-safety prohibitions. Violation of the Acceptable Use Policy is a breach of this Agreement and may result in suspension or deactivation under the Terms. Where this Agreement and the Acceptable Use Policy address the same conduct, the more protective requirement applies.

9. Instructor Vehicles and Travel

Instructors are responsible for their own means of travel to lessons, whether by vehicle, public transit, bicycle, or otherwise, and for any cost, risk, or liability arising from that travel. Instructors using a vehicle are responsible for maintaining a valid driver's license and any automobile insurance required by law and appropriate to their use of a vehicle to travel to lessons. Personal auto policies commonly exclude or limit business use, and Instructors are responsible for confirming their own coverage applies to travel to lessons. Instructor travel to lessons is not a service provided by INSTAINSTRU LLC, and INSTAINSTRU LLC does not direct routes, schedules, or means of travel. Travel time and travel expenses are the Instructor's own and are not compensated or reimbursed by INSTAINSTRU LLC. Instructors must not transport Students, and in particular must not transport minors, in any vehicle in connection with a lesson. Insurance carried by INSTAINSTRU LLC does not cover an Instructor's personal vehicle, personal property, or personal activities.

10. Insurance

Instructors are responsible for maintaining any insurance required by law and any insurance appropriate to their services. Insurance carried by INSTAINSTRU LLC covers INSTAINSTRU LLC and does not cover Instructors, their businesses, their employees or helpers, their property, or their activities. iNSTAiNSTRU may in the future require Instructors to maintain general liability insurance at stated minimum limits, in a form and from carriers reasonably acceptable to iNSTAiNSTRU, naming INSTAINSTRU LLC as an additional insured, and to provide proof of coverage, on reasonable notice. Failure to maintain or provide proof of required coverage after such notice may result in suspension of the Instructor's account until proof is provided.

11. Payments, Payouts, and Taxes

Instructor payouts, fees, holds, and clawbacks are governed by the Fees, Payments, and Cancellation Supplemental Terms. Instructors must complete Stripe Connect onboarding to receive payouts and contract directly with Stripe under Stripe's Connected Account Agreement; payout timing, holds, and account requirements are governed by that agreement. iNSTAiNSTRU does not guarantee any minimum number of bookings, hours, or earnings. Instructors are independent providers responsible for their own income, self-employment, sales, and any other taxes applicable to their services. INSTAINSTRU LLC does not withhold taxes from Instructor payouts and does not issue Form W-2 or Form 1099-NEC to Instructors. Instructors are responsible for providing accurate taxpayer information to Stripe, and inaccurate or missing information may result in delayed payouts or withholding required by law. Where required by law, Stripe, as the payment settlement entity for Instructor payouts, will provide applicable tax forms (such as Form 1099-K) directly to Instructors when legal reporting thresholds are met; thresholds are set by law and may change.

12. Indemnification

The Instructor will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless INSTAINSTRU LLC and its members, officers, agents, and representatives from any claim, loss, liability, damage, cost, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from or related to: (a) the Instructor's lessons, conduct, communications, or interactions with any Student or responsible adult; (b) the Instructor's breach of this Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy, or the Terms of Service; (c) any misrepresentation by the Instructor of experience, licenses, certifications, or other qualifications; (d) any injury, damage, or claim occurring at or in connection with a lesson; (e) any allegation that the Instructor is or was an employee of INSTAINSTRU LLC; (f) any violation of law by the Instructor; or (g) any claim by a third party arising from a lesson or from the Instructor's use of any location for a lesson. This obligation does not apply to the extent a claim arises from INSTAINSTRU LLC's own gross negligence or willful misconduct.

iNSTAiNSTRU will notify the Instructor promptly of any claim for which indemnity is sought, though a delay in notice does not relieve the obligation except to the extent it materially prejudices the defense. iNSTAiNSTRU may assume control of the defense of any claim subject to this section at the Instructor's expense, and the Instructor may not settle any claim in a way that imposes obligations on iNSTAiNSTRU without written consent. This section survives termination of this Agreement.

13. Enforcement

Breach of this Agreement may result in warning, restriction, suspension, or deactivation of your account under Section 6 of the Terms, in iNSTAiNSTRU's discretion, taking into account severity, intent, and prior conduct.