Governance Framework

SBIPA is a product of More Than Marks. This page is one document within the More Than Marks Trust Center, which covers governance, security, AI transparency, privacy, and contractual documentation across all More Than Marks products.

SBIPA — Governance Framework & Document Hierarchy

This document defines how SBIPA's governance documentation is organized, which document governs when two documents appear to conflict, and the terminology used consistently across all SBIPA governance, contractual, and operational materials.

This document is the entry point for anyone evaluating SBIPA's governance posture. It sets out how SBIPA's governance documentation is structured into layers, which layer takes precedence if two documents appear to conflict, and the canonical terminology used consistently across every SBIPA governance, contractual, and operational document.

As the framework document, it sits above the individual policies, contracts, and procedures published elsewhere in this Trust Center, and it is the reference point for understanding how those documents relate to one another within More Than Marks and SBIPA's overall governance structure.

- The five-layer governance hierarchy, from platform architecture principles down to engineering standards

- Which layer governs when documents appear to conflict, including how a signed school agreement is treated

- The non-negotiable Layer 1 principles that cannot be altered by any lower-layer document, except in narrow, disclosed legal exceptions

- The full document register, showing each document's layer, classification, primary audience, and canonical subject matter

- Canonical terminology used consistently across all SBIPA governance and contractual documents

- The review cadence that applies to governance and contractual documents

- Business and data continuity commitments, including what happens if SBIPA ceases operations or is acquired

- How this document set distinguishes between Current State, Target State, and Roadmap capabilities

- Five-layer governance structure. Platform architecture principles sit at the top, followed by governance policies, contracts, operational procedures, and engineering standards. Each layer implements the layer above it and may not contradict it.

- Clear precedence rules. Where documents appear to conflict, the higher layer governs the intended policy. A signed agreement with a specific school governs that school's legal relationship, but is treated as a trigger to reconcile the framework at the next scheduled review, not as a precedent for other schools.

- Non-negotiable principles. Core commitments — including Student First, deterministic scoring, and "AI assists but never decides" — cannot be altered by any lower-layer document, except where a specific jurisdiction's law makes compliance legally impossible, and any such exception must be documented and disclosed.

- A canonical document register. Every governance document has a defined layer, classification, primary audience, and subject matter it is authoritative for.

- Fixed terminology across all documents. Terms such as Scoring Engine, Narrative Layer, Response Consistency, Reliability, and Data Fiduciary/Data Processor carry the same defined meaning everywhere they appear.

- Regular, milestone-driven review. Governance and contractual documents are reviewed before major platform or commercial milestones, before certification engagements, and at least every six months during active operation.

- Continuity commitments that survive change. Data continuity, key-person continuity, and operational continuity commitments apply even if SBIPA ceases operations, is acquired, or otherwise discontinues the service.

- No overstated capabilities. The document set consistently distinguishes Current State (operating today), Target State (committed but not yet operating), and Roadmap (under consideration, not yet committed) — no document represents a Target State or Roadmap item as already in place.

- Schools

- Procurement and legal reviewers

- AI governance reviewers

- Security reviewers

- Parents

- Internal governance owners

Audience: Schools; procurement and legal reviewers; AI governance reviewers; security reviewers; parents; internal governance owners

Related Documents: Doc 01 (Report Terms & Disclaimer), Doc 02 (School Master Services & Data Terms), Doc 03 (Security & Data Protection Policy), Doc 04 (AI Governance & Psychometric Documentation Policy), Doc 05 (Appeal, Evidence Management & Governance Policy), Doc 06 (Consent & Onboarding Channels Policy)

This document defines how SBIPA's governance documentation is organized, which document governs when two documents appear to conflict, and the terminology used consistently across all SBIPA governance, contractual, and operational materials. It is the entry point for any reviewer evaluating SBIPA's governance posture.

SBIPA's governance system operates in five layers. Each layer implements the layer above it and may not contradict it.

| Layer | Content | Documents |

|---|---|---|

| 1. Platform Architecture | Constitutional design principles: Student First, Development over Prediction, Evidence before Interpretation, deterministic scoring, AI assists but never decides, explainability, ethical AI, non-clinical positioning, separation of responsibilities. | SBIPA Platform Architecture (internal engineering reference; referenced by this framework, not reproduced in it) |

| 2. Governance Policies | Standing commitments and processes that operationalize Layer 1 for security, AI use, psychometric evidence, appeals, evidence management, and consent. | Doc 03, Doc 04, Doc 05, Doc 06 |

| 3. Contracts | The legally binding expression of Layer 2 commitments to a specific school or family. | Doc 02 (School Master Services & Data Terms), Doc 01 (Report Terms & Disclaimer), and any signed Order, MSA, or DPA |

| 4. Operational Procedures | Runbooks, registers, and step-by-step processes that carry out Layer 2 and Layer 3 commitments day to day. | Internal incident-response runbook, Known Issues register, evidence chain-of-custody procedures |

| 5. Engineering Standards | Technical schemas, prompt specifications, and rendering logic that implement the layers above. | Internal engineering specifications (Assessment JSON schema, Narrative JSON schema, prompt instructions) |

Where two documents appear to conflict, the higher layer governs the intended policy, and the lower-layer document is treated as requiring correction — not as an alternative interpretation to be reconciled in the lower document's favor.

Where a signed Order, Master Services Agreement, or Data Processing Agreement negotiated with a specific school contains terms that differ from this framework or from Doc 02's standard terms, the signed agreement governs the legal relationship with that school. SBIPA treats such variance as a trigger for reconciling this framework at its next scheduled review, not as a precedent that changes the standard terms offered to other schools.

The following Layer 1 principles are not altered by any Layer 2–5 document except where a specific jurisdiction's law makes compliance with the principle, as stated, legally impossible. Any such exception must be documented and disclosed at the point the exception applies.

- Student First

- Development over Prediction

- Evidence before Interpretation

- Deterministic scoring

- AI assists but never decides

- AI never calculates assessment scores

- AI only generates narrative

- Explainability

- Ethical AI

- Non-clinical positioning

- Separation of responsibilities

|---|---|---|---|---|

The following terms are used consistently, with this meaning, in every SBIPA governance and contractual document.

Scoring Engine (Layer 2). The deterministic, rule-based system that converts raw assessment responses into scores, profiles, and framework outputs. Contains no AI. Given identical inputs, always produces identical outputs.

Narrative Layer (Layer 3). The AI-assisted system that converts the Scoring Engine's already-computed output into plain-language report text. Performs no calculation, invents no facts, and never originates career, subject, or pathway content that the Scoring Engine has not already produced.

Application Layer (Layer 5). The production engineering layer — authentication, hosting, database, API. Distinct from any future student, parent, or counsellor engagement features, which are referred to as Platform Expansion and are addressed on a rolling roadmap, not as part of Layer 5.

Response Consistency Score / Band. The per-student, per-assessment output of the Scoring Engine's consistency checks (reverse-item agreement, pattern detection, extreme-response detection). Describes how consistently one student answered one assessment.

Reliability. Reserved exclusively for instrument-level psychometric evidence — internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach's alpha) and test-retest reliability of the assessment itself, established through the psychometric documentation described in Doc 04. Never used to describe a single student's response pattern.

Assessment JSON. The structured, deterministic output of the Scoring Engine. The single source of truth for a given assessment; never modified after generation.

Narrative JSON. The structured output of the Narrative Layer. Contains language only; never contains scores, rankings, or calculated values.

Data Fiduciary / Data Processor. Used per the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (India). The School is the Data Fiduciary for its students' data; SBIPA is the Data Processor, except for the limited independent-fiduciary role described in Doc 02.

Counsellor. Standard spelling across all SBIPA documents (not "counselor").

Class range. Where a document states an age or class range for the assessment population, that range refers to the population actually in current deployment, distinct from the platform's designed maximum range (Classes 3–12). Doc 04 states both explicitly.

All Layer 2 and Layer 3 documents are reviewed at each of the following milestones, whichever occurs first:

1. Before Layer 5 (production application) development begins.

2. Before the first paid school contract is executed.

3. Before any certification engagement (ISO 27001, SOC 2, or equivalent) begins.

4. Every 6 months during active operation.

5. Upon any material change to the platform architecture, AI vendor, or applicable law.

Individual documents do not restate this cadence; they reference this section.

SBIPA commits to the following, applicable across all governance and contractual documents:

- Data continuity. In the event SBIPA ceases operations, is acquired, or otherwise discontinues the service, School and student data will be exported to the School in a structured format and/or deleted per the School's election, following the same process and timelines as a standard termination under Doc 02, Section 7. This commitment survives SBIPA's discontinuation and binds any successor entity or acquirer.

- Key-person continuity. Decision rights concentrated in a single individual during SBIPA's early stage (Doc 05, Part C) are treated as a standing risk with a defined resolution trigger, not an indefinite arrangement. A named Data Protection point of contact and a second reviewer for AI-generated report content will be in place before the first paid school contract is executed.

- Operational continuity. Security and availability continuity commitments (backups, disaster recovery) are addressed in Doc 03.

This governance framework and its related documents distinguish, throughout, between:

- Current State — controls and capabilities operating today.

- Target State — controls and capabilities committed to, not yet operating.

- Roadmap — capabilities under consideration for future platform expansion, not yet committed to a timeline.

No document in this set represents a Target State or Roadmap item as a Current State capability.

Purpose

What this document covers

Who should read this

Key highlights

Policy content

Purpose

Governance Hierarchy

Precedence

Non-Negotiable Principles

Document Register

Canonical Terminology

Review Cadence

Business & Data Continuity

Publication Status

SBIPA is a product of More Than Marks. This page is one document within the More Than Marks Trust Center, which covers governance, security, AI transparency, privacy, and contractual documentation across all More Than Marks products.

SBIPA — Governance Framework & Document Hierarchy

This document defines how SBIPA's governance documentation is organized, which document governs when two documents appear to conflict, and the terminology used consistently across all SBIPA governance, contractual, and operational materials.

MoreThanMarks