Consent form sent to parents about TOPS

The Vermilion Parish School Board Office is letting parents know to be on the look out for a consent form and letter explaining new procedures that school districts have to follow in order to release Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), Louisiana of Student Financial Assistance (LOFSA), and post secondary institutions due to the passage of ACT 837.
Student information would be collected starting in the 8th grade and provided by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) to LOFSA to help parents track a student’s progress toward TOPS eligibility and to determine a student’s eligibility for a TOPS Award and other student financial aid. This information will also be used to determine if a student is eligible for admission to local universities or community colleges.
A four-page letter will be provided annually to students who are in the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade with a consent form attached to the letter.
The letter explains that according to state law Act. 837, parents or the child’s legal guardian, have the right to determine whether their child’s personal information can be released by LDOE to LOSFA.
The consent form is asking parents to sign “yes” or “no” about releasing information about their child to LOFSA.
“The decision to deny or grant release of the information should be taken very seriously,” said Vermilion Parish Superintendent Jerome Puyau. “Parents need to aware of the importance of this consent form and be aware of the ramifications of denying the release of their child’s information by LDOE.”
Since TOPS began, the LDOE has been releasing the student’s information to LOSFA without parent’s approval. This year, however, Act. 837, requires parents or the child’s legal guardian to give approval to release personal information like Social Security number, transcript data and the child’s full name.
This information allows LOSFA to track the student’s academic progress. In the consent form, it states LOSFA will destroy your child’s information after five years or when it is no longer needed.
By law, schools need to collect a signed form for all students in 8th through 12th grades, Puyau said.
He said parents should have received a letter this past week or will be receiving a letter in the next few days from their school. A copy of the letter and consent form will also be placed on the Vermilion Parish School Board website.