Allows parents to voluntarily sign a limited waiver of student privacy rights in order to streamline and expedite tuition payments for LA Gator students who are enrolled full time in BESE approved nonpublic schools. (gov sig) (OR INCREASE GF EX See Note)

Senate Bill 394 amends the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise Scholarship Program by creating a mechanism that allows parents to voluntarily waive certain education privacy protections specifically to expedite tuition payments for students enrolled full-time in approved nonpublic schools. The bill adds new statutory sections and amends existing provisions of the Education Code to authorize the Department of Education to disclose limited student information to contracted program managers and participating nonpublic schools when parents execute a written consent form. The disclosed information is strictly limited to student name and identification number, date of birth, grade level, parent contact information, and enrollment and scholarship eligibility status. The program manager and participating schools are contractually bound to use this information only for scholarship administration and must implement reasonable safeguards against unauthorized redisclosure.

Parents of children enrolled full-time in participating nonpublic schools are the primary beneficiaries of this legislation, gaining expedited tuition payment processing that prevents delays from disrupting attendance or causing loss of reserved enrollment spots. Program managers contracted by the Department of Education obtain authority to make direct electronic or online transfers of tuition payments to nonpublic schools once enrollment is confirmed, streamlining administrative procedures. Participating nonpublic schools gain timely access to tuition payments without administrative delays and receive necessary student identification information to match students with funding accounts. The Department of Education retains oversight authority and must develop standardized consent forms that clearly specify what information is disclosed, to whom, for what purposes, and for how long.

This legislation operates within the framework of existing Louisiana student privacy protections under R.S. 17:3914 and the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The bill explicitly frames the parental consent as a limited waiver affecting only specified information necessary for expedited payment purposes, not a general waiver of all education privacy rights. The waiver remains effective only for the duration of a student's participation in the scholarship program and may be revoked in writing by parents at any time subject to administrative timelines necessary for program operation. Contracts with program managers must include data privacy and security requirements with provisions for breach notification and penalties for unauthorized disclosure, ensuring compliance with both state and federal privacy standards while accommodating the practical administrative needs of the scholarship program.