In a recent post, I mentioned the importance of The Home Education Foundation in Tallahassee. Florida Virtual School recently began asking students to provide a social security or student ID number and Brenda Dickinson immediately dealt with the issue of releasing personal information. FLVS quickly responded and the problem has been resolved. See the details by reading Brenda’s e-mail content below:
Brenda Dickenson of the Home Education Foundation quickly resolved questions about FLVS.
This afternoon I received calls from a private school and a home education parent regarding the new FLVS login requirement for students to provide a district student ID number or a social security number.
HEF immediately called FLVS to report that neither home education nor private school students would be comfortable providing that information to FLVS. The administrator I spoke with said that there must be a glitch in the new system because FLVS did not intend to require that a social security number be provided in order to access classes.
I received a message about an hour after I contacted FLVS. The message stated that they had indeed discovered a bug in the VSA update and that IT will be turning off the request for student identifier number(s) until it gets fixed. For home education and private school students, FLVS will be asking one time for a student identifier. FLVS assured HEF that the student is not required to enter any information.
However, if no student number is provided, FLVS will generate one for purposes of reporting the student to generate state funding. IT is also going to work on a clearer message when asking for a number, making it clear to students that they may move on without providing a student number.
Why is FLVS Asking for a Student ID Number?
FLVS has been forced under legislation that passed last year to provide a tracking number for all students so that if the student is a district school student the state can divide the state funding equally by the total number of classes the student is taking.
How do Home Educated and Private School Students Get a Student ID?
If a home education or private school student has ever been enrolled in a public school, the student will have a student ID number generated by the school district. That is the number that should be used. A home education student may want to check with the school district to inquire if a student ID number has been created for them. Students who have never been in a public school will not have a student ID number and FLVS will have to generate one. This is the number that helps the State track the student for funding purposes. This number should not compromise the student’s personal identifiable information, as a social security number would if obtained by an identity thief.
Check the HEF website to purchase IDT protection if you do not have any. Identity theft is becoming a serious issue for many people, especially those who shop or purchase items online. However, just purchasing gas or paying with your credit card at a local restaurant can compromise your credit as blue tooth devices can pick up your information without your card leaving your hand.
Many thanks to Brenda and the Home Education Foundation for being diligent to inform and advocate for the homeschooling community!
~to your success,
Joanne
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