The federal Child Nutrition Program
allows schools to provide school lunch and other meals to children who are
eligible free or at a reduced cost. When
you apply for this benefit, we are required to keep information about your
student’s eligibility for free or reduced lunch programs confidential. This information can be released to others
only with your consent, except in limited circumstances.
We recently discovered information
about eligibility was available to some school employees who should not have
had access. We have fully investigated
this problem and are working to ensure breaches of this nature will not occur
in the future.
At the same time, we do not want
your child to miss out on other benefits for which they may qualify. A child who is eligible for free or reduced
lunch prices may also qualify for programs or reduction or waiver of other fees
and costs. To ensure your child does not
miss out on these opportunities, we have added benefits to the Child Nutrition
Program Waiver of Confidentiality form.
When this form was provided to you
at enrollment time, there were only three program benefits, those that apply to
all eligible students on the waiver. We’ve just recently increased those
benefits to a total of seven for secondary
students in our district. The
program benefit options will allow families who qualify for free or reduced
lunches to also qualify for these programs or waiver or reduction of
accompanying fees for the following:
All Students: Secondary Students:
1 – Textbooks and Supplemental Fees 4
– Post-Secondary Preparatory Classes & Exams;
2 – Musical Instruments 5
– Post-Secondary Registration & Class Materials Fees
3 – Summer School Tuition/Books 6
– AP Testing Fees
7
– Post-Secondary School Application Fees
By signing the waiver, you are
giving the TPS Nutrition Office Staff permission to share your lunch
eligibility status with these other specific programs for which your children
may qualify. Your information will be
shared only with the programs you check.
Topeka Public Schools
staff who will use this information to help your child with these opportunities
will be trained in confidentiality and will be required to sign off that they
will not misuse the information.
In order for your children to be
considered for all seven benefits, we encourage you to check the “yes” box and all seven options on the enclosed waiver
form. It is very important that the Waiver
of Confidentiality form be completed and mailed back to the TPS Child
Nutrition Office in the self-addressed, stamped envelope provided as soon as
possible. Several programs your
children may qualify for will occur in September, 2014.
The Waiver of Confidentiality can be found at http://topekapublicschools.net/assets/Homepage/2015-Waiver-of-Confidentiality.pdf
We appreciate your consideration
and if you have any questions/concerns, please contact Nicole Jahnke at
785-295-3037.
