Adult and Community Learning Services (ACLS)

ACLS Policy Memo #01-2021: ROI Policy Correction

To:	Program Directors and SABES Directors
From:	Wyvonne Stevens-Carter, Adult Education State Director
Date:	August 13, 2021

The purpose of this memo is to correct an error in the May 2021 issue of the FY19-FY23 Massachusetts Policies for Effective Adult Education in Community Adult Learning Centers and Correctional Institutions . On page 17, the section entitled Release of Information (ROI) (State requirement) should read:

ACLS requires that programs ask students to provide their social security numbers (SSN) and sign an ROI form. The purpose of the ROI is twofold:

to inform students, in writing, that their personally identifiable information (PII) will be matched with data from:
- the Massachusetts Departments of Unemployment Assistance and Higher Education,
- Pearson GED and ETS (HiSET),
- the National Student Clearing House; and
to authorize the release of data matches to the program.

Data matched outcomes are stored securely at DESE and aggregated for federal reports.

Students who sign the revised ROI form consent to have DESE update their LACES records with employment data, HSE test results, and postsecondary enrollment information obtained via data matching. Declining to provide an SSN and/or sign an ROI will not impact students' eligibility for services.

For the ROI form, translated into 30 languages, see Release of Information Form.

Last Updated: August 13, 2021