Parents' privacy concerns prompt board to pause PIQE outreach approval

An advocacy committee for families of students with autism urged the Ventura Unified board to delay or revise a proposed agreement with the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), saying automatic sharing of parent contact information with a third party raises privacy concerns.

"Sharing parent information without explicit consent undermines trust and risks violating the very principle of equity and empowerment that programs like PIQE aim to promote," Jasmine Dur'on of the Autism Society of Ventura County told trustees. She asked the board to require opt‑in consent and to tighten recruitment procedures.

District staff said family liaisons and site administrators would generate targeted outreach lists (for example multilingual or otherwise unengaged families) and would partner with PIQE on outreach; staff emphasized they do not expect PIQE to receive direct database access but did confirm the contract contemplates lists the schools provide for targeted recruitment. Staff also said PIQE programs have run in prior years and they would return with participation and outcome data, clearer contract language about data sharing and an explanation of whether a stated cap on cost is a true contract limit.

Trustees asked staff to bring back contract language clarifying how parent contact lists will be created, whether families will be given an opt‑in choice, historical participation and outcome metrics, and a detailed cost model if the program expands to additional sites. No vote on the PIQE agreement was taken during the meeting and staff said they would return with the requested clarifications.