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Notice of Collection


Notification of Routine Collection, Use and Disclosure of Student Personal Information


If you have questions about this notice contact your school principal or the Information and Records Management Specialist, Upper Canada District School Board, 225 Central Avenue, West, Brockville, Ontario K6V 5X1, (613) 342-0371, ext. 1396.

The purpose of this notice is to make you aware of how the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) and your school use the personal information you provide to us, in accordance with the Education Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA).  The Acts set guidelines that schools and district school boards must follow when collecting, using, disclosing, and/or disposing of students’ personal information.  Personal information refers to recorded information about an identifiable individual. Some examples of personal information are names, addresses, phone numbers and date of birth.

The Education Act sets out duties and powers of the board and authorizes school boards to collect personal information for the purpose of planning and delivering educational programs and services which best meet students' needs and for reporting to the Minister of Education, as required. In addition, the information may be used to attend to matters of health and safety or discipline which best meet student needs.

The Act requires that the school principal maintain an Ontario Student Record (OSR) for each student attending the school. The OSR is a record of a student's educational progress through school in Ontario, and follows students when they transfer schools. The Ontario Student Record Guideline sets out how OSRs are to be managed and the UCDSB adheres to the OSR Guideline. In addition to the OSR, we maintain secure electronic student records that contain personal information in our Student Information System (SIS). 

Information Shared Without Further Notification

To help you understand how we use the information you provide to us, we draw your attention to the following routine uses and/or disclosures of student personal information so that you may express any concerns you may have.

We will disclose your child’s and/or your personal information without further notification to you in the following ways:

  • Reporting to provincial and federal government offices to meet program delivery and funding requirements.
  • Reporting to the Education Quality Accountability Office (EQAO)
  • To school board officers or employees who need access to the information in the performance of their duties, if necessary, and proper in the discharge of the board’s authorized functions
  • Ancestry information of First Nation, Métis and Inuit students who chose to voluntarily self-identify will be used to allocate resources, improve student learning and student success and to offer individualized supports and opportunities to students and families. This information will also be reported to the Ministry of Education and the Education Quality Accountability Office (EQAO). Contact your school principal for more information about self-identification.
  • If your child suffers from a life threatening medical condition, a Plan of Care will be developed and shared with appropriate staff, volunteers and transportation services (including bus carriers and their drivers).
  • To comply with legislation, a court order or subpoena or to aid in a law enforcement investigation conducted by a law enforcement agency
  • To report to the Children’s Aid Society regarding child protection matters, in accordance with the law in compelling circumstances affecting health or safety of staff or students
  • The Board provides the local Public Health Unit with the pupil’s full name, grade, date of birth, parents name, address and telephone number; if applicable, every alternate name; gender; Ontario Education Number, school or class and their preferred language (as per Regulation 645 made under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA)).
    • Communicable diseases shall be reported in accordance with the Health Promotion and Protection Act and the Education Act.
  • Intermediate schools will: 
    • receive information in advance about incoming grade 6 students
    • share information about individual student's progress with the student's previous elementary school
  • Secondary schools will:
    • receive information in advance about incoming grade 8 students
    • share information about individual student’s progress with the student’s previous elementary school
    • send information about potential graduates (contact information, marks and transcripts) to the Ontario College Application Services and the Ontario Universities Application Centre
  • Names, phone numbers and email addresses (and OHIP numbers when volunteered by the parent/guardian) may be shared with school approved volunteers or parents for safety and information purposes. Examples include:
    • emergency contact lists
    • safe arrival programs
    • school-related notices
    • safety patrol lists
    • school trip, excursion, or school related events where volunteers are supporting students
  • Student names (first and last) and/or photographs may be printed in school programs for graduations, awards ceremonies, plays and musical productions, on student awards and plaques and in school yearbooks. Some schools may display the names and/or photos of graduating students in their school.
  • Student work, including student first name and last initial may be displayed throughout the school and in school and board newsletters or websites. It may also be publicly displayed at community events such as science fairs, colouring/writing/poster contests or similar events outside the school.
  • Birthdays may be announced over the PA system and/or in classrooms.
  • Class lists with student first names and last initial only may be distributed to other parents for the purpose of addressing greeting cards or invitations in connection with holidays, birthday parties, etc.
  • Video/Voice Recordings or Photographs:
    • Students may be recorded or photographed, collectively or individually, as part of their educational program for assessment and evaluation purposes. Students may also participate in video conferencing to support the classroom program.
    • The board uses surveillance equipment in most of our schools and on all school buses for safety reasons and property protection. The recording may be shared with authorities if necessary, according to board policy.

Sharing Information With Agencies Working With The Board                                                    

Personal information may be shared with approved agencies that assist the Board in providing educational and administrative services. 

Examples include but are not limited to:                         
                                      

  • transportation services (STEO) to identify students who qualify for busing
  • the Board insurance company and the Ministry of Labour
  • automated telecommunications provider to notify parents of upcoming events or that their child is absent from class
  • school photographers who take individual and class photographs to sell to parents and students, for student identification cards, yearbooks and for school records
  • vendors who provide online services to create school yearbooks
  • vendors who provide specialized equipment, resources and training for special needs students
  • Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association (OFSAA) for students who participate on athletic teams
  • Student names (first and last) are provided to local offices of political representatives (Mayor, MPP, MP) for printing on award certificates that are presented to students at graduations and other in-school award ceremonies
  • service providers endorsed by the Board or Ministry of Education for online learning and educational administrative services (e.g., Office 365 for Education, Google Docs for Education, Ontario eLearning Consortium, Desire2Learn, PowerSchool, etc.)
  • In addition, students may also use social media tools such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, video conferencing, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other sites or tools deemed appropriate by the classroom teacher. Students receive age-appropriate instruction on digital citizenship and the safe use of technology.
  • Use of the Internet and social media sites shall be in accordance with the Acceptable Use Agreement/My Ticket To The World for students and posting of personal information shall be with parental consent in accordance with the UCDSB Student Media Release Consent Form.

In accordance with MFIPPA and the Education Act, releasing personal information for any other purpose requires the informed consent of:

  • the parent/guardian for children under 16 years of age
  • the parent/guardian and the student where the student is 16 and 17
  • the student where the student is over 18 or is 16 or 17 years of age and has withdrawn from parental control.  

It is our practice to include a notice statement on forms used to collect personal information to advise you how we will use and disclose the information.

Information For The General Public

Consent will be requested when the media is invited to the school to report on newsworthy events.  The media (including online), such as newspapers, television and radio may be invited to the school to take photos of students and write articles about newsworthy events or activities including graduations, student achievements/awards, co-curricular activities, sports and current events. Their reports may include only non-identifying photos of groups of students. Students are only recorded/photographed and/or identified with informed consent.

Consent is not requested for publicly accessible events. Students participating in extra-curricular activities or school events where the public is invited including graduations, student achievement/awards and sports or that take place in public places such as field trips, malls and fairs, may be photographed by the media, school community or general public. This may result in photos or recordings being posted on social media sites. The school has no control over how and where these images will be posted; however, parents and students are asked to practice good digital citizenship by being respectful of the privacy rights of anyone they may capture in their recording and not share them in any way without the consent of the individual.

 

What is informed consent? To protect privacy, no personal information is provided to the public without informed consent. A parent/guardian gives informed consent when they agree to the sharing of personal information, understand what will be shared, for what purposes it will be used, and who will receive the information.

When informed consent is required

Listed below are some examples of where informed consent is required before sharing or disclosing information:

  • In keeping with the legislative requirements of the Education Act and Personal Health Information Protection Act, informed consent will be sought prior to conducting intelligence or behavioural tests and/or involvement of psychological or speech and language staff.
  • The UCDSB follows the legislative requirements of the Child and Family Services Act for students accessing social work and/or child and youth work services with regards to informing parents(s)/guardian(s) for students 12 years of age and under prior to accessing services.
  • When
    • photographs or videos are taken for educational purposes and are to be shared publicly
    • publicly displaying student work that includes their full name
    • identifying students by name and/or photograph in school newsletters and on a class, school and/or board websites and other web services (e.g., X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook or teacher blogs or websites)
  • Use of the Internet and social media sites shall be in accordance with the Acceptable Use Agreement/My Ticket To The World for students.
  •  Posting of personal information shall be with parental consent in accordance with the UCDSB Student Media Release and Photo Form or UCDSB Student Media Release and Photo Form Adult (for students who are 18+). Since family circumstances can change and technology and social media continue to advance, parents and adult students may like to review their preferences and submit an updated form to their school as needed. A form and the consents/non-consents remain on file and active while the student is enrolled at the school or until the student turns 18 and wants to sign on their own behalf.  

If you have concerns or questions about any of the information described above please contact your School Principal as soon as possible or the Information and Records Management Specialist, Upper Canada District School Board, 225 Central Avenue, West, Brockville, Ontario K6V 5X1, (613) 342-0371, ext. 1396. The above will apply unless an objection is made in writing with the principal and an alternative resolution can be found.

Updated August 2023

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