Period of Retention for Student Files

There is no legislative deadline as to how long student records must be maintained. A board of education (board) may decide to cull the records after a certain period and then dispose of them after another specified length of time. These matters should be addressed in board policy or administrative procedures

The recommendation of the Records Retention and Disposal Guide for Saskatchewan School Divisions is to keep student records for at least three years after the date the student turns 22. This period was chosen to cover at least two years after the last time a board might provide services to a student. This covers the limitation period for most court actions by a student.

In some cases records will be retained for a longer period, or even indefinitely. This will generally be the case where allegations of a sexual nature have been made either by or against a student. In many such cases there will not be a limitation period and a court action might arise many years after the incident.

Retention periods would apply to all students including student with intensive needs. It would apply to all portions of the record of the student, whether obtained from a third party or not.

Retention of Copies of Original Documents

Original documents may be requested from a parent, such as a birth certificate to verify age of a student. Copies of these documents do not need to be retained on file as long as the information is verified at the time the document is presented.

This approach can be implemented on a “go forward” basis. The board does not have to go back to each file to remove the copies. However, when files are reviewed – whether by the principal on a yearly basis the copies may be removed.