Access to Student Records by Boards of Education on Student Transfer FAQs
- Can a board of education transfer student files to another board of education when a student transfers?
- Is parental permission required?
- Should notice be given to parents and students?
- What documents should be shared?
- Does this include consultants’ reports?
- What about counselling notes?
- What precautions are required?
- Can files be culled before they are transferred?
The information provided should not be regarded as legal advice. If you have questions about a specific fact situation please contact legal counsel.
- Can a board of education (board) transfer student files to another board when a student transfers?
- Section 28(2)(a) of The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LAFOIP) provides that information may be disclosed for the purposes for which the information was obtained or compiled by the local authority or for a use that is consistent with that purpose. This provision covers the exchange of records from one board to another when a student is transferred. All information in a student record should be collected solely for the purpose of providing education services to the student. If it is not collected for purposes of providing education services to the student then it should not be on the file. When the student moves to a new school division the purpose of that school division is also to provide educational services. Therefore, the purposes are consistent and the information can be transferred upon receiving a request from the new school division.
- Is parental permission required?
- Parental or student consent for the transfer is not required. The records are necessary for the education of the child and the transfer is consistent with the purpose for which the records were created. An exception would be if safety concerns exist.
- Should notice be given to parents and students?
- Parents and students should be notified when the file is transferred. Also, in order to ensure that parents and students are aware of how personal information might be shared it is recommended that there be a notice on any form used to gather information which indicates that the information may be transferred, if necessary.
- What documents should be shared?
- This ability to exchange information includes not just the academic record, but also information concerning disciplinary or behaviour issues.
- Does this include consultants’ reports?
- Yes, records kept by special education teachers and consultants, such as speech and language pathologists, should be transferred.
- What about counselling notes?
- Due to the nature of the counselling relationship, the decision should be made on a case-by-case basis. It should be a decision based on the best interests of the student. Legal advice should be sought before agreeing to release counselling notes to anyone. If shared, the information should be treated carefully and should only be accessible to the corresponding professional at the receiving school. In some cases instead of the actual notes it may be advisable for the counsellor to prepare a summary of the file.
- What precautions are required?
- Care must be taken to ensure that the receiving school division will treat the records with a similar degree of care as the originating school division. This is not normally a problem with schools in Canada that are generally subject to privacy legislation similar to that in Saskatchewan. If a school is outside the country some enquiry should be made as to what privacy rules apply. The documents should be sent only on condition that the privacy rights of the student and family will be protected.
- Can files be culled before they are transferred?
- If files contain irrelevant information that would have normally been removed from the file if culling had been done on a regular basis then it is acceptable to remove that information before transferring the file. However, if the information would have normally been retained on the file by the originating school division it should also be sent to the receiving school division.