When can a school board disclose a student’s personal information?

Under the Education Act, supervisory officers, principals, teachers and designated early childhood educators may disclose information in the OSR to improve the instruction and other education of the student. With limited exceptions, the OSR may not be disclosed to any other person without the written permission of the student’s parent, guardian or the adult student (age 18 years or over). The exceptions include:

disclosures required by the Ministry of Education or school board²⁹
disclosures of certain limited information about students to a medical officer of health³⁰ (see Collection, use and disclosure of health information)
access by the student to his or her own records, and by his or her parent or guardian where the student is under 18 years of age³¹ (see Access to information)

The Education Act also states that the OSR is not admissible at a trial without the consent of the parent or adult student.³² However, it is important to note that MFIPPA prevails over the confidentiality provisions in the Education Act, including those related to OSRs.³³This means that school boards may disclose a student’s personal information, including the OSR, if MFIPPA permits it. MFIPPA does not impose limitations on information otherwise available to a party to litigation and does not affect the power of a court or tribunal to compel the production of a document.³⁴

School boards also have discretion to disclose a student’s personal information, including from the OSR, in some situations,³⁵ including:

with consent
for the purpose for which the information was obtained or for a consistent purpose
to an officer, employee, consultant or agent of the institution who needs the information in the performance of their duties
for the purpose of complying with law
in compelling circumstances affecting health or safety
to a law enforcement agency in order to aid in an investigation (see Disclosure to police)
where the student or his or her parents request access

For more information, see:

Yearbooks often contain personal information collected for different purposes, such as class and individual photographs. Most people within the school community expect that these photos, along with the student’s name, will be published in the yearbook. Where an individual can reasonably expect a disclosure, this is considered to be a disclosure for a consistent purpose, which is permitted under MFIPPA.

However, for personal information that an individual would not reasonably expect to be published in the yearbook – such as an autobiographical essay for a class assignment – the school would need to get consent before including it in the yearbook

29.Education Act, s. 266(7)

30 Education Act, s. 266(2.1)

31 Education Act, s. 266(3)

32 Education Act, s. 266(2)(b)

33 MFIPPA s. 53(1); IPC privacy report MC11-73

34 MFIPPA ss. 51(1)-(2)

35 Set out in MFIPPA, s. 32