MI16-3

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (the IPC) received information that the Peel District School Board (the Board) may have contravened the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) when one of its teachers allegedly disclosed the names of students who had Individual Education Plans (IEPs) to her spouse, an investment representative, so that he could solicit business from their parents. In response, the IPC opened a Commissioner-initiated privacy complaint file to determine if the Board’s actions were consistent with the requirements of the Act. In this Privacy Complaint Report, I find that the information at issue is personal information and that the disclosure of students’ personal information from a Special Education Teacher to another teacher did not comply with section 32 of the Act. I also find that the Board’s use of students’ personal information, through the actions of the teacher, did not comply with section 31 of the Act. This report recommends that the Board require all staff sign confidentiality agreements when they are hired by the Board and annually thereafter.