Special Education Services: A Manual of Policies, Procedures and GuidelinesH.11 Student Records: Use and Management A student record is defined in legislation as any record of information in written or electronic form pertaining to (a) a student, or (b) a child registered with a school but receiving a home education. Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, a student record includes any written record regarding a student. Section 79 of the School Act requires that boards shall establish and maintain a record for each student and each child registered with the board's school. This section also requires a board to permit a person providing health services, social services or other support services to obtain from the records information that is required to carry out those services. Written procedures regarding storage, retrieval and appropriate use of student records must be established by boards, with provisions to ensure confidentiality and privacy for students and their families. In the case of students with special needs this section is particularly important because clinical reports are often made available to school districts with the consent of the students' parents/guardians. Districts should ensure that practices for the collection, use and disclosure of personal student information comply the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Section 9 of the School Act entitles a student and his or her parents "to examine all student records kept by a board pertaining to the student while accompanied by the principal or a person designated by the principal to interpret the records." Individuals through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, subject to the exceptions allowed by the Act, may also request information. Records maintained for students with special education needs will typically include information related to identification and assessment, an Individual Education Plan and relevant follow-up and review data and information related to monitoring of progress or placement. School districts should maintain records of those students resident in the district who have been placed by the board in Provincial Resource Programs or in programs in other districts. Districts should also monitor the appropriateness of these placements. For your consideration: A sample independent school student record “set of best practices” is available for review online. References
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