Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board

NOTICE OF COLLECTION, USE AND DISCLOSURE OF STUDENT PERSONAL INFORMATION

The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of student personal information. The Board collects, uses, and discloses personal information in accordance with the Education Act, the Ontario Student Record (OSR) Guideline, 2000 (revised 2020), and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), which governs how public institutions manage personal information.

Personal information is collected to support the delivery of educational programs and services, promote student achievement and well-being, and fulfill legal and reporting obligations.

 

Authority for Collection

Under the Education Act, school boards are authorized to collect personal information to:

• Deliver and plan educational programs and services that meet students’ needs
• Support student learning, achievement, and well-being
• Fulfill reporting requirements to the Ministry of Education

School principals are required to maintain an Ontario Student Record (OSR) for each student. The OSR documents a student’s educational progress and follows the student when transferring between schools within Ontario.

 

What is personal information?

Personal information is any recorded information about an individual in which the individual can be identified. For example, if the information ‘Grade 4, Level 3 in Math’ was provided, this is not considered personal information because we cannot identify an individual from this. However, if the information provided is, ‘Grade 4, Level 3 in Math, with an Ontario Education Number (OEN)’, this is considered personal information because the board is able to identify the student’s identity from the OEN.

 

Use and Disclosure of Personal Information

In accordance with MFIPPA, HWCDSB may use and/or disclose personal information:

• For the purpose for which it was collected
• For board employees who require the information to perform their professional duties
• To comply with legislated requirements, including reporting to the Ministry of Education
• To comply with a court order, subpoena, or law enforcement investigation
• In compelling circumstances affecting the health or safety of an individual (with notice provided where appropriate)
• With consent, where required under legislation

 

Consent

Consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information is obtained in accordance with legislation:

• From a parent/guardian for students under 18 years of age, unless the student has withdrawn from parental control  
• From the student; where the student is 18 years of age or older

 

Student Images, Voice, and Work / Media Uses & Disclosures

Student images, voice, video recordings, and student work may be used for:

• Educational programming and assessment
• School-based activities where identification is reasonably expected (e.g., classroom displays, assemblies, athletics, performances, graduation programs)
• Only anonymous student work and non-identifying photos of groups of students (without names) at events will appear on board-related websites, in electronic newsletters and on social media. Identifying information such as photos of individuals, small groups in which faces are recognizable, and names will be posted only if there is parental consent on the Media Consent Agreement.
• Students participating in extra-curricular activities or school events that are open to the public or that take place in public places such as on field trips may be photographed by the school community, news media or general public. This may result in photos or videos being posted on social media sites and in electronic or print news media sites. The school has no control over how and where these images will be posted. However, parents/guardians and students are asked to practice good digital citizenship by being respectful when they post photos of others, which means making sure they ask those they photograph/record for consent before posting.

• Events inside the school, such as performances, awards assemblies, and graduations that are typically attended by family members are often photographed and video recorded by family members. We ask those in attendance to respect the privacy rights of all students and their families by getting consent before images and videos are shared or posted online.

Consent will be obtained where the use or disclosure is not directly related to educational programming or assessment. For example, the media, such as newspapers, television and/or radio, may be invited to the school to take photos of students and write articles about newsworthy events or activities such as student achievements/awards, and current events. Their reports may include group photos of students. Individual students would only be photographed or identified with appropriate consent. This consent may be given on the Media Consent Agreement, or in the case of more in-depth media coverage, a separate consent form will be sent home to parents before the event.

 

Routine Uses and Disclosures

The following represent common and expected uses and disclosures of student personal information within HWCDSB:

• Student information contained in the OSR and Student Information System is accessed by authorized staff to support program planning and student success. Student learning profiles, assessment results and achievement levels are shared among staff within a school in order to best address student needs as they progress through grade levels. 
• Student images, voice, video, and work are used in support of teaching and learning. Students, supported by teachers, may share or upload written and creative work as well as evidence of their learning when using digital platforms for learning, e.g., Microsoft Teams
• Medical information provided by parents/guardians may be used to support student health needs and emergency planning
• Student information may be shared between schools to support transitions (e.g., elementary to secondary)
• Secondary schools share student information with post-secondary application centres to support college and university applications
• Information is shared with the Ministry of Education and the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) for system planning and accountability
• Information may be shared with provincial eLearning partners (e.g., Catholic Virtual Ontario and the Ontario eLearning Consortium)
• Voluntarily self-identified Indigenous ancestry information may be used to allocate programs and supports that enhance student achievement and well-being
• Student names and/or photographs may appear in yearbooks, honour rolls, graduation programs, and school events
• HWCDSB uses Board-approved third-party service providers (e.g., school photography services and digital learning platforms such as Office 365 and learning management systems). Limited student information may be shared as necessary to provide these services
• Personal information may be stored or processed using secure Board-approved systems and service providers
• Student personal information such as home address, photo, life-threatening medical emergency information, accessibility and safety needs may be shared with Hamilton-Wentworth Student Transportation Services, contracted bus company operators and bus drivers for the purpose of administering the board’s contracted bus program and for the safety of students
• Personal information such as a child’s name, birth date, grade, name of parents/guardians, home address and phone numbers will be shared with the Hamilton Public Health Unit in accordance with the Immunization of School Pupils Act. Communicable diseases (e.g., Measles, Tuberculosis) are reported and student contact information is shared for the purpose of contact tracing, in accordance with the Health Promotion and Protection Act and the Education Act
• School pictures are used for administrative and archival purposes, for student cards, in school yearbooks, and are also offered to parents for purchase. Examples of “administrative purposes” include: on severe allergy alerts posted in staff areas throughout schools, in student profiles in our electronic Student Information System, for occasional (supply) teachers when they enter a classroom for the first time, by principals and vice-principals when they are dealing with incidents in and around the school. *Please note, parents are not required to purchase student photos and may opt out of receiving information and sample portraits of their child(ren) from school picture photographers by talking to their school principal.

 

Research and Continuous Improvement

HWCDSB conducts internal research to evaluate programs and improve student outcomes. This may involve the collection and analysis of student data to support evidence-informed decision-making. All internal research is approved through Board processes and conducted in compliance with MFIPPA.

The Board may also collaborate with Ministry agencies, post-secondary institutions, and community partners. In these cases:

• Data is anonymized wherever possible
• Projects are approved through the HWCDSB Research Advisory Committee
• Privacy and confidentiality requirements are strictly followed

Where external researchers conduct their own research, participation is voluntary. Families will be asked to provide informed consent, and students may choose whether to participate.

School boards continually conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies and programs in an effort to continuously improve educational outcomes for all learners. Schools and curriculum departments will analyze different types of student data (e.g., test scores, marks, bullying survey data, etc.) and support educators as well as managers and superintendents to understand and use the best available research evidence to make decisions.

From time to time, HWCDSB collaborates with university researchers and community partners to enhance the research potential within the board. When student personal information is shared with university researchers and community partners so that they can assist with board research, all identifiers are removed from the data (i.e., names, OENs) so that the data is anonymous. University researchers and community partners make use of the findings (e.g., patterns, trends, correlations) from our research by sharing them with the larger education community, and by contributing to education knowledge in journal publications, conference presentations and public reports.

HWCDSB partners with McMaster University, Mohawk College, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, the Hamilton Community Foundation (HCF) and the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) to study student pathways from Kindergarten to post-secondary in order to learn how we can better support student success. Data in our student information system is anonymized and then merged with post-secondary student data (and then de-identified) in order to create a fuller picture of learning over the entire academic career. Research is conducted under strict controls in compliance with MFIPPA.

 

Protection of Personal Information

HWCDSB takes reasonable steps to protect personal information through administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, use, disclosure, loss, or theft.

Access to personal information is limited to individuals who require it to perform their professional responsibilities.

 

Access, Correction and Questions

Parents/guardians and students have the right to request access to, or correction of, personal information in accordance with MFIPPA and the Education Act.

Questions or concerns regarding the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, or requests under freedom of information legislation, may be directed to:

Office of Chief Executive Officer & Chief Education Officer (CEO/CEdO)
Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board
90 Mulberry Street
P.O. Box 2012
Hamilton, ON L8N 3R9
Phone: 905-525-2930, ext. 2147