What are my family’s privacy rights at school?

Schools can collect personal information when authorised by law, including information directly related to and necessary for their educational programmes and activities.

This does not give schools unlimited authority to collect information simply because it might be useful.

For example, a school may need documentation explaining your child’s disability-related needs and recommended accommodations. It may not need unrelated details about family members contained in the same assessment.

When collecting information directly from you, schools generally must explain the purpose of collection, their legal authority and who can answer questions about it.

You can ask: What information do you need, why is it necessary and could I provide a shorter summary instead?

School staff may access information when authorised for legitimate educational or administrative purposes.

However, different staff members may need different levels of detail.

For example, a teacher may need to know that your child requires sensory accommodations without needing access to sensitive family history in a psychological assessment.

You can ask the school or district privacy officer how access is controlled, whether access is recorded and which staff roles can view particular records.

Yes. You can ask the school to restrict access to people who need the information for legitimate purposes.

For example, you might ask that teachers receive a summary of accommodations rather than the complete psychological assessment.

The school may still be legally authorised to share relevant information internally, even without your consent.

However, it is reasonable to ask whether sensitive details can be kept separate from information staff need for day-to-day support.

Retention depends on the type of record and the district’s approved records retention schedule.

Some student records must be retained for many years, while other records may be destroyed sooner.

Under FIPPA, personal information used to make a decision directly affecting an individual generally must be retained for at least one year after its use.

You can ask: How long will this particular assessment or report be retained, and what happens to it when that period ends?

You can also request a copy of the district’s retention policy.

You can ask, but the school may not be able to delete it immediately.

Districts have legal and administrative obligations to retain certain records, even when families would prefer that they be removed.

If you are concerned about an assessment containing unnecessary sensitive information, ask whether the complete report must be retained, whether access can be restricted and whether unnecessary copies can be securely destroyed.

If the information is inaccurate, you may also have grounds to request a correction.

Be careful about requesting deletion of records that may be important evidence if you later need to challenge a decision, appeal, or pursue a human rights complaint.

For more information:

• BC’s Permanent Student Record Instructions explain which student records schools must retain and which are subject to district retention policies.
• FIPPA, Section 31: Retention of personal information explains the legal requirements governing how long public bodies must retain personal information.

Some educational records are transferred when students move between schools or districts to support continuity of education. You can ask which records will be transferred, whether sensitive assessments are included, how they will be shared and who will have access at the receiving school.

This can be particularly important when a report contains sensitive family information or descriptions of behaviour that may no longer reflect your child’s circumstances.

Sometimes. School districts may use outside organisations to provide educational services, assessments, technology or administrative support.

Sharing personal information must have a lawful basis, and districts remain responsible for protecting information in their custody or under their control.

For example, information may be stored or processed through an external student information system or educational technology provider.

You can ask: Which outside organisations have access to my child’s information, what information do they receive and what safeguards apply?

You can ask whether the district maintains access logs showing when records were viewed, changed or downloaded.

You may also make a formal FIPPA request for existing access logs or other records documenting access to your child’s information.

However, not all systems maintain detailed logs, and some information may be withheld under applicable exceptions.

An FOI request gives you access rights to existing records; it does not automatically require the district to create a new record.

Yes. FIPPA gives individuals the right to request access to records held by public bodies, subject to exceptions.

Parents and guardians may be able to request records on behalf of their children, depending on their legal authority and the child’s own privacy interests.

You can request assessments, correspondence, incident reports, meeting notes and other records.

Make your request in writing to the district’s freedom of information office. Be specific about the records and date range you want.

The district generally has 30 business days to respond, although lawful extensions are possible.

There is no fee for requesting access to your own personal information.

Yes. Under section 29 of FIPPA, you can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.

For example, you may discover an incident report that incorrectly describes your child’s actions or a record containing inaccurate medical information.

Explain what is wrong and provide supporting information where possible.

If the district does not make the requested correction, it must annotate the record with the correction requested but not made.

This does not mean every disagreement about a professional opinion requires the school to rewrite the original record. However, you can ask that your disagreement and relevant corrections be documented.

Start by contacting the district’s privacy officer in writing.

Explain what happened, what information was involved and what you would like the district to investigate or correct.

For example, you might be concerned that a confidential assessment was sent to the wrong person, that staff accessed information without a legitimate reason or that sensitive records were shared unnecessarily.

Ask for a written response explaining the findings and any corrective steps.

If you cannot resolve the concern with the district, you can consider making a complaint to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC (OIPC).

You can also ask the OIPC to review certain access-to-information decisions, including refusals to disclose records.

You do not need a lawyer to make an FOI request.

1. Identify the records you want and the relevant date range.
2. Send a written request to your district’s freedom of information office.
3. Keep a copy and record the date you submitted it.
4. Watch for a response, generally within 30 business days unless an extension applies.
5. If the response is incomplete, delayed or refuses access, review your options for raising concerns or requesting a review.

Sample FOI request

Subject: Freedom of Information request – student records

Hello,

Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, I am requesting access to records containing personal information about my child, [name], for the period [dates].

Specifically, I am requesting:

• Copies of [identify records].
• Existing records documenting the collection, use or disclosure of this information.
• Any available access logs relating to the specified records.

Please let me know if you require documentation confirming my authority to request this information on my child’s behalf.

Thank you,
[Name]

You can request personal information without explaining why you want it.

For questions about how your school district handles personal information, contact its privacy officer.

For information about your rights, access requests and complaints, visit the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC.

You can also consult BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Remember: Sharing information to secure educational support does not mean giving up your child’s privacy. Schools have responsibilities to collect, use, disclose, retain and protect personal information lawfully.