GREATER SASKATOON CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
Student Records Policy
Statement of Policy
Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools is committed to producing and maintaining student records which assist staff in providing effective educational programs.
Rationale
Student records are an important part of the educational process. They support effective and responsive programming for students over the course of their school attendance and beyond. In many cases, a number of different sources contribute educationally relevant information to a student’s record. Student mobility, appropriate sharing of information and transition planning combine to describe the need for division guidelines in this area.
Authority
All personal information is subject to the provisions of The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LA FOIP).
Guidelines
Four types of student records will be maintained:
1. Cumulative Records (commonly known as the CUM file),
2. Student Services Records,
3. Permanent Record Cards, and
4. Attendance Registers (commonly known as School Registers).
Access to records
Access shall be granted to the following:
ü a student whose parents or guardians are in attendance when access is granted;
ü a parent or guardian of a student where the student is dependent on the parent or guardian;
ü a student who is eighteen years of age or older;
ü a student who is sixteen years of age or older and living independently;
ü duly authorized officers of the Ministry of Education;
ü school officials designated by the board of education or education authority;
ü a youth worker, as defined in the Youth Criminal Justice Act, who requests access for purposes of that Act; and,
ü third parties where written authorization for information release is obtained from the parents or guardians of students seventeen years of age or younger or from the student eighteen years of age or older. Letters of authorization for information release shall be retained in the file.
In circumstances involving custody arrangements, it should be assumed that both parents have equal access to information unless a written order has been submitted to “prove” which parent has or does not have access to the student information. A copy of the most recent custody order should be in the CUM file.
Procedures
The school principal, except as otherwise noted, is responsible for the collection, maintenance and release of a Permanent Record Cards, Cumulative Records, and the Attendance Registers. Cumulative Records must be stored such that it provides reasonable protection to the information and files must remain on-site.
1. Cumulative Record
The Cumulative Record shall be the official working record for students currently enrolled in Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools.
a) Every student in the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools shall have a Cumulative Record.
b) The Cumulative Record shall be the property and responsibility of the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools’ Board of Education while the student is enrolled in the school division.
c) The Cumulative Record shall contain at minimum the following:
· Registration form information
o the student’s name as registered under The Vital Statistics Act, 1995 or, if the student was born in another jurisdiction, the student’s name as registered in that jurisdiction,
o other names by which the student is known,
o the birth date and gender of the student,
o the student’s provincial Learning Identification Number (LID),
o the name(s), address(es) and telephone number(s) of the student’s custodial parent(s) or guardian(s),
o the names of other parents/guardians who may have custody orders that restrict access to their child or the child’s personal information.
· A summary or report of achievement at the end of each grade or semester (progress report),
· Annual summary of student attendance,
· Medical information about the student pertinent to program planning that the parent or student provides,
· The student’s results of diagnostic tests or other assessments pertinent to program planning including parental consent form,
· For a student that has a Personal Program Plan (PPP), as described in the Children’s Services Policy Framework, a copy of the current plan and a copy of the previous plan
d) Under the supervision of the director of education or an official designated by the director, the principal shall be responsible for the collection, maintenance and release of student Cumulative Records.
e) All teaching staff delivering programming shall be responsible for entering data in the Cumulative Record.
f) The principal shall be responsible for managing annual updates to the Cumulative Record and removing unnecessary and outdated information.
Transfer of Cumulative Record
The school principal or a person designated by the principal shall manage the receipt and transfer of Cumulative Records.
Student Transferring In:
a) Within five working days of a student’s enrollment in a school, the principal shall request the student’s Cumulative Record from the student’s previous school.
b) The location of the Cumulative Record shall be updated in MAT.
c) If reasonable attempts to obtain the Cumulative Record are unsuccessful, then a new Cumulative Record shall be created for the student.
Student Transferring Out:
a) Upon receiving a request to transfer a Cumulative Record, the Cumulative Record shall be sent including all contents as outlined in Procedures 1C, within three working days to the student’s new school by:
· Inter-office/division delivery if within the city,
· by Registered Mail if outside the city but within the province, and
· if out of province or country, then a copy will be forwarded to the new school with the original file to be sent to the Division Office for storage.
b) The location of the CUM is to be updated in MAT.
2. Student Services Record
In addition to the Cumulative Record, in some circumstances, an additional student record may be created. This record shall be kept at the division office and contain information that requires informed consent prior to release. This record may contain educationally relevant information such as cognitive assessment results and third-party reports.
A clearly identifiable note shall be placed in the Cumulative Record indicating the existence of this record and procedures to access its information.
When a student transfers out and upon receiving a request and consent, a copy of the contents shall be forwarded to the receiving school as soon as possible.
3. Permanent Record Card
a) A permanent record card is to be created for each student upon registration.
b) The permanent record card is to be reviewed and updated for each student prior to the end of each school year.
c) Permanent record cards shall be retained in perpetuity.
d) Upon a student leaving the school division, the principal shall forward the permanent record card to the Board Office for permanent storage.
e) Upon graduation, the permanent record card is to be permanently stored at the high school.
4. Attendance Registers
Legislation states that school divisions are to complete and maintain Attendance Registers (School Registers) for each and every classroom and these registers must be kept in perpetuity. At the end of the school year in June, the hard copy is to be submitted to the board office for storage.
Record Disposal
With the exception of the Permanent Record Cards and Attendance Registers, records shall be disposed of when the student reaches the age of 30 years.
Date: September 2010