If you were born in 1994 and attended a public school in and around Moose Jaw, you will not have to worry about your personal files possibly being released to the public.
A Prairie South School Division (PSSD) board policy dictates that records be retained for a specified period under the Saskatchewan Learning Records Retention and Disposal Schedule. The files are to be retained and disposed of in accordance with the directives of the Education Act 1995, the Local Government Elect Act and the Archives Act.
The Local Authority and Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LA FOIP) also requires the division to not keep records with personal information any longer than the purpose for which the information was collected. The act requires the board of education to approve the disposal of public records; PSSD’s board of education has chosen to approve the disposal of all records.
Files to be destroyed this year include student cumulative files and student learning files for any student born in 1994. These files have to be retained until the student turns 25, at which point, the documents can be sent to the shredder.
Inactive personnel files for staff who ceased working for the division in 2012 or earlier will also be destroyed. These files have to be retained for seven years after the end of employment.
During their Jan. 7 board meeting, PSSD trustees voted to approve the disposal of the files.
“It’s ongoing work that we’re currently engaged in to ensure that we continue to live up to our commitments for record sanctity and privacy,” Stephen Robitaille, chief financial officer, told trustees.
The school division has done a good job of consolidating its records over the years, especially since these files are now at the end of their statutory retention, said trustee Shawn Davidson (subdivision 5). He remembered passing motions as a trustee where lists of records that needed to be destroyed were seven and eight pages long, since the old files had been retained from legacy school divisions that came together to form Prairie South School Division in 2006.
The next board meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m.
