District School Board Ontario North East (DSB1) is committed to accountable, transparent, and secure information governance. In accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA), the Education Act, the Ontario Student Record (OSR) Guideline, and other relevant provincial and federal statutes, the Board recognizes information as a vital public asset.

A structured records management program ensures records are systematically managed and retained to support operational needs, legal compliance, fiscal accountability, and historical preservation. Establishing clear retention and secure disposal schedules mitigates privacy risks, ensures regulatory compliance, and supports public transparency and administrative efficiency.

2.0 Definitions

Record: Any unit of recorded information however made or stored, including paper documents, digital files, email and messaging communications, databases, photographs, maps, video recordings, and machine-readable data in the custody or under the control of the Board.

Custody or Control: All records in the physical or digital possession of the Board, or records where the Board maintains the legal right or authority to regulate, manage, use, or dispose of the information, regardless of physical or cloud hosting location.

Records Retention and Disposition Schedule: A comprehensive functional schedule, aligned with the Ontario school board Generic Records Retention Schedule (GRRS), that sets out the prescribed retention periods, storage conditions, and authorized final disposition methods for all classes of Board records.

Transitory Records: Temporary records that have only short-term, immediate utility and possess no ongoing legal, fiscal, operational, or historical value (e.g., drafts, convenience copies, routine scheduling messages). These may be routinely destroyed once their immediate purpose has been fulfilled.

Legal Hold: A formal directive issued by Legal Counsel or Executive Council that temporarily suspends the scheduled destruction or disposal of specific records relevant to active or reasonably anticipated litigation, audits, investigations, or freedom of information access requests.

Secure Disposition: The permanent destruction or transfer of records at the end of their lifecycle using authorized, secure methods (e.g., cross-cut shredding, certified digital data wiping) to ensure information cannot be retrieved, reconstructed, or intercepted.

3.0 Policy

DSB1 is committed to effective, transparent, and secure information governance. The Board shall maintain a Records and Information Management Program, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) (or designate) is authorized to establish an Administrative Procedure containing the Board’s Retention and Disposition Schedule (GRRS). All employees and third-party service providers must adhere to these established retention, security, and disposal standards, and no record subject to a legal hold or MFIPPA access request shall be destroyed or altered.

References

The Education Act

The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA)

The Ontario Student Record (OSR) Guideline