News Release from the OCDSB:
Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 November 2010 14:53
Student Survey Start Date Delayed
November 17, 2010 Ottawa, ON — The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board is delaying the start date of the student survey. The delay is in response to a request made by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario. The school district has been working in conjunction with the Commission to ensure compliance with privacy and information security principles.
Director of Education Barrie Hammond stated "Privacy and security of information are very important to us, which is why we have been liaising with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. We have recently been advised that the Commission is now investigating a complaint about the survey. We are cooperating with that investigation and believe that it is prudent to delay the start date of the survey until the investigation is complete."
In developing the survey, every effort was made to ensure appropriate privacy and security measures were in place to protect sensitive student information. Working with the Commission will allow us to review our work and if necessary, take additional privacy measures. The district will announce the new start date of the survey once it has been made aware of the findings of the investigation.
The student survey was scheduled to run from November 22 to December 10, 2010. The voluntary survey seeks to gather demographic information about the student population in order to better understand learning needs. The survey data will be used to inform the Board and School Improvement Plans and future program reviews, research and partnership opportunities. The survey results will only be reported at the district or school level; not at the individual student level. More details about the survey are available at www.ocdsb.ca.
As this matter is currently under investigation, the district will not comment on the details of the investigation or speculate on the outcome. "We have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the process. We are committed to working with the Commission and we will keep our community informed. The respectful way to balance those commitments is to make the community aware of the delay, cooperate with the investigation, review and act on any recommendations coming out of the investigation, and communicate facts about this matter once they are known" said Hammond.
Mr. Hammond will be available to speak to the media at 3:00 p.m. today (November 17, 2010) at the Board Office located at 133 Greenbank in the Atrium.
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For further information, please contact: Sharlene Hunter in OCDSB Communications at 613-596-8264
