Can students ask counsellors or teachers to keep certain personal information confidential and not to disclose it to parents?
• Parents have access to the student record, unless the student is over 18 or an independent student. • A school may disclose other personal information of students to parents against the wishes of the student if the head believes the disclosure will avert or minimize imminent danger to any person (section 40(1)(ee)) or if the disclosure would not be an unreasonable invasion of the student’s personal privacy under section 17. A situation of imminent danger might be a student confiding suicidal thoughts to a counsellor. In order to make a determination that a disclosure would not be an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy, a school would have to weigh the factors in section 17. For example, it would not be an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy to disclose the student’s personal information to the parent if there are compelling circumstances affecting either the health or safety of the student or of any other person (e.g. the student threatens to harm someone).
