By Canadian Press

Privacy commissioner weighs in

GSAs protected under privacy laws

Jun 19, 2019 | 7:03 AM

EDMONTON- Alberta’s privacy commissioner has issued an advisory about the privacy rights of students amid debate over gay-straight alliances in schools.

Commissioner Jill Clayton says she felt an advisory was necessary because she’s been following the debate over provincial legislation to reform the education system.

Bill 6 would remove a specific ban on schools informing parents whether a student is in a GSA and Clayton says she hopes the advisory will give school boards and private schools a better understanding of their obligations to student privacy.

The advisory states the disclosure of any personal information, including someone’s membership in a voluntary student organization, must be in accordance with Alberta’s privacy laws and that the ability to control one’s own information is at the core of those laws.

Alberta’s Official Opposition says Clayton’s statement illustrates why the privacy protections that exist in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection Act do not go far enough.

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Both of these Acts allow for a great deal of discretion for teachers, parents, and school administrators to decide whether outing a student or disclosing that the student is in a GSA is an ‘unreasonable invasion’ of the student’s privacy,” said Rakhi Pancholi, NDP Children’s Services critic. “The Acts also allow for significant discretion to determine whether the student is mature enough to provide their own consent to the disclosure.”

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange released a lengthy statement on Friday defending the government’s commitment to protecting LGBTQ2S+ students.