As a public school board, the Halton District School Board is identified as an institution in the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Under certain circumstances, individuals employed by the Halton District School Board are Health Information Custodians as defined and regulated by the Personal Health Information Protection Act. These Acts, their regulations, administrative law decisions, policies, standards and best practices, as well as Halton District School Board policy and procedures guide the information handling practices of the school board.
Freedom of Information (FOI)
The Halton District School Board’s website contains many records that are available to the public without a formal freedom of information request. Key documents such as procedures, policies, press releases, agendas, and minutes are easily accessible.
If you can't find the information you're looking for on the Halton District School Board website, you can:
- Email us with a question to determine whether a formal request of information should be submitted at privacy@hdsb.ca
- Submit an information request (see below “How to submit an FOI Request”)
- Phone us at 905-335-3663 or toll free at 1-877-618-3456
- The public's right of access to information
- An individual's right to protection of privacy
This includes most general records and any records containing an individual's own personal information. An individual only has access to their own personal information, and no access to personal information about other students/employees.
Submitting an FOI Request
To submit for an FOI request:
- In a letter, describe exactly the information you want and enclose a $5 application fee.
- Deliver the letter and application fee to Freedom of Information Manager c/o Information Services, Halton District School Board at 2050 Guelph Line, Burlington, ON L7P 5A8
Cost for FOI Request
We charge the following costs for your request, according to FOI legislation:
- $30 per hour of search and preparation time for general information
- $0.20 cents/page for photocopying
- Postage fees
Other charges could include computer programming time or any costs incurred by the Board in completing your request. If your request is likely to be more than $25, we will provide you with a cost estimate before we do the work.
Response Wait Period
FOI legislation allows us 30 days to respond to requests, but we will get back to you as soon as we've gathered the information.
Appeals
Not satisfied with our response to your request? You can
file an appeal with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner within 30 days of the Board's decision.
Resources
For more information about FOI requests, you can contact
privacy@hdsb.ca or call 905-335-3663 or toll free at 1-877-618-3456 or visit one of the following websites: