Page 16 - Building Bridges to Success for First Nation, Métis and Inuit Students – Developing Policies for Voluntary, Confidential Aboriginal Student Self-Identification: Successful Practices for Ontario School Boards

• Building Bridges to Success for First Nation, Métis and Inuit Students
THE EDUCATION ACT
In addition to defining the uses that will be made of the personal information collected under a self-identification policy, a school board must understand its legal obligations with respect to disclosing the personal information to the Ministry of Education and the EQAO.
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Section 8.1 of the Education Act gives the minister authority to collect 2
personal information indirectly and to require a school board to disclose personal information that is reasonable and necessary for purposes set out in section 8.1(1), including administering the Education Act and its regula- 3
tions, implementing policies and guidelines made under the act, planning services, allocating resources to the services, and evaluating or monitoring the services (see Appendix C).
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Clause 4(1)(b) of the Education Quality and Accountability2Act gives the EQAO the authority to require a school board to provide personal infor- mation to it to allow it to carry out its objectives.
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Step 2: Consultation
BUILDING UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORT
Success in developing a student self-identification
policy depends on the support of Aboriginal students,
parents, and communities. These individuals and
groups need to understand, first of all, that student
self-identification as First Nation, Métis, or Inuit is voluntary. Second, they need to know how Aboriginal children and youth will
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b
enefit from the collection of data. It is essential for school boards to communicate that the goal of the initiative is improvement in student achievement through 2
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1FOUNDATIONS 2 CONSULTATION 3 IMPLEMENTATION
ESTABLISHING DIALOGUE
Consultations should be held with a broad range of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit families, communities, and organizations, includ- ing Native Friendship Centres and other local political and service delivery groups. A list of selected provincial and local Aboriginal organizations is provided in Appendix D of this guide.
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