Interviews and document analysis provide assessment of policy and practice relating to student information. Provincial legislation was inadequate, local policy was largely absent and sporadically applied, procedures necessary to protect privacy were seldom specified or followed, and data were of insufficiently high quality to justify their…

Legal and ethical issues involved in the balance between concern over school violence and regard for the individual rights of students are explored. Several Canadian cases involving duty of care, the 1995 amendment to the Young Offenders Act, and the confidentiality of student records are reviewed. Confidentiality guidelines are proposed. (SLD)