Early Childhood Educators Act
define professional misconduct in a manner that could include conduct
related to videotaping in the classroom. The definition under both Regulations includes unauthorized
disclosure of personal information, disgraceful, dishonourable, or unprofessional act or omissions,
or conduct unbecoming a member, any of which could be triggered as a result of videotaping in the
classroom.
Board Policies / Protocols
Education staff should be aware of policies their school boards have in place concerning privacy of
personal information and what they require in terms of the collection, use, storage, disclosure, and
destruction of personal information concerning students, teachers, and others. Failure to comply may
lead to disciplinary consequences.
ETFO’s policy on information and communication technology reinforces many of the issues addressed in
this publication. It can be found on the ETFO website.
Recommendations
In light of the many sources of obligations around protecting the privacy of personal information of
students, teachers, and others, ETFO recommends avoiding the practice of members videotaping
themselves, colleagues, or teacher candidates in the classroom. However, if it is a common practice at
your board, ETFO recommends the following best practices:
O familiarize yourself with the policies governing your workplace;
O treat all information about students, teachers, and others as personal information deserving of
protection under the network of applicable legislation;
O be aware that school boards are likely to consider any information education staff create in the
performance of their duties to be the property of the board, not the member. Videos should
be deleted after they have been reviewed or should be maintained in a way to ensure privacy
and limited access. Members should be prepared for the possibility that access to such videos
likely will be granted to students or their parents if requested, or to other adults who have been
videotaped;
O if you are unsure about anything to do with videotaping, seek direction from your school
administration. If you have concerns about the direction you have been given, consult your ETFO
local office or staff in PRS; and
O consider whether there should be a request for training of staff more generally on these issues
from the school administrator or the school board’s information and privacy officer.
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