The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is seeking public feedback on proposed updates to the Student Records Regulations. Proposed updates are intended to increase communication between the Minister and education bodies by establishing mechanisms for the exchange of information.

The proposed mechanisms would:

• Permit the Minister to access student records for the purposes of evaluating school programs and monitoring student progress.
• Permit school staff to disclose information within a student record to an education body or to the Department of Education, Culture and Employment.

These proposed updates are in part due to feedback from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, which identified areas for improvement for the GNWT to collect and use data to monitor the education system, identify and address gaps, and ensure the system is working towards improving student outcomes.

Proposed updates also allow the GNWT to access information provided by education bodies for internal monitoring purposes, while ensuring personal privacy is protected. Improved access to data will help the GNWT evaluate and monitor student progress and inform decisions to improve student outcomes.

Additional changes to the regulations are due to the implementation of a new Northwest Territories adapted curriculum based on the British Columbia curriculum and large-scale student assessments. The transition from Alberta to British Columbia curriculum necessitated updates to the regulations to remove specific references to Alberta, generalize terminology, and update information contained in student records.

Read the plain language summary for more information about the proposed changes.

The public is invited to provide feedback by January 24, 2025 here.

For media requests, please contact:

Public Affairs and Communications
Education, Culture and Employment
Government of the Northwest Territories 
ecepublicaffairs@gov.nt.ca 

867-767-9352 ext. 71073