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UGDSB Counts: Student Census 2022 – FAQs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the UGDSB Counts Census voluntary?

The census is voluntary, but the goal is for UGDSB to count as many students as they can. Respondents can choose which questions they would like to answer. For students younger than 18 years of age, there is also the possibility of parents/ caregivers/ legal guardians of opting out of the survey in its entirety. The opt out form can be found here.

Why is the UGDSB asking about students’ sexual orientation?

A goal of the UGDSB gathering these data is to identify barriers to services, programs, and educational outcomes based on our students’ identity. Part of the analysis will include looking to see if there are any disparities or disproportionalities based on students’ sexual orientation. Furthermore, we will be able to do analysis on where these identities intersect (i.e., race and sexual orientation).

This question will be introduced in grade 7. This reflects the age at which this topic is discussed in the Ontario Health and Physical Education curriculum in relation to a student developing a positive self-concept.

Respondents may not know how they/their child identify(ies), and as such we have included these options:

Respondents also have the option of skipping the question.

Why are parents/caregivers filling out the census on behalf of students in Kindergarten to Grade 8?

All school boards in Ontario are required to administer a student census. This requirement comes from the Ministry of Education. Another requirement that we must follow is that in grades K – 8 the census must be sent to parents/caregivers, and parents/caregivers are to fill it out with or on behalf of their child.

How is the UGDSB using student census data to identify barriers?

The student identity-based data collected in the census will be joined with existing data in all of the areas below and then analyzed with the single purpose of identifying areas where UGDSB’s policies and programs are creating barriers to the educational outcomes of your children based on their identity.

This will be done by looking at the disparities or disproportionalities between identity-based groups.

The website says the census is confidential, but it is not anonymous. Can you explain this further?

The data we collect is confidential, but not anonymous. It is not anonymous because, to be able to analyze the data, we need to collect the data using a personal identifier. We will use this personal identifier to join the census data with the data sets we would like to analyze: 

After the data sets are joined, all personal identifiers will be removed. Therefore, all analysis will be completed with de-identified data. It is confidential because only select members of the UGDSB Research Department and select members of the IT Department will have access to the data. One member of the Research Department needs access to analyze the data and make reports. One member of the IT Department needs access to manage the database (which will be separate from any existing student information system). It should also be noted that the data will be encrypted while it is stored in the database.