Effective July 1, 2014, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) impacts how York Region District School Board communicates electronically with our parents and community partners. CASL prohibits the sending of any type of electronic message that is commercial in nature unless the recipient has provided specific and informed consent.
As a result, York Region District School Board requires your consent to receive any electronic messages which contain advertising or promotions regarding school fundraisers, lunch programs, field trips, the sale of yearbooks, purchasing of student photos, books, prom or dance tickets, athletic events with an entry fee or similar events and offers.
In order to consent to receive commercial electronic messages we must already have your email address on file with the school to receive non-commercial communications. If you have not provided your email address as a part of the registration process, please contact the school directly to have your email address added to the non-commercial communications.
If your email address is already on file with the school, please indicate your acceptance of commercial emails by providing your email address. The system will cross reference your email address with our database and if your email is on file with the school(s), you will receive a confirmation email.
Subscription to electronic school and Board communications of a commercial nature
I would like to subscribe.
I would like to unsubscribe.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CASL?
CASL is Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation which is effective July 1, 2014. More information is available on the Government of Canada’s website.
What do you mean by a commercial electronic message?
A commercial electronic message is any email, SMS text, voice or image sent to an electronic address if the purpose is to encourage or lead to an activity that involves the exchange of money for services or products. This includes information regarding school fundraisers, lunch programs, field trips, the sale of yearbooks, purchasing of student photos, books, prom or dance tickets, athletic events with an entry fee, or similar events and offers.
If I subscribe to commercial electronic messages, who will have access to my email address?
When you subscribe to commercial electronic messages, this information is saved in our Board systems and your child’s school. Under privacy law, we are not allowed to share your email addresses with any third party without your consent. Schools will share information on behalf of school councils and may, from time to time, share messages from our community partners.
If I do not subscribe, does that mean I will no longer receive emails from my child(ren)’s school?
You may still receive non-commercial emails from your child’s school or the Board. You will not receive commercial electronic information from school. This includes information regarding school fundraisers, lunch programs, field trips, the sale of yearbooks, purchasing of student photos, books, prom or dance tickets, athletic events with an entry fee or similar events and offers.
If you no longer wish to receive any emails from your school and the Board, please contact your school directly to have your email removed from our database.
If I subscribe, how many emails will I receive?
The amount of email will be at the discretion of the school, but likely no change from the volume you currently receive. You can choose to unsubscribe at any time.
Why can’t I call the school and have them add me to the subscribed list?
We must have a record on file that proves you have consented to receive commercial electronic messages, according to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation. In order to subscribe, we must have written consent or a time stamped electronic submission. You may call the school and ask them to send home a form to be completed and send it back to the school.
Why can’t I subscribe to all emails online?
Because schools sometimes send private information about attendance and marks to parents/guardians, it is important to confirm that email addresses are attached to the right children and that we have your authorization to communicate this private information by email. This requires parents to provide written consent at the time of registration or during registration updates at the beginning of each year.
Commercial electronic messages do not usually contain private information but are still connected to our students. As a result, when you subscribe online, the system will verify that your email address is already in the system and if it is it, will allow you to subscribe. If your email is not already on file, you will be asked to contact your school to update your child’s information card.
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL)