| Policy Code | 102 |
|---|---|
| Adoption Date | May 26, 2026 |
| Amendment Date | — |
| Cross Reference | Policy 101, Policy 310, Policy 311, AP-328 |
| Legal Reference | Education Act, SA 2012, c E-0.3; Protection of Privacy Act, SA 2024, c P-28.5 |
Grasslands Public Schools recognizes that risk is an inherent part of balancing student safety, resource management, legislative compliance, operations, and information security. Because eliminating all risk is operationally impractical, the Division does not pursue a zero-risk environment.
Instead, the Board expects risks to be proactively identified, assessed, and managed through proportionate administrative procedures. Residual risk must be documented and accepted by the appropriate authority. Risk management must be a deliberate, continuous practice embedded in the Division's decision-making culture, not merely a reactive exercise.
GUIDELINES
Risk management philosophy
The Division shall approach risk management with the understanding that decisions involve trade-offs between opportunity and exposure. The goal is not the avoidance of all risk but the informed acceptance of risk that is proportionate to the Division's mission, capacity, and the interests of the students and communities it serves.
The level of effort devoted to managing a given risk shall be commensurate with the likelihood of the risk materializing and the severity of its consequences. The Division shall not invest disproportionate resources in mitigating risks that are remote or that would cause only minor inconvenience, nor shall it accept without deliberation risks that could cause serious harm to students, staff, or organizational viability.
Risk management is the responsibility of every employee. Staff who are closest to an activity are often best positioned to identify emerging risks. The Division shall foster an environment in which risks and concerns can be raised without fear of reprisal.
Risk domains
The Board expects that risks across the following domains are identified and managed through appropriate administrative procedures:
Student and staff safety. Risks to the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of students and staff, including those arising from activities, supervision, transportation, facilities, and interactions with staff, volunteers, and other students.
Financial integrity. Risks to the responsible stewardship of public funds, including exposure to fraud, mismanagement, unfunded liabilities, inadequate insurance, and non-compliance with financial reporting obligations.
Operational continuity. Risks to the Division's ability to deliver educational programs and essential services, including disruptions caused by infrastructure failure, natural disaster, supply chain interruption, staffing shortages, or loss of critical systems.
Legal and regulatory compliance. Risks arising from non-compliance with provincial and federal legislation, ministerial regulations, contractual obligations, and the standards established by regulatory bodies.
Information security and privacy. Risks to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the Division's information assets, including personal information of students, staff, and families.
Reputation and public trust. Risks to the Division's standing in the communities it serves, including those arising from communication failures, public incidents, governance lapses, or erosion of stakeholder confidence. The Board recognizes that reputational risk is often a consequence of failures in other domains rather than a standalone category and expects that managing the underlying risks is the primary mitigation.
Proportionality and pragmatism
Grasslands Public Schools is a small school division with finite resources. The Administrative procedures shall adopt methodologies that are rigorous enough to support defensible decisions but practical enough to be sustained by the staff and resources available.
Where a risk cannot be fully mitigated within available resources, the Superintendent shall ensure that the residual risk is documented, that compensating measures are identified where practical, and that the risk is accepted at the appropriate authority level as defined in the relevant administrative procedure.
The Division shall not allow the absence of a perfect solution to prevent the implementation of a good one. Incremental improvement in risk management is preferable to inaction.
Risk-informed decision making
Significant decisions including the adoption of new programs, the acquisition of major systems, the entry into substantial contractual relationships, and changes to service delivery models shall consider their risk implications as part of the decision-making process.
Risk-informed decision making does not require that every decision be preceded by a formal risk assessment. It requires that decision makers consider what could go wrong, how likely that is, and what the consequences would be, and that they make their decisions with that understanding rather than in spite of it.
Risk oversight and reporting
The Superintendent shall ensure that the Division maintains administrative procedures for risk assessment and management that are appropriate to the Division's size, complexity, and risk profile.
The Board shall be informed as soon as possible of any risk event that has the potential to materially affect student safety, the Division's financial position, its legal standing, or its ability to deliver educational programs.