Can a Dutch school confirm an incident to a reporter in 2026?

Written by Ward Peeters · Revised 30 August 2026 · 7 min read

What rules apply when a Dutch school speaks to a reporter in 2026?

In 2026 Dutch schools follow the same privacy law as every other organisation: the Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming (AVG), which is the Dutch implementation of the GDPR. The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, the Dutch data protection authority, states that a school may only share personal data if it has a legal basis. For a school incident, the most common basis is that the sharing is necessary for the school's task of education and safety, or that the school has a legitimate interest in informing the public.

A school cannot simply say anything a reporter asks; it must check each piece of information against the law. The rule applies to every school, whether primary, secondary or special education.

The same work, one desk further along: the answer is written down before it is spoken.

Can a school confirm that an incident like a fight or a fire took place?

Yes, a school can confirm that an incident occurred, as long as the confirmation does not identify a specific student. The Dutch Education Inspectorate (Inspectie van het Onderwijs) advises schools to prepare a standard media statement that describes the incident in general terms. For example: 'We can confirm that a fire broke out in the school building this morning.

No one was injured. ' This statement contains no personal data of any student or staff member. The school must not add details such as the class where the fire started, the name of the student who was involved, or the specific location in the building.

The information a school provides to a reporter is not documented on the pages of any specific tool, but the principle is the same across all Dutch schools. PR-Dashboard, a Dutch PR platform from Amsterdam, includes a tool for handling incoming press questions called Persvragen, which costs EUR 2,700 with no period stated on the product page, read 1 September 2026.

What specific information can a Dutch school spokesperson give to a reporter in 2026?

A spokesperson for a Dutch school can give the following information to a reporter: the type of incident (for example, a fire, a fight, a medical emergency, a police visit), the time and date of the incident, the general location within the school (for example, 'on the playground' or 'in the main building'), whether anyone was injured and what level of medical care they received (for example, 'treated by a school nurse' or 'taken to hospital for observation'), and what steps the school took (for example, 'evacuated the building' or 'contacted the parents').

The spokesperson cannot give the name of any student, the age or grade of any student, the medical details of any student, or any information that could identify a student when combined with other facts. The school must also check whether the reporter is asking for personal data of a staff member, which is protected in the same way.

The rules come from the AVG and the guidance of the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, not from any specific tool. The Dutch market has several tools that help a school manage these questions, including De Perslijst from PR-Dashboard, which costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, read 1 September 2026, and covers the Netherlands and Flanders.

How does the school's duty to inform parents change what a school can tell a reporter?

When an incident happens at a Dutch school, the school has a legal duty to inform the parents of the students involved. The school must tell the parents first, before it tells a reporter. The school cannot use a reporter's request as a reason to avoid telling parents.

The information the school gives to parents is more detailed than what it gives to a reporter, because the school has a direct relationship with the parents and a legal obligation to inform them under the Education Act (Wet op het primair onderwijs or Wet op het voortgezet onderwijs). A reporter does not have that legal basis. So the school must separate the two messages: one for parents with full details, and one for the public with only the general facts.

The school should also tell the parents that it will speak to the media, so that the parents are not surprised when they see the news. A school that uses a press inquiry handling system like the press-question module from the supplier can track these conversations and keep a record of what was said to whom. The product pages for the inquiry desk cost EUR 2,700, read 1 September 2026, with no period stated on the page.

What should a Dutch school check before it confirms anything to a reporter in 2026?

Before a Dutch school confirms any information to a reporter in 2026, the spokesperson should check three things. First, the school must check whether the incident is still under police investigation. The police may ask the school not to share details because it could affect the investigation.

The spokesperson should ask the police what they can say. Second, the school must check whether the reporter has correctly identified themselves. A school can ask for a press card or a byline in a known publication.

Third, the school must check whether sharing the information is necessary for the public interest. The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens says that the school must apply the principle of data minimisation: share the least amount of information that still answers the question. A school that does not have a protocol for this can look at tools that help with handling press questions.

The Dutch market has several options, including the press-question module from the supplier, which costs EUR 2,700, read 1 September 2026, and the cheaper the Amsterdam database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, which also includes a journalist database. The comparison table below shows how these costs compare to other tools on the market.

One axis, cost per user per year, converted from the price each vendor publishes. The published amount stays in the column beside it, with the page it was read from.

Wide table. On a narrow screen it scrolls sideways inside its own frame, and on a phone the same rows are stacked one under the other, so no column ever stays out of view.

What happens if a school says something it should not say to a reporter in 2026?

If a Dutch school spokesperson shares personal data of a student or staff member with a reporter without a legal basis, the school can face a fine from the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens. The fine for a first violation can be up to EUR 20,000 or a percentage of the school's budget, depending on the severity. The school can also face a complaint from the parents, who can ask the court to order the school to remove the information from the public domain.

The school's reputation can also suffer if the media reports that the school shared private information. The best way to avoid this is to have a media protocol ready before a reporter calls. The protocol should state who is allowed to speak to the media, what information is safe to share, and who must approve the statement before it is given.

A school that uses a tool like the press-question module from the supplier can store the protocol and the approved answers in the system, so that every spokesperson uses the same information. The inquiry desk product costs EUR 2,700, read 1 September 2026. A school can also use the cheaper the journalist database for EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, which includes a journalist database and a sending system for press releases.

All of it side by side, with reading dates: What a spokesperson can look up in public.