Schools, students, parents/carers and the IB all have their own responsibilities to ensure a successful IB experience.
The IB's responsibilities
Diversity, equity and inclusion
The IB commits to being fully focused on the needs of our students, IB World Schools and their educators, as well as IB staff. We challenge ourselves to become a more diverse, open, inclusive, and accepting organization. We stand against racism, prejudice, discrimination and marginalization wherever we can.
Read the IB’s full diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) statement.
Your data is only shared when required by law
The IB will only share information about you with your school and regulatory authorities if required by your national laws.
- to provide results of your education to universities and admission offices
- to provide advice and feedback, with respect to assessments, to your school on improving education
- to provide support to educators worldwide to improve education, data used for such purposes is anonymous
- for advertising and promotional purposes for the IB organization
- for educational, training, commercial and other compatible purposes
- to engage in and process transactions with the student or school
- to fulfil statutory, regulatory, reporting, and/or legal obligations
- to conduct research about improving assessment and education in line with the IB philosophy. Data used for such purposes is anonymous.
Read full details about how we use and share your data in the IB’s privacy policy.
You have intellectual property rights
You keep full copyright ownership in all materials you submit for assessment purposes and grant the IB a licence to reuse your materials for educational purposes. The IB will make sure not to reproduce candidates’ personal names.
Although Primary Years Programme (PYP) students do not submit materials for assessment purposes, from time to time, the IB may ask PYP schools for samples of student work. The IB uses these materials for educational, training, commercial or promotional purposes. When a student starts the PYP, we ask their parents to state whether they agree to submitting the student’s materials to the IB organization.
Read our rules for the use of IB intellectual property rights.
School responsibilities
The main responsibility of your IB World School is to work with you to provide a high-quality and inclusive IB education.
Equity and inclusion (removing barriers)
The IB believes that you should be able to fully participate in your school life. You should not be held back by any barriers or challenges that affect your learning and growth as a student.
Students can have different kinds of barriers and challenges during their schooling:
- Vision, hearing or other physical impairments
- Mental or emotional challenges such as anxiety, stress or difficulty concentrating
- Language barriers
- Identity-related difficulties
- Giftedness
All of these can be supported when barriers are identified and addressed.
Your school will work with you to find ways of participation and engagement in learning and teaching that are not impacted by barriers, for example:
- giving you written notes and scripts if you cannot hear the teacher
- helping you with prompts to help your concentration
- creating challenging tasks in your area of giftedness; or
- creating emotionally safe spaces for you.
Your school will share its inclusion policy with you. As an IB student, we also expect you to recognize that such challenges are part of what makes each of us who we are, and to support all your fellow students with their learning as your equal.
The IB will also work with your school to ensure that the approaches taken in the classroom for learning are reflected in your IB assessments.
So as an IB student, if you have any new or existing academic, emotional or physical difficulty that affects your learning, talk to an adult you trust in school.
There are key IB roles in a school
Your school has an IB programme coordinator who is responsible for making sure you receive a high-quality IB education. Your coordinator is the first person to ask if you have questions about the IB. Your teachers also have received specific IB training and the head of your school is accountable to the IB for maintaining our rules and expectations.
Schools must provide you with information
The IB produces documents, guidance and instructions about its programmes. Your school must provide you with the information you need to know. This includes the process to follow if you have a complaint or wish to appeal an IB programme decision the school makes.
Schools are independent of the IB
Your school handles the implementation of the IB programme and the quality of teaching in the school. The IB does not interfere with the running of the school.
Schools must operate following local laws
IB schools must operate under local laws and follow best practices in the area of child protection. Concerns about child protection and well-being need to be raised with the school or local police. (Rules for IB World Schools/Rules for candidate schools, 2.3).
Student responsibilities
Academic integrity
The IB expects students to produce original pieces of work. It is wrong to present other people’s ideas as your own, whether the source is a classmate, a book, the internet, or a famous expert.
Your school will teach you how to be proud of explaining that you understood someone else's ideas and how to them credit for their ideas (called referencing).
Your school sets its own rules on how it will respond, and what the consequences are if you cheat in class work or school examinations. These rules may become stricter as you approach the end of your course. Ask your school for a copy of its academic integrity policy.
When taking IB assessments there are strict rules to ensure fairness. If you cheat on IB assessments, you generally will not be allowed to do the work again. In most cases, you will not receive a grade for the course.
If you submit a piece of work to the IB which is offensive or unethical, then the IB reserves the right to refuse to mark it and will raise the issue with your school.
So as an IB student, act with (academic) integrity at all times, by only taking credit for your own work and recognizing and citing all the contributions of others.
Read more about academic integrity in the IB.
Raising concerns and complaints
Start by talking to your teachers and school leadership
If you have a problem or a worry, the best person to talk to is a teacher or someone else in authority at your school. All IB World Schools have written procedures for how they deal with complaints and student requests for appeals against IB programme-related decisions taken by the school.
How can you raise concerns with the IB
Your coordinator and school staff are best positioned to address your concerns or to contact the IB on your behalf.
In extreme circumstances, please go to the IB's feedback and complaints web page.
