Education prepares a new inclusion decree with contributions from state experts
The 2011 norm is reviewed with contributions from other communities and the new text is expected to be approved before the end of the legislature.
PalmA committee of experts from various autonomous communities has participated in the technical review of the 2011 inclusive education decree with the aim of elaborating a new regulation adapted to current reality. The joint work has made it possible to define a battery of improvement proposals that will be translated into a draft decree, which the Government plans to submit for public exhibition soon.
The Minister of Education, Antoni Vera, explained that “a technical review of the 2011 decree has been carried out with experts from other autonomous communities” and that from this process “a series of improvement proposals have emerged that will be transferred in the form of a draft decree”. According to his details, the document “will be put on public exhibition and, previously, will be presented to the tables”, and will also “be the subject of debate in the Consell Escolar de les Illes Balears”.
Vera has pointed out that it is “a fair rule for attention to diversity and inclusion”, given that “the reality of 2011 has changed”. In this regard, the new decree foresees “new figures and new functions, such as managers, psychologists and a redefinition of the functions of the Educational Technical Auxiliaries (ATE)”, as well as reflecting the increase in guidance resources in Primary education and “the effort in the allocation for attention to diversity”.
Furthermore, he has highlighted that “we have the figure of resource centers, with special education centers that support ordinary centers”, and that “UECO classrooms are not just complementary, but the main or reference resource”. He also pointed out that the decree incorporates “coreresponsibility between family and school” and that “collaboration between areas such as health, education and welfare must be regulated”. The counselor has advanced that the rule “will not be ready for the start of the course, but the idea is that it will be in force before the end of the legislature”.
External contribution and legal guarantees
The education inspector of Cantabria, Raquel Pardo, who participated in the process, has highlighted that the report “is focused on the way of working” and that it has been developed with “much collaboration and moments of joint reflection to face challenges”. According to Pardo, the review has focused on “legal certainty, the internal coherence of the decree and on ensuring that the centers have the necessary resources to face diverse realities and the challenges of inclusive education”.
She also stressed that “co-responsibility with families has been reviewed, separating the technical part of the professionals and the role of families, who must have a voice and knowledge of the processes”.
Finally, she remarked that “it is a broad decree that seeks homogeneity in the performance of educational centers” and that the objective is to guarantee “inclusive education in all centers”. In this regard, she defended that “the commitment to inclusive education is unquestionable” and that “everything that is regulated must be realistic and designed to guarantee the best interests of the child, without making empty promises”.