Parliament is pushing for a legislative change to ban teachers convicted of harassment.

PalmThe case of Miquel Roldán was debated this Tuesday in the Catalan Parliament. The plenary session approved the consideration of a bill proposed by the People's Party (PP) to prevent individuals convicted of child abuse from working as teachers or in any other profession involving regular contact with children. The initiative passed with 50 votes in favor from all parties and three abstentions from Vox. The proposal seeks to amend the Organic Law on Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence (LOVIPI), an amendment that, if definitively approved, must be sent to the Congress of Deputies for final ratification. Specifically, it contemplates expanding the grounds for automatic disqualification from practicing professions, trades, and activities that involve contact with minors.

The initiation of the process comes months after the case of teacher Miquel Roldán, convicted precisely for harassment. His return to the CEIP Maria Antònia Salvà school, where he had had problems years before, generated complaints among families and led to a strike in which the children did not attend classes. However, Durán stressed that the initiative does not respond to a specific case, but to the need to strengthen the protection of minors. According to the PP (People's Party), the current regulations leave the Ministry of Education and schools "powerless and without the capacity to act with the forcefulness that the situation requires." Currently, these disqualifications focus on sexual offenses and human trafficking. The PP initiative proposes also including crimes of harassment of minors, mistreatment, and hate crimes.

The Ministry of Education asked the Spanish government in September 2025 to channel the modification of the organic law through the Congress of Deputies, but this is not expected. Given this, the Popular Party is now taking the initiative in the Catalan Parliament. If approved, it would then have to be sent to the lower house.

Majority agreement

PP deputy Marga Durán, tasked with defending the initiative, emphasized the importance of guaranteeing children's safety and appealed to the shared responsibility of the parliamentary groups: "We call on all groups to send a clear message to the public: that when it comes to the safety of minors, we are all capable of working together." She also expressed her willingness to reach a consensus to finalize the legal text with the "best possible wording."

On behalf of the PSIB-PSOE, Deputy Amanda Fernández agreed that there is a legal loophole that "is important to address to ensure the safety of minors and their families," although she criticized the PP for presenting the proposal "just to look good." The initiative was also supported by MÉS per Mallorca and Més per Menorca. Ecosovereignist Deputy Maria Ramon argued that it is "good and necessary" to expand the grounds for disqualification to include hate crimes and assaults, while Joana Gomila, representing Menorca, emphasized that the measure can "strengthen the safety of minors and help prevent abusive or criminal behavior." Deputy José María García of Unides Podem echoed this sentiment, stressing that children must be "especially protected." The only group that did not support the motion for consideration was Vox, which abstained. Congresswoman Manuela Cañadas has argued that the expansion of the crimes should be done from a "comprehensive" perspective and not a "partial" one, and has questioned the exclusion of certain cases, such as those related to terrorism.