Without a doubt, one of the most important events of this week was the second presidential veto of another amendment to the Law – Education Law, the so-called Lex Czarnek 2.0 (it should be noted, however, that in this case it was not a government project, but an MP project – nevertheless both were prepared , “under the auspices” of the current Minister of Education and Science).
In arguing his decision, Polish President Andrzej Duda noted that the project did not receive broad public acceptance for its key solutions. At the same time, it must be acknowledged that the draft included a number of controversial proposals.
First and foremost, the most controversial provisions concerned the issue of making changes to, among other things, the staffing of leadership positions, homeschooling, hours of availability, and the activities of outside organizations at school.
The draft included, for example, increasing the powers of education superintendents at the expense of, for example, principals or school boards. The superintendent’s voice, in the form of issuing a positive or negative opinion, would be crucial in making changes in schools to the positions of principals and teachers in many cases (such as the appointment or suspension of a principal even in the absence of disciplinary proceedings). What’s more, the draft assumed a decisive vote by the superintendent on which NGOs and associations would be allowed to conduct extra-curricular activities for students in schools.
Lex Czarnek 2.0 also assumed a significant restriction on the growing home education in Poland. Among other things, the draft in this regard provided for the possibility of issuing a homeschooling permit only if the school in which the child is enrolled is located in the province in which the child lives or adjacent provinces, or notification of homeschooling only between July 1 and September 21. As many commentators and specialists in educational organization have pointed out, these provisions would significantly limit the possibility of home education.
The draft amendment of lex Czarnek 2.0 aroused great controversy among the public, but especially among those most concerned – students, parents and teachers. Therefore, it is necessary to appeal that, after the second unsuccessful approach to changes in the Education Law, the proposed solutions should be abandoned, in order to begin a thorough and wide public consultation to prevent current and future, but above all problems in the Polish educational system.