New education law: changes to curriculum, testing and diplomas

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The law amends the 2006 Education Organic Laworganic law A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes. and repeals the 2013 LOMCELOMCE Organic Law 8/2013 on the improvement of educational quality, the previous education law that this law repeals., restoring the previous balance between the central government and the autonomous communities over the curriculum. Core minimum contents will take up 50% of school hours where there is a co-official language and 60% where there is not.
2. The end-of-stage final tests created by the LOMCE are eliminated. Instead, schools will run diagnostic assessments in fourth grade of primary and second year of compulsory secondary education, which are informative and guidance-oriented, and a sample-based general assessment of competencies will be held in the last year of each stage.
3. In primary education the three previous cycles are restored and a new subject, Civic and Ethical Values Education, is added in the third cycle. In secondary school, all students will take that subject in one of the years, and in the fourth year the common subjects are set, plus three electives chosen from a list the government will define.
4. Repeating a school year becomes exceptional: at most twice in all compulsory education and only once in the same year. Promotion decisions are made collectively by the teaching team, and students promoted with failed subjects must follow a reinforcement plan.
5. Students who complete the professional modules of a basic vocational training cycle earn the Compulsory Secondary Education Graduate title and the Basic Technician title. Those who do not earn the diploma will receive an official certificate showing the competencies achieved, plus an individualized guidance report.
6. The Bachiller diploma is earned by passing all subjects over the two years, with no final stage test. University admission will require the Bachiller diploma plus a single entrance exam whose basic features are set by the government.
7. The selection of public school principals changes: a committee with school representatives decides, one third chosen by the teachers' assembly and another third by non-teaching members of the School Council, and candidates must first complete specific training in school leadership. The School Council recovers governance powers.
8. Equity is strengthened: schools may not charge families for tuition-free education or impose contributions, socioeconomic segregation in admissions must be avoided, and the law provides for a plan to extend free first-cycle preschool and to raise public education spending to at least 5% of GDP.

Words worth knowing

LOMCE

Organic Law 8/2013 on the improvement of educational quality, the previous education law that this law repeals.

Enseñanzas mínimas (minimum teaching contents)

The basic curriculum contents set by the central government, common across Spain.

Concierto educativo (state-funded school agreement)

An agreement under which a private school receives public funds in exchange for offering free places.

Ciclo formativo de grado básico (basic vocational training cycle)

A vocational program for students who need a practical pathway; it allows them to earn the secondary education diploma.

Evaluación de diagnóstico (diagnostic assessment)

An internal school test to gauge students' competency levels and improve teaching; it does not count toward grades.

organic law

A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries