Bill 237.

Summary.

The bill proposes to create, implement and supervise a School Retention and Re-entry Network covering public and private institutions that provide formal education in the Republic of Panama. It defines school withdrawal and dropout, dropout risk, prolonged absence, psychosocial support, early intervention and re-entry, along with concepts governing academic support and case management. The Network would seek to prevent dropout at every educational level, bring students back into education, encourage participation by the educational community and safeguard the right to education.

It creates the National School Retention Commission (Comisión Nacional de Retención Escolar), chaired by the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación). Its other members would represent the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (Secretaría Nacional de Niñez, Adolescencia y Familia), the Ministry of Social Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Social), the Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral), the National Disability Secretariat (Secretaría Nacional de Discapacidad), the Children and Adolescents Police (Policía de Niñez y Adolescencia) and the Permanent Multisectoral Council for Implementation of the National Commitment to Education (Consejo Pe1l11anente Multisectorial para la Implementación del Compromiso Nacional por la Educación). The Commission would meet ordinarily once a month, decide by simple majority and resolve ties through the Minister of Education's vote. It would prepare the national plan, coordinate and oversee the Network, set procedures, manage resources, approve training, evaluate programs and submit quarterly reports to the Ministry of Education.

A Regional Committee (Comité Regional) in each educational region would implement the plan according to local needs, adapt procedures, oversee resources and school committees, analyze data, train committee members and report quarterly to the National Commission. It would also coordinate support between schools, hold bimonthly meetings with school committee directors and establish channels for urgent cases. Each school would establish a School Committee (Comité Escolar) comprising its director, a counselor or psychoeducational staff member, two teachers and a parent representative. The committee would carry out the protocol, record attendance and risks, contact families, prepare individual interventions, arrange academic and psychosocial support, and report monthly to the Regional Committee.

The retention protocol would be triggered by at least five days of unjustified absence, signs of family, social or economic difficulties or violence, or poor academic performance or emotional condition. Students and members of the educational community could initiate it. An initial phase lasting no more than 48 hours would involve family contact, documentation and a preliminary assessment. A diagnostic phase of no more than 5 working days would include interviews and academic and psychosocial assessments. Within a maximum of 10 working days, a tailored intervention plan would be prepared, a case manager assigned and support measures put in place. Weekly monitoring during the first month and monthly progress assessments would follow. Re-entry measures include academic catch-up programs and emotional and psychological support.

Where obstacles to re-entry fall outside education, the bill provides for referrals concerning rights violations, extreme poverty, child labor or disability. It cites Law 285 of 2022, Law 18 of 2000 and Law 15 of 2016, which amends Law 42 of 1999. It provides for action by the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family, the Children and Adolescents Police, the Ministry of Social Development, the Opportunities Network (Red de Oportunidades), the Ministry of Labor (Ministerio de Trabajo), the Directorate Against Child Labor (Dirección contra el Trabajo Infantil) and the National Disability Secretariat. The School Committee would document a referral, the Regional Committee would validate and coordinate it, and the National Commission would receive quarterly reports.

The Ministry of Education would implement a monitoring and evaluation system with public data on dropout, re-entry, risk factors and interventions, published in open formats and updated quarterly. It would issue implementing regulations within three months; the law would take effect upon promulgation. The bill's provisions concern these public bodies, schools, students and families, child protection services, social assistance, labor matters and disability support.