Summary.
The bill establishes prevention, protection and educational continuity measures for students and teachers attending or teaching at schools in hard-to-reach areas. It would apply to public and private schools in rural, comarcal or hard-to-reach areas throughout the country where safe school travel is unavailable. It defines, among other terms, body of water, itinerant teacher, guided modular studies, safe infrastructure, safe school routes and community oversight. Community oversight involves parent committees, community boards and local authorities. Its governing principles include accessibility, continuity of learning, shared community responsibility, educational equity, social justice, state responsibility, educational safety and institutional sustainability.
The text prohibits students and teachers from crossing rivers, streams or other bodies of water without safe infrastructure or authorized transport to attend school. The Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación) and local governments would have to provide safe alternatives. While the risk persists, works are carried out or safe access is secured, the Ministry of Education would implement guided modular studies. This arrangement includes periodic delivery of printed or digital learning materials, in-person or virtual guidance from itinerant teachers or local coordinators, cumulative assessments at the end of each module, and academic records and advancement equivalent to those in in-person education.
The Ministry of Education would coordinate with the Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Obras Públicas), the Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning (Ministerio de Vivienda y Ordenamiento Territorial), the Ministry of Social Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Social), the National Civil Protection System (Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil), municipalities, local governments and other competent institutions on the construction of safe crossings, planning of safe school routes and complementary social programs. It would also establish a policy giving priority in teacher appointments to residents of the communities or nearby areas. During the rainy season, particularly between September and November, it would apply prevention and teacher support protocols, including temporary accommodation, safe transport or planned suspension of classes when conditions pose a danger, in coordination with the National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC) and local authorities.
The Ministry of Social Development would integrate existing programs, such as the Opportunities Network (Red de Oportunidades), to provide beneficiary families with logistical support, transport, school meals and temporary financial assistance. It would help identify vulnerable families and conduct ongoing oversight. The Ministry of Education would include a specific annual allocation in its operating and investment budgets; the Ministry of Social Development would allocate resources to compatible programs. Both would submit annual reports to the National Assembly’s Education, Culture and Sports Committee (Comisión de Educación, Cultura y Deporte de la Asamblea Nacional). Regional directors of the Ministry of Education would oversee compliance; breaches of safety measures or exposure of students to risks would be sanctioned under the existing disciplinary and administrative framework. The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo), acting through the Ministry of Education, would issue implementing rules within no more than six (6) months after promulgation. The bill provides for commencement upon promulgation and proposes no amendments to other legislation.
The public bodies concerned are the education, social development, infrastructure and civil protection institutions named above, together with municipalities and local governments. The measures could concern rural and comarcal communities, families, teachers, schools and school transport providers.
What it proposes.
- Safety of school travel in hard-to-reach areas.
- Educational continuity through guided modular studies.
- Institutional coordination, social support and oversight of the measures.
Who it would affect.
- Students and teachers at public and private schools in rural, comarcal or hard-to-reach areas without safe school travel.
- Education, infrastructure, social development, civil protection and local authorities responsible for the measures.
- Families benefiting from complementary social programs.
Key points.
- The bill covers public and private schools in rural, comarcal or hard-to-reach areas without safe school travel.Arts. 1-2
- It defines alternative arrangements, safe infrastructure and routes, and sets principles of access, continuity of learning, safety and shared responsibility.Arts. 3-4
- It prohibits crossing bodies of water without safe infrastructure or authorized transport to attend school and requires safe alternatives.Art. 5
- It provides for guided modular studies while the risk persists, with materials, guidance, assessments and academic equivalence.Art. 6
- It requires coordination on safe crossings and routes and gives priority to appointing teachers who live in the communities or nearby areas.Arts. 7-8
- It provides for rainy-season protocols and support for beneficiary families through existing social programs.Arts. 9-10
- It requires budget allocations and annual reports, assigns oversight to regional directors and refers sanctions to the existing framework.Arts. 11-12
- It directs the Executive Branch to issue implementing rules within no more than six (6) months and provides for commencement upon promulgation.Arts. 13-14