Bill 472.

Summary.

The bill proposes amending Article 30 of Law 47 of 1946, the Organic Law of Education. It retains the Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo) authority to determine the length of the school year, its starting and ending dates in the country’s different regions, and vacation periods. It adds a requirement to establish differentiated school calendars according to each region’s climate, geography and safety conditions, with the aim of protecting the physical safety and lives of students, teachers and other members of the educational community.

In regions where the rainy season poses a significant risk to students’ lives, the Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación) would establish calendars that give priority to the dry season for in-person activities. The risks identified include flooding, landslides, rising rivers and difficulties reaching educational facilities. To determine the feasibility and safety of each calendar, the Ministry of Education would conduct annual climate risk assessments for each school region in coordination with the National Civil Protection System (SINAPROC), the Meteorology and Hydrology Institute (IMHPA), and other competent bodies.

Differentiated calendars would have to meet the minimum number of school days required under national and international educational standards. They would also have to consider distance, virtual or blended education during periods of high climate risk when safety conditions prevent in-person attendance, and include contingency plans for temporarily suspending in-person classes during climate emergencies declared by the competent authorities. The calendars would have to respect each region’s cultural, agricultural, economic and traditional characteristics and maintain continuity of teaching and learning through educational alternatives suited to local circumstances.

The bill gives priority to these calendars in Indigenous comarcas, rural areas and communities with high climate vulnerability, taking account of the educational community’s safety, cultural relevance and continuity of education. It directs the Ministry of Education to prepare a school climate risk map identifying areas that require differentiated calendars, update it annually and publish it in the first quarter of each year. Regional education directors could request the introduction or modification of a calendar when they identify risks to students’ safety, after consulting educational communities and local authorities. The Ministry of Education would safeguard educational quality, students’ right to education and compliance with the requirements for national and international recognition of studies.

The Executive Branch would issue implementing regulations for the proposed law within no more than six (6) months of its promulgation, when the law would take effect. The bill concerns the Ministry of Education, SINAPROC, IMHPA and the Executive Branch, and could be of interest to educational communities in Indigenous comarcas and rural areas, as well as agricultural sectors and other regional activities.