Spanish Education for Citizenship: an assault on freedom of education and conscience

1. Spanish Education for Citizenship: an assault on freedom of education and conscience

2. CONTENTS • Four years of an everlasting strugle. • An anomaly in Europe • A strong social conflict • The spread of concientious objection • Contradictions in Court • The conflict arrives at the ECHR • Future at a glance

3. 1. FOUR YEARS OF AN EVERLASTING STRUGGLE

4. 1. FOUR YEARS OF AN EVERLASTING STRUGGLE • In the context of a breaking down educational system. • The most important and relevant change introduced by the socialist government in their educative law of 2006. • Under the protection of Recomendation 12/2002 EC . • Four both compulsory and evaluable school subjects for children from 10 to 17 years old and all kinds of schools. • No consensus for its implantation.

5. 2. AN ANOMALY IN EUROPE

6. 2. AN ANOMALY IN EUROPE • The Spanish subjects go further from the contents or the objectives of the European pattern. • Designed to shape the conscience of children in a particular ideology. • Invading sexual and affective privacy. • Methods of grading which include the grading of behaviour contradicting the right of children and parents to their own privacy.

7. 3. A STRONG SOCIAL CONFLICT

8. 3. A STRONG SOCIAL CONFLICT • The social conflict has spread to reach every area of the educational community and Spanish public opinion. • Division among politycal parties and a strong rejection from the Catholic Church authorities. • An important intellectual debate on the role of family and on the State limits on moral education.

9. 4. THE SPREAD OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION

10. 4. THE SPREAD OF CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION • 55.000 conscientious objections in 3 years. • More than 70 parents associations to inform, support and help parents to fight for their right to choose the moral education of their children. • Every year more than 1000 students remain outside of class during EfC lessons in spite of the Education Administration’s discrimination and threats.

11. 5. CONTRADICTIONS IN COURT

12. 5. CONTRADICTIONS IN COURT • 2300 judicial complaints. • An 84% of the veredicts rendered by the regional Courts issued rulings favouring parents. • In February 2009, the Supreme Court, deeply divided over the issue, rendered four judgements which denied the parents the right to object. • After these four Supreme Court Judgments the courts in Aragon and Castilla y León differed from the Supreme Court and issued rulings favouring parents and it highlighted the "high ethical, moral and ideological weight” of these subjects. • The case is now in the Constitutional Court.

13. 6. THE CONFLICT ARRIVES AT THE ECHR

14. 6. THE CONFLICT ARRIVES AT THE ECHR • 321complaints against the Kingdom of Spain. • Violations of the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights: • Right to privacy of the children, • Right of freedom of thought, conscience and religion, • Right of parents to educate their children according to their own convictions, and the • principle of non-discrimination

15. 7. MIRANDO AL FUTURO7. FUTURE AT A GLANCE 7. FUTURE AT A GLANCE

16. 7. FUTURE AT A GLANCE • A key issue for our fundamental rights, especially after the introduction of compulsory sex education (promoted in new Abortion law) • Need to finish with objectors (children and parents) prosecution • Need to redesign Spanish EfC according to National Constitution and European recommendations • Importance of a European alliance for freedom of education

17. Thank you!