Early childhood, primary and special education students will generally have, two sessions in the morning and afternoon, separated from each other. This Wednesday, the Government Council approved the decree which establishes the split day as the norm in public centers. After the new regulations come into force, the possibility of adopting the continuous schedule will disappear and will only be retained in schools that have already implemented it. In addition to this substantial change, the decree simplifies transfer procedures from one day to the next.
The school day “will be, as a general rule and except in the cases provided for by this decree, from Monday to Friday, a day divided into two sessions: one in the morning and one in the afternoon”, this is how the articles of the regional regulation establish. Around 75% of schools currently have a continuous day, while only 25% have adopted the partial day. The regional government’s reform aims to balance these figures and increase the number of centers that provide courses in two rounds, a measure that aims to “improve the academic performance of students, promote conciliation and expand the choice of Madrid families”, said the Regional Executive.
With the final processing of the decree, The continuous day will only be maintained in centers which already apply it, until it is decided to modify the system. For their part, split-day schools will not be able to open a consultation process to modify schedules, since this possibility disappears. Likewise, in newly opened centers, the timetable will be adopted from the start of classes. The only exception to the general rule will be in September and June, when it will be permitted to teach the entire school day in a row, without interruption.
Alongside this change in the organization of the school timetable, the process for requesting a change of day has also been revised, reducing the majorities and simplifying the procedures. SO, The transition may take place before March 15 of each year and will begin with the presentation of the formal application. To do this, it will be necessary to have the support of a third of the members of the school council, made up of parents, students, teachers, administrative and service staff and municipal representatives. Until now, to begin this process, the approval of an absolute majority of all Council members was required. After the request, The procedure must take place within 15 days, with the respective consultation of families, which will be obligatory.
Before voting, the census of family members of registered students must be updated and published. After that, a voting date will be set that “will be convened by the school council at least 15 calendar days before the date set for voting in person and will include deadlines for voting by mail or electronically,” with a minimum notice of 10 days before voting in person. For the proposal to succeed, it must have the support of the majority of votes cast, that is, a simple majority. Under the current standard, the participation of two-thirds of the census members was required to consider the vote valid and two-thirds of the votes cast to approve the decision. After that, the School Council had to deliberate and evaluate the final decision, which must receive the consensus of the majority of the body.
The school day change procedure can only be done once per class. Once the vote has been taken, the Chair of the Council will inform the faculty and members of the result, and The director will transfer it to the corresponding Territorial Directorate. It will be the owner who will authorize or refuse the change, based on organizational, educational and family conciliation criteria, taking into account the conclusions of the consultations.
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