Czech Education Ministry responds on basic timeline for inclusion preparations

News server Romea.cz has asked the Czech Education Ministry why it is has not yet communicated with experts and principals about how the transition to inclusive education will take place next school year. On 16 October the ministry sent the following response:

"The Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MŠMT) is intensively working on issuing the implementing regulations for Section 16 of the Schools Act. A working version of that decree has already been the subject of a broad seeking of opinions from the organizations involved to learn their stances on it, and those opinions must be taken into account in the proposed decree before sending it to the inter-ministerial commenting process. Currently we are completing our processing of those comments. The draft decree will be sent to the inter-ministerial comment procedure at the beginning of November by the latest. Concurrently the MŠMT is preparing an information campaign to explain the new legislation and its future application.

Nevertheless, we are aware that our communications must be beefed up, not just with the expert public and nonprofit organizations, but mainly with parents. The MŠMT has published its first information newsletter with general information about this. During November another bulletin will be sent to the principals of all schools with specific data and we will ask school administrators to deliver this newsletter to parents. This week and next week our final negotiations with representatives of the expert public and nonprofit sector will be concluded."

It is important that this response contains specific dates. Many principals and professionals, including the minster’s own advisers, will learn of this timeline for the first time from its being published here.