Starting September 1, Order No. 07-N of the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports (MoESCS), dated April 8, comes into force, defining clear responsibilities for educational institutions. While a parent's options in cases of bullying or violence previously depended on the personal attitude of the principal or the school, the order now establishes specific procedures.
Under the document, violence includes not only physical abuse, but also psychological, sexual, and economic assault, neglect, exploitation, trafficking, bullying, and cyberbullying. According to one of the most important provisions of the order, teachers or homeroom teachers are required to immediately inform the learner protection team even about suspected cases. The same requirement applies to the entire school staff, meaning the duty arises at a stage when nothing has been proven yet.
The function of the learner protection team is to review information, assess risks, refer cases to competent authorities, and provide psychological and social support. A representative of the parents' council will also be a permanent member of the team.
The school principal is required to provide support to both victimized students and those involved in violence, and to submit a report to the pedagogical council at least once a semester. At the same time, the order does not specify the form of a parent's application or specific response deadlines, leaving the development of these rules to the school.
These new regulations are an important step toward ensuring safety in the school environment, as solutions in many cases previously depended on the individual approach of specific management or teachers. Now, the scopes of responsibility are clarified, which could prevent many cases of bullying at an early stage.
However, the effectiveness of the system will largely depend on practical implementation. Since specific response deadlines and procedures for parental applications are left to the discretion of the schools themselves, the situation may vary across different educational institutions. It will be key for parents to familiarize themselves with their specific school's internal regulations right at the start of the academic year.
